Dear Avery, I think of you only
Were you waving, were you dead on the vine
Oh Avery, I think of you lonely
But I could just grab you by the nape of your neck

There are times life will rattle your bones
And will bend your limbs
You're still far away the boy you've ever been
So you bend back and shake at the frame
Of the frame you made
But don't you shake alone
Please Avery, come home

Headstrong, you and your long arms
Listing lazily on the cusp of your tease
But you were my Avery and when you needed saving
I could just grab you by the nape of your neck

There are times life will rattle your bones
And will bend your limbs
You're still far and away the boy you've ever been
So you bend back and shake at the frame
Of the frame you made
But don't you shake alone
Please Avery, come home
Don't you shake alone
Please Avery, come home
Come home



Lyrics submitted by RobertELeet

Track duration: 04:52

"Dear Avery" as written by Colin Meloy

Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Dear Avery song meanings
Add your thoughts

15 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I always thought Avery was a missing son, and that this song was the Father's point of view begging for him to come home. At one point he describes Avery and towards the end he says please come home. Almost like those news broadcasts with the parents begging for their kids to be found safely when they run away/go missing.
    Flag EmmaBlwgnson May 07, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I honestly heard that this song was about Colin's pet monkey.
    Flag sconymackon January 20, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i thought it was about a girl named avery who wished she was born a boy.

    oh.

    oops.
    Flag ireallylikebagelson May 17, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:i hadnt looked at the lyrics to this until recently. before that i had only caught bits of it and i interpreted it completely different than what it actually is. i thought avery was a woman who had died and the "i think of you lonely" meant she was alone dead (in heaven i guess). and when he says come home i just thought he meant he wanted her back. and "i could just grab u by the nape of the neck" meant he wanted to be able to hold her again. and the whole "you're so far away" as in dead when he is alive. idk it obviously doesnt make sense now that i know all the lyrics but before i looked them up i had thought that made perfect sense
    Flag clazzammon December 08, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:went and saw this band live for the second time a couple weeks ago, they played this live and I died on the inside because it was so grand.
    Flag NasalSnackon September 01, 2011   Link
  • 0
    Lyric Correction:I actually just watched a live version on youtube, and it seems that the words "you'll still find your way, the boy you've ever been" are actually

    You're still far away,
    The boy you've ever been

    (I guess that's what the first post on here says.)
    Which makes even more sense with Meloy's explanation of what the song means.
    Flag bec54321on May 01, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:IN LOVE with this song. It is beautiful. I might want to name my first child Avery just because of how good it is. It's such a beautiful account of parenthood.
    While listening to it on repeat on a long drive I listened closely to try and figure out what people's interpretations might be here on songmeanings. Just from the "come home" part of it I thought it might be about a son serving in the forces, and I guess I was right.
    I just LOVE the part "There are times life will rattle your bones and bend your limbs, you'll still find your way, the boy you've never been." It just says a lot to me about how the experiences you have growing up change and shape you into the grown person you've "never been" until you've had them.
    Flag bec54321on May 01, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I like the above post, mostly because it points out how musicians don't need to write songs that are related to their personal lives at all. In fact, I think a lot of them don't, and people get confused thinking that they're trying to.
    Flag srsizzyon March 28, 2011   Link
  • +4
    General Comment:There was an article in Time that was published about the new album in which Meloy explains this and a few of the other songs on the album. He said that this song was inspired by the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

    From the "Time" article:

    "They're kids," he says. "If you're a parent of one of these people, you just want to grab them by the scruff of their neck and yank them out of it. When they're that far out of arm's reach that must be devastating."
    --Colin Meloy

    If you re-read the lyrics, this definitely makes sense.
    Flag musicismylife926on March 02, 2011   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation:I think its definitely about a person over an animal.

    It reminds me of John Lennons "Beautiful Boy". I imagine in it, he's thinking about how great and normal his son will grow into being. Of his son, he says I "think of you only", imagining him as a normal teenager, long-limbed, confronting the normal slings and arrows of life.

    And those things will bend and shake you, but like everyone (mostly) you'll get through it.
    And if not, please "come home".

    "the nape of the neck" phrase which is repeated twice, could refer to a time when he was a baby and dependent on him and he could just hold him and keep him safe, but not any more...

    maybe.

    It's a beautiful song, particularly because I am an out and out sucker for melody changes like he sings on the word "Avery" and then gently fades out the sentence with the powerful "come home". kills me.




    Flag montimeson February 25, 2011   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

Back to top
explain