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armour let it through, borne the arboretic truth you kept posing
sat down in the suit, fixed on up it wasn’t you by finished closing
ramble in the roots, had the marvel, moved the proof be kneeled fine’s glowing
storing up the clues, it had its sullen blue bruised through by showing
settle past a patience where wishes and your will are spilling pictures
water’s running through in the valley where we grew to write this scripture.
never gonna break
never gonna break
never gonna break
never gonna break
not for a part in any gamut of the dark
doubled in the toes annex it, it minute closed in the morning
did not lose it in the stack’s stow, imma lay that call back on ya
you know it won’t beseech you, we’re laying in an open field
I will let you grow, no need to know this
so carry on my dear, what is clear up in the daylight is we’re hung here
fall is coming soon, a new year for the moon and the Hmong here
never gonna break
never gonna break
never gonna break
never gonna break
all that it seems
bellows tracing through the streams
never gonna break
never gonna break
never gonna break
never gonna break
all at its seams
swallows swelling for the beams
sat down in the suit, fixed on up it wasn’t you by finished closing
ramble in the roots, had the marvel, moved the proof be kneeled fine’s glowing
storing up the clues, it had its sullen blue bruised through by showing
settle past a patience where wishes and your will are spilling pictures
water’s running through in the valley where we grew to write this scripture.
never gonna break
never gonna break
never gonna break
never gonna break
not for a part in any gamut of the dark
doubled in the toes annex it, it minute closed in the morning
did not lose it in the stack’s stow, imma lay that call back on ya
you know it won’t beseech you, we’re laying in an open field
I will let you grow, no need to know this
so carry on my dear, what is clear up in the daylight is we’re hung here
fall is coming soon, a new year for the moon and the Hmong here
never gonna break
never gonna break
never gonna break
never gonna break
all that it seems
bellows tracing through the streams
never gonna break
never gonna break
never gonna break
never gonna break
all at its seams
swallows swelling for the beams
Lyrics submitted by iquitmyscene, edited by MCalladine
Track duration: 03:52
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Key words/phrases for me (in song order): Title: Minnesota, WI, armour, arboretic truth, suit, storing up the clues, settle past the patience, never gonna break (Vang obviously "broke"), we're laying in an open field, so carry on my dear (I think Vernon intentionally spells "dear" but means "deer") and bellows.
Just my interpretion. I love this song, but I hate what I think of when I hear it.
i think that the song is being told from a hmong parent to their child telling them to be optimistic about the new land and the opportunity, and to be strong and never break
you know it won�t beseech you, we�re laying in an open field
I will let you grow, no need to know this
so carry on my dear, what is clear up in the daylight is we�re hung here
fall is coming soon, a new year for the moon and the Hmong here
never gonna break
never gonna break
never gonna break
never gonna break
all that it seems
bellows tracing through the streams
Just like with "swallows swelling for the beams" = picture an old midwestern barn where the swallows nest, and as they attempt to land on their nests, they must flutter and flap and "swell" to finally arrive perched on their destination.
i love the "never gonna break" parts, it's like a promise made to a lover or to oneself in a remote field to always stay true, despite any "gamut of the dark" or any difficult time.
i think knriddle nailed it on the head that many of his songs are more for the feel and magic of the words than for a precise meaning. and perhaps they do have a meaning, but only justin will know it.
Your interpretation is very well and I agree to most of it. I think this song does have a lot to do coping with a new lifestyle.
The Three Gorge dam may be a different matter though, as it was in China it probably affected the ethnic Hmong in China. However many of the Hmong that currently reside in the US (Minnesota and Wisconsin) are those that were relocated here after the Vietnam War.
My guess is:
"settle past a patience where wishes and your will are spilling pictures"
Letting go of the past and ‘wishes and will spilling pictures’ means fond memories of the old country.
"water�s running through in the valley where we grew to write this this scripture:"
This might be referring to the popular flower cloth in which the story depicts the Hmong crossing the Mekong river to escape persecution.
"you know it won�t beseech you, we�re laying in an open field
I will let you grow, no need to know this"
I think this could mean that looking at the past life won’t do any good. Rather the open field means a new life in a new country.
“so carry on my dear, what is clear up in the daylight is we�re hung here
fall is coming soon, a new year for the moon and the Hmong here”
This is the home of the Hmong now, and as always they celebrated a new year in their old country they shall do here as well.
Who knows. Regardless of the details, I think the core of the song is about not letting anything break you - which is a beautiful sentiment.
Thanks!
But more than the words I feel like we're supposed to understand the feeling. After all, the music comes from the instruments and the rhythm and sound in the voice- not the words. For me, the song has a sense of desperation.
The beginning is trying to grasp the situation, then you get "Never gonna break" like never going to let go. And then the drop at "Doubled in the toes" (which is amazing) is that desperate plea. And then after that verse it's just calming back down to "Never gonna break" again.
I always look at his songs as something to be felt, not necessarily what the words mean.
Agreed. Thanks for the thoughts.
"water’s running through in the valley where we grew"
My guess is that Justin met some Hmong refugee(s)...
"fall is coming soon, a new year for the moon and the Hmong here" (Chinese new year?)
...and befriended them over a period of time:
"settle past a patience where wishes and your will are spilling pictures"
The rest of the song I feel speaks of Justin's surprise at their resiliency...
"never gonna break"
...and the (spiritual?) effect it had on him:
"armour let it through"
"had the marvel"
"be kneeled"
(refers to the chorus as "this scripture")
There could be some other bits about the Hmong people having to adjust to city life (most of them were farmers before the dam):
"sat down in the suit, fixed on up it wasn’t you by finished closing"
I don't think the "stack's" refers to Re: Stacks, but does refer to a book (literal or metaphoric) - as "annex" can refer to an book's appendix...
"doubled in the toes annex it, it minute closed in the morning"
...which might refer to someone writing of their experience?
There's plenty more that remains a mystery to me (and perhaps anyone but Justin), but I think the core of the song is just about being moved and humbled by his experience with some Hmong people he met.
Also, my guess for the title is perhaps that what his Hmong friend(s) mixed the names of the states & cities up?