He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
Hudson died in Hudson Bay
The water took its victim's name
The river's rise told Riverside to change their names again
A stranger walked in through the door
Said all apartments are pre-war
We laughed and asked him for his name
He stayed until the end
We watched the Germans play the Greeks
We marked the ninety nine year lease
Our fathers signed
Which I declined to try and comprehend
Over and over again, all these never-ending visions
Over and over again like a prize that's changing hands
The time has a come
The clock is such a drag
All you who changed your stripes can wrap me in the flag
The legendary wooden gate
The first established real estate
Is lost in time like all the crimes
That won this pleasant land
Over and over again, all these never-ending visions
Over and over again like a prize that's changing hands
The time has a come
The clock is such a drag
All you who changed your stripes can wrap me in the flag
Hudson died on Hudson Bay
But I was born on Sutton Place
The rising tide helped me decide to change my name again
Some men tend to linger on and some make haste from Babylon
Some will roam their ruined home, rejoicing 'til the end
Over and over again, all these never-ending visions
Over and over again like a prize that's changing hands
The time has come
The clock is such a drag
All you who changed your stripes can wrap me in the flag
The lines are drawn
The map is such a drag
All you who changed your stripes can wrap me in the flag
The water took its victim's name
The river's rise told Riverside to change their names again
A stranger walked in through the door
Said all apartments are pre-war
We laughed and asked him for his name
He stayed until the end
We watched the Germans play the Greeks
We marked the ninety nine year lease
Our fathers signed
Which I declined to try and comprehend
Over and over again, all these never-ending visions
Over and over again like a prize that's changing hands
The time has a come
The clock is such a drag
All you who changed your stripes can wrap me in the flag
The legendary wooden gate
The first established real estate
Is lost in time like all the crimes
That won this pleasant land
Over and over again, all these never-ending visions
Over and over again like a prize that's changing hands
The time has a come
The clock is such a drag
All you who changed your stripes can wrap me in the flag
Hudson died on Hudson Bay
But I was born on Sutton Place
The rising tide helped me decide to change my name again
Some men tend to linger on and some make haste from Babylon
Some will roam their ruined home, rejoicing 'til the end
Over and over again, all these never-ending visions
Over and over again like a prize that's changing hands
The time has come
The clock is such a drag
All you who changed your stripes can wrap me in the flag
The lines are drawn
The map is such a drag
All you who changed your stripes can wrap me in the flag
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings, edited by bobduck, KilgoreTro, itsnine, alianovna, dodgerblue, phoebe9261
Hudson Lyrics as written by Ezra Koenig Christopher William Tomson
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Lots of New York City history in this song. Henry Hudson did indeed die in Hudson Bay, cast adrift on a small boat after a mutiny, never to be heard from again. The Hudson River is named for him. The shore of the Hudson River runs parallel to what is now Riverside Drive. The "99 year lease" lyric might refer to the Lenape tribe, the Native Americans who lived on the island of Manhattan and believed that they were merely leasing the land to the Dutch colonists. The island of Manhattan changed its stripes many times in colonial times (the natives, the Dutch, the English, the Americans all claimed it) and it's been host to immigrants from all over the world. "Pre-war" apartments are sought after in the city for having more architectural detail and charm and may command higher prices. It's implied that it means the building was built before WW2, but since there is always a war going on somewhere in the world, maybe all apartments are pre-war?
@justduckygal Nice research and interpretation! Thanks!