Girl On The Wing

"before we take this ride and let it slide into the cracks where fall and winter collide."

That's one of the catchiest lines ever written. I love The Shins and Mercer's use of words. This is a great example of it.

the shins' lyrics are too cryptic to really understand anything about what they're talking about.

but that's what i

I think this song is about a couple who are in a relationship but know that its going to end, "before we take this ride and let it slide" and he's now surrendering everything before it ends "i surrender all my gall in a song of modern love". Also he sees that they rushed into the relationship to quickly "the tidal rabbit who came of age before her time" and hes saying that they should of let nature ran its course "we take a week off, let the garden grow by itself" and let the relationship "grow" by its self. Also the lines "if I'd relented when you insisted" change from "if YOU'D relented when I'D insisted" which shows in the beginning she had instigated the relationship, "remember you're the one who summoned me above any other kind" and now at the end of the relationship hes trying to carry it on. "you felt abandoned by me" shows that she felt he didn't love her the same way etc, as she had instigated the relationship. From the line "they still hear us with their ears to the wall" shows that others around them were curious about their relationship, waiting for its outcome. At the end of this he's saying even though their relationship is over and she is denying their love she started the romance. "remember you're the one who summoned me above any other kind.".

Well that's my interpretation anyway.

i think its about a good relationship being made complex by the modern system of courtship. you can tell theyre tired of how things are going, so theyre gonna try and make thinks simpler for themselves.

I've loved the Shins for a loooooooong time and today I just realized how incredible this song is, for like the 9th time. I love this band. Mercer's word use is unlike anyone. His words, themselves are catchy- they role right off the tongue. I love it!

Idly browsing wikipedia (page on barnstorming) found this quote whhich is nice with this song:

"Jessie Woods of the Flying Aces Air Circus declared: "Don't let them kid you — it wasn't romantic. I slept on the bottom wing of an airplane. I learned how to sleep there without falling off. I've gone through as much as three days without sleep. There's nothing romantic about that.""

isn't it "girl sailor, don't sink her." not "girl, sail her don't sink her" or maybe it's both, i mean, it could be a play on words

i mean, it is called girl sailor so..yeah

OMG i meant to post this on girl sailor i am so sorry

StatusFrustration's quote is so applicable to this song (Don't let them kid you it wasn't romantic. I slept on the bottom wing of an airplane. I learned how to sleep there without falling off. I've gone through as much as three days without sleep. There's nothing romantic about that) and just so awesome.

Ok. so. i think (and i only think this, because of course i must simplify it and look at it through my life to understand it better, as does anyone else trying to interpret lyrics, especially of the shins) this is about a relationship between two people who are involved in a sort of balancing act. they both want each other. but they both won't admit it. they are both protecting themselves, both in fear of pain. oh god damn it, i should be studying for a final i have in 3 hours but i'm too shocked by the brilliance of this song which i just realized, again, after listening to it hundreds of times.

OK.

one wound up punch of intuition lays flat my whole take on us. (he has a logical analysis of the relationship between him and this girl, he's way over-analyzed the situation because he's in love with her... (like girl inform me)... and logically, he realized the relationship is fucked up. that he's insane to stay in it. that she probably doesn't like him, really. but his intuition, his gut feeling he has when he's around her, completely obliterates all of his logical reasoning.)

you're the girl on the wing of a barnstormer ("Don't let them kid you it wasn't romantic. I slept on the bottom wing of an airplane. I learned how to sleep there without falling off. I've gone through as much as three days without sleep. There's nothing romantic about that." the barnstormer is their relationship, they're perhaps both over analyzing it, and therefore there is this sort of fragile balance maintained and if either of them fuck up that balance-- whether it is imagined or not-- then they will fuck the whole romance up.)

the tidal rabbit who came of age before her time. (not sure, perhaps pertaining to the balance--? donno.)

we could have been so good-natured if i'd relented when you insisted, but we've been backed against all nature's walls far too long. (they could have a normal, socially acceptable relationship. if they stopped running away from each other, afraid they would fuck up whatever they have... if instead of this weird game they're playing, they would just fulfill each other's true wants... then they would be "good-natured"-- no tricks, no games, no balancing act. but they've been "backed against natures walls" they've been playing this game that expresses their truest fears, their true natures, for too long that they cant just jump into a normal relationship suddenly. they're both too stubborn, too stuck in their flighty nature.)

you felt abandoned by me, (she often feels abandoned, dejected because he's trying to play this game of nonchalance and she can never truly, logically, definitely tell if he actually likes her because of this game... she can never be sure if his indifference is part of the game or his true feelings.)

i recall the sunshine as you were melting (not sure, but i love this line.)

and though the comedy softens the fall they still hear us with their ears to the wall. ('they' are those who know of this relationship. who don't understand it, but want to understand it. want to classify it. so they become spectators of the relationship, trying desperately to categorize it? as for the comedy, i don't know, perhaps because their relationship is so absurd, it's comedic, and therefore it seems more lighthearted, so if it ends, because it was never "officially serious," on the surface, then it "softens the fall," any devastation that may later occur... or they would like to believe their almost- comedic game will save them from hurt, from the fall.)

i sold all my evil motives, no icicles stuck in my hide. i'm through with riddles, i know we're little just help me feel warm inside. (here is his true desire, spoken plainly. he wants to stop the deception, his self protection. no more games... he wants her. he wants to stop pretending they're special, that their relationship is somehow superior because of its unclassifi-ability... because of the game their playing. they're like any other little human. they both just want love, that's all. he admits it.)

before we take this ride and let it slide into the cracks where fall and winter collide. (before they play the relationship into the ground, to death, he's going to surrender. in the autumn, it was a fruitful game but it has been decaying, it's dying, quickly decaying, spinning towards winter, death, it can easily fall into that crack between fall & winter-- basically death, paralysis... even though it can't completely die because there is something there, it will fall into that crack, it will freeze, and will probably not be fix-able.)

i surrender all my gall in a song of modern love. remember you're the one who summoned me above any other kind. (his is becoming aggravated by this game, exasperated. he surrenders. he admits his love and tries to avoid her running away by saying that she was the one who started it all, that they both decided to do this weird game, and that she must have similar feelings if she chose him over others. if she chose to also stick with the game.)

we could have been so good-natured if you'd relented when i insisted, (back to what i said before)

we take a week off, let the garden grow by itself (their desire for each other grows when they are apart. the distance somehow strenthens their feelings, the relationship, the game and it's audience. also, maybe they both need to step back from the analysis of this relationship... and when they do that, the garden grows... meaning the importance of it, the passion in it, the fruitfulness of it grows. they've avoided falling into that crack and now it's growing again, they've moved forward in the relationship.)

and let the gluttons fill themselves with all the worst of the gory ninties. (let people critique the relationship, they dont care)

and though the comedy softens the fall, we still fall short. (hmmm.... "we still fall short" perhaps this means the relationship has still not completely plunged into the ground. despite the obstacles, it has still not been completely devastated. it has fallen short of destruction...?)

ok. way over-analyzed. i do this with everything. oh well.

i think it's like when you give up everything that you held dear even though it was wrong ("i sold all my evil motives, no icicles stuck in my hide.") and then all you have is the people you love to help you through ("just help me feel warm inside.")