Is it just me? I swear the line goes:
"I keep your fingerprints in a pink folder in the middle of my tangle."
This is one of the first National songs I fell for. This and Start a War. To me this song is about a woman who displays some traditionally masculine attributes. The 'tall kingdom' is a reference from Seamus Haney (sp). In that poem, the tall kingdom is the British Empire and is cast as a 'masculine' power. Also this woman is smart, loves her car! :). He digs her, he's trying to impress her (staying up all night boning up on the dictionary - love that) but she is stringing him along. He is trying to tell her that she may not be as self-sufficient as she might think. And that he might be able to offer her something.
I agree with thejlar that the surrounding of the tall kingdom means he wants to protect her, but I don't think it is from a specific threat. I think it just means he wants to be the strong protective male in a relationship with her. Just makes the line so brilliant to me. She is a tall kingdom-what a powerful thing, but he could be the wall to protect her; even tall kingdoms need protection. God, I love this song!
The keeping of her fingerprints and following her around do give the idea of obsession, but it doesn't strike me as creepy in this song. I take this more figuratively. Her identity is with him all the time, he wants to be with her and is puppy dogging her - trying to win her over. Trying to prove he could be important to her.
Is it just me? I swear the line goes: "I keep your fingerprints in a pink folder in the middle of my tangle."
This is one of the first National songs I fell for. This and Start a War. To me this song is about a woman who displays some traditionally masculine attributes. The 'tall kingdom' is a reference from Seamus Haney (sp). In that poem, the tall kingdom is the British Empire and is cast as a 'masculine' power. Also this woman is smart, loves her car! :). He digs her, he's trying to impress her (staying up all night boning up on the dictionary - love that) but she is stringing him along. He is trying to tell her that she may not be as self-sufficient as she might think. And that he might be able to offer her something.
I agree with thejlar that the surrounding of the tall kingdom means he wants to protect her, but I don't think it is from a specific threat. I think it just means he wants to be the strong protective male in a relationship with her. Just makes the line so brilliant to me. She is a tall kingdom-what a powerful thing, but he could be the wall to protect her; even tall kingdoms need protection. God, I love this song!
The keeping of her fingerprints and following her around do give the idea of obsession, but it doesn't strike me as creepy in this song. I take this more figuratively. Her identity is with him all the time, he wants to be with her and is puppy dogging her - trying to win her over. Trying to prove he could be important to her.