I don't know if I'm getting a really superficial meaning from this song, but to me, it sounds like two boys who fell in love as children and then realized as they grew up that they could no longer be together because of what people would think of them.
In the first three stanzas, it sounds like the narrator's describing things that young boys would do, like "pitching glass at cornfield crows". When he speaks about Sister Lowry, it seems to me like he's referring to sitting in church with this other boy and not being able to hear the words of the prayers because they're too busy thinking about running away with each other.
In the next stanza, it sounds as though he's referring to an old house, like a "clubhouse" where they hid, and maybe had their first kiss (even though they would regret it and not end up together anyway: "our bravery wasted, and our shame".
The next 8 lines are some of the most beautiful in the entire song. The narrator is talking about how they would camp out and undress beside the fire, each watching the other with that nervous feeling in their stomach; a feeling of love and of apprehension because it was so forbidden. When he sings about the oak tree and resurrection fern, I think he's referring to the nature of the oaks and ferns to live their lives intertwined with each other (as resurrection ferns are often found living wound around oak trees). "We gave the world what it saw fit, and what'd we get?" refers to how the boys grew up and played the part that society expected them to, maybe getting married and having children, but never actually attaining happiness, as they were still in love with each other.
The last two stanzas are basically repetition, but I think they serve to reveal that the narrator and his childhood love dream about one day meeting in the afterlife and living the lives they did as children: happy together with no one to tell them that they could not love each other.
I don't know if I'm getting a really superficial meaning from this song, but to me, it sounds like two boys who fell in love as children and then realized as they grew up that they could no longer be together because of what people would think of them.
In the first three stanzas, it sounds like the narrator's describing things that young boys would do, like "pitching glass at cornfield crows". When he speaks about Sister Lowry, it seems to me like he's referring to sitting in church with this other boy and not being able to hear the words of the prayers because they're too busy thinking about running away with each other.
In the next stanza, it sounds as though he's referring to an old house, like a "clubhouse" where they hid, and maybe had their first kiss (even though they would regret it and not end up together anyway: "our bravery wasted, and our shame".
The next 8 lines are some of the most beautiful in the entire song. The narrator is talking about how they would camp out and undress beside the fire, each watching the other with that nervous feeling in their stomach; a feeling of love and of apprehension because it was so forbidden. When he sings about the oak tree and resurrection fern, I think he's referring to the nature of the oaks and ferns to live their lives intertwined with each other (as resurrection ferns are often found living wound around oak trees). "We gave the world what it saw fit, and what'd we get?" refers to how the boys grew up and played the part that society expected them to, maybe getting married and having children, but never actually attaining happiness, as they were still in love with each other.
The last two stanzas are basically repetition, but I think they serve to reveal that the narrator and his childhood love dream about one day meeting in the afterlife and living the lives they did as children: happy together with no one to tell them that they could not love each other.
I agree with this heartily.
I agree with this heartily.