Sunrise, Sunset

I love this song, and it was also one of my first Bright Eyes songs. Amazing. This song is fantastic in every way. I, too, think it is about Bipolar. Every line seems to describe it.

And now for my long and boring interpretation:

“Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset, swiftly go the days Sunrise, sunset, you wake up then you undress, it always is the same The sunrise and the sunsets, you're lying while you confess, keep trying to explain The sunrise and the sunsets, you realize then you forget what you've been trying to retain”

Here it begins it by making an image in our head of watching days pass over and over again (A cycle of sunrises and sunsets, this is an important theme). The days represent the total, the sunrises and sunsets represent current moods, parts of the total. Hard to explain. The next line “you’re lying while you confess, keep trying to explain” Is explain the confusion of who you are. You don’t know who you are, so when you confess to something you are actually lying (Because you can’t confess to anything if you don’t know who you are), and then you can’t explain yourself. And then “you realize then you forget what you’ve been trying to retain” is explaining the cycle from knowing something (and retaining it) to forgetting something (and not being able to retaining it).

”But everybody knows it's all about the things that get stuck inside of your head Like the songs your roommate sings, a vision of her body as she stretches out on your bed And she raised her hands in the air, asked you when was the last time you looked in the mirror Because you've changed Yeah, you've changed”

Here he mentions another thing about a mirror. If we go back to his mirror metaphor (That he uses all too often), it describes the views of a person and themselves (in general). So she asks him “when was the last time you looked in the mirror? Because you’ve changed” Saying that the cycle keeps changing him. (and later, “you’re manic, or you’re depressed”). So his views and himself are constantly changing in this cycle.

”The sunrise, the sunsets, you're hopeful and then you regret, the circle never breaks With a sunrise and a sunset, there's a change of heart or address, is there nothing that remains? For a sunrise or a sunset, you're manic or you're depressed, will you ever feel okay? For a sunrise or a sunset, your lover is an actress, did you really think she'd stay?”

The first line makes the cycle part clear (you’re hopeful then you regret, the circle never breaks”), and it also defines the cycle, hopefulness and the regret. And then this next line, “there’s a change of heart or address” The change of heart is not being able to stay in a relationship, and always changing (moods, personality, etc). The change of address is the leaving; running away from things (or to quote another song, “walking away”). And then the next line, “your lover is an actress, did you really think she’d stay?” Is interested since Conor Oberst was in an apparent relationship with Wynona Rider at this time. Could be a coincidence. Anyways, this, I think, is saying that acting is kind of like the cycle, how it’s never the real them. The cycle (Manic or depressed) is never the true them. And then the “did you really think she’d stay?” may be referring to the change of address (“walking away” from trouble).

”For a sunrise or a sunset, you're either coming or you just left, but you're always on the way Towards a sunrise or a sunset, a scribble or a sonnet, they are really just the same To the sunrise or a sunset, the master and his servant have exactly the same fate It's a sunrise and a sunset, from a cradle to a casket, there is no way to escape The sunrise and a sunset, hold your sadness like a puppet, keep putting on the play”

And then another leaving/coming idea, “you’re either coming or you just left, but you’re always on the way” can work both metaphorically or literally. Literally I think its referring back to the “walking away” idea and also exactly what the line says. And metaphorically, its referring to the cycle (In the shape of a circle), you leave one spot on the circle (The manic/depressed), but you always are going around the circle and always come back to the next part and then again back the part you were just at. And the next line, “a scribble or a sonnet, they are really just the same” is also metaphorical. It means that the scribble is kind of the depressed stage, and the sonnet is the manic stage, and they are both part of the same circle, or cycle. This next line, “the master and his servant, have exactly the same fate” is meaning that the servant is the depressed stage and the master is the manic, and they always turn into each other, so they have the same fate (They both go around the same circle/cycle). And then the next line is also similar, “from a cradle to a casket, there is no way to escape” the cycle is now going from a cradle to a casket, meaning the cradle is the manic and the casket is the depressed. But there is no way to escape (Similar to an earlier line, “the circle never breaks”). And then this last line, “hold your sadness like a puppet, keep putting on the play” is saying that the cycle is similar to a play, which relates to an earlier line “your lover is an actress” meaning that the cycle is not the real them, or something like that…

”But everything you do is leading to the point where you just won't know what to do At that moment you may laugh but there is someone there who will be laughing louder than you So it's true, the trick is complete, you become everything you said you never would be You're a fool; you're a fool!”

The first line is going back to something earlier I said, about how the circle always repeats itself and “the circle never breaks” or “there is no way to escape” The next line is confusing, but it means The next line, “So its true, the trick is complete, you become everything you said you never would be” Is now comparing the cycle to a “trick” And also saying that you are becoming someone else, and are always lying when you say who you are, because the stages always change and thereof you are never the same person. He ends this part with “You’re a fool! You’re a fool!” which is fairly straightforward.

”Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset, sunrise and the sunsets Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, the sunsets, the sunrise, the sunsets Sunrise, sunset, go home to your apartment, put the cassette in the tape deck and let that fever play Sunrise, sunset, where are you Arienette? Where are you Arienette?”

At first he repeats the “sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset” which is just making the continuous cycle more apparent. The sun continues to set, and then rise, like the cycle. Now, the sunrise seems to be the manic and the sunset is the depressed. And after a while I begin to thing by the manic and the depressed cycle he is talking about Bipolar Disorder. And so the cassette tape is now being compared as well to the cycle. How the cassette plays and repeats, I guess. And then we go back to another common thing from Conor, Arienette. I have not exactly thought about the whole Arienette idea all that much yet, I’m still working on it. But to me I think Arienette is a type of sanity, or safety, maybe. So then he’s asking where the sanity/safety is.

Maybe I took the song too metaphorical or maybe I thought about it too much/too little. Maybe I accepted the bipolar idea to fast and let that control the rest of my thoughts. But I also have to comment on his singing in this song. It also goes along with the theme of the sunrise and the sunset (The manic and the depressed), where he’ll switch from loud to soft; from manic to depressed.