My god, how has no one commented such an incredible and beautiful song? Well, here's my interpretation.
I think it's about realizing all the potential of the past is now gone, that what has happened has happened and what has not has not. "Our lives are buried in snow" is about the stillness and coldness of life and inability to move, now that the snow has fallen. The most important part of the metaphor, I feel, is the temporality of the snow. Life was not always like this, it took time and the coming of winter. This is supported by the third stanza, which talks about winter having stolen the diamonds, leaving gaping holes. I take this to mean the onset of time and age (winter) has taken away the potentials of life and youth (diamonds). The way night and morning work into this is that morning represents the epiphany, the recognition of the state of life. The night is when life is played out, and dawn comes slowly as recognition of what life has been.
The meaning of the phrase "Some hearts are ghosts settling down in dark waters / Just as silt grows heavy and drowns with the stones" seems pretty clear-cut, and I think supports my interpretation (thematically speaking): we find love and someone to "settle down with" as blindly as we go about the rest of our lives; we can't know where we'll be in 30 years and whether committing the rest of our lives to someone is a good idea and what it will bring us. We don't settle down with someone because we know the rest of our lives will be great, because we can't have that knowledge; we "grow heavy" with time, we inevitably slow down our movement and latch onto something in the darkness, even though we can't know what it'll be down the road.
About the phrase "I've known mornings / white as diamonds," assuming my interpretation thus far is correct, the dawn of recognition and epiphany has brought a kind of hope like that in the potential of youth.
Let me know what you think of my interpretation, what you think I got wrong, etc. I'd love to hear it :)
My god, how has no one commented such an incredible and beautiful song? Well, here's my interpretation.
I think it's about realizing all the potential of the past is now gone, that what has happened has happened and what has not has not. "Our lives are buried in snow" is about the stillness and coldness of life and inability to move, now that the snow has fallen. The most important part of the metaphor, I feel, is the temporality of the snow. Life was not always like this, it took time and the coming of winter. This is supported by the third stanza, which talks about winter having stolen the diamonds, leaving gaping holes. I take this to mean the onset of time and age (winter) has taken away the potentials of life and youth (diamonds). The way night and morning work into this is that morning represents the epiphany, the recognition of the state of life. The night is when life is played out, and dawn comes slowly as recognition of what life has been.
The meaning of the phrase "Some hearts are ghosts settling down in dark waters / Just as silt grows heavy and drowns with the stones" seems pretty clear-cut, and I think supports my interpretation (thematically speaking): we find love and someone to "settle down with" as blindly as we go about the rest of our lives; we can't know where we'll be in 30 years and whether committing the rest of our lives to someone is a good idea and what it will bring us. We don't settle down with someone because we know the rest of our lives will be great, because we can't have that knowledge; we "grow heavy" with time, we inevitably slow down our movement and latch onto something in the darkness, even though we can't know what it'll be down the road.
About the phrase "I've known mornings / white as diamonds," assuming my interpretation thus far is correct, the dawn of recognition and epiphany has brought a kind of hope like that in the potential of youth.
Let me know what you think of my interpretation, what you think I got wrong, etc. I'd love to hear it :)