It's interesting that most people interpret these lyrics in a primarily romantic light, because I've always seen it as outlining the typical, torturous existential crisis: the speaker is struggling to accept the shortness of life and the eventual meaninglessness of it all. He's grasping onto the significance with dear life; that's the tremble in this man's voice. But the dynamic doesn't end there; it's rather ambivalent. Actual music-wise, the fluctuation in tempo and intensity really hint at Conor's quixotic attitude and frustration at the time of writing. He goes from "[watching] it all dissolve into a single second" and feeling quite dire to preaching to others that "[people are] here and then [they are] gone," as if he came to the conclusion without struggle. The cynicism is at its peak in the refraining periods; that's where all the bitter "I believe that..." lines are.
My favorite has always been:
"But as for me, I'm coming to the final chapter
I read all of the pages and there's still no answer
Only all that was before I know must soon come after
That's the only way it can be."
The "final chapter" is in the book of wisdom and ultimate truth. The writer is complaining that he's been through all he can go through, "and there's still no answer," meaning an answer does not exist. The next lines, I think, allude to the life cycle of humans. The average person in the United States, by their time of death, may very well learn to walk twice, learn how to speak again or simply how to manage wearing diapers. So, no matter how many great things may occur in life, it all just amounts to, first, a "a single second" once we are soon to die, and now "a mirror" - everything that happens is only a reflection of one's self. We reap what we sow, and the speaker is frustrated because instead of spending time actually improving his life he sits around whining about the nature of the world: "...I still ended up becoming something other than what I planned to be."
Ultimately, some of the best, painfully infectious Bright Eyes lyrics ever. Some equivalents would be Lua, You! Will. and Bowl of Oranges.
It's interesting that most people interpret these lyrics in a primarily romantic light, because I've always seen it as outlining the typical, torturous existential crisis: the speaker is struggling to accept the shortness of life and the eventual meaninglessness of it all. He's grasping onto the significance with dear life; that's the tremble in this man's voice. But the dynamic doesn't end there; it's rather ambivalent. Actual music-wise, the fluctuation in tempo and intensity really hint at Conor's quixotic attitude and frustration at the time of writing. He goes from "[watching] it all dissolve into a single second" and feeling quite dire to preaching to others that "[people are] here and then [they are] gone," as if he came to the conclusion without struggle. The cynicism is at its peak in the refraining periods; that's where all the bitter "I believe that..." lines are.
My favorite has always been:
"But as for me, I'm coming to the final chapter I read all of the pages and there's still no answer Only all that was before I know must soon come after That's the only way it can be."
The "final chapter" is in the book of wisdom and ultimate truth. The writer is complaining that he's been through all he can go through, "and there's still no answer," meaning an answer does not exist. The next lines, I think, allude to the life cycle of humans. The average person in the United States, by their time of death, may very well learn to walk twice, learn how to speak again or simply how to manage wearing diapers. So, no matter how many great things may occur in life, it all just amounts to, first, a "a single second" once we are soon to die, and now "a mirror" - everything that happens is only a reflection of one's self. We reap what we sow, and the speaker is frustrated because instead of spending time actually improving his life he sits around whining about the nature of the world: "...I still ended up becoming something other than what I planned to be."
Ultimately, some of the best, painfully infectious Bright Eyes lyrics ever. Some equivalents would be Lua, You! Will. and Bowl of Oranges.