I don't like the few interpretations that I've read about this song.
To me (maybe because my grandfather had just passed away when i listened to this and realized what it was), it's about death.
The dogs coming to his father but being scared away... the father got sick or maybe there was just the threat of death in the family, but the person got better and that caused the dogs (death) to be held off.
Death took his dog away. Death then took his sister away, and because the mother cries "blood dust" it makes me feel like the sister was miscarried. The blood dust in this case would be ... from the uterus. Dust because the child has died. This is my favorite part of my interpretation because I've been trying to define and give meaning to the blood dust since I first heard this song.
The idea of the dogs being death, or perhaps God or angels of death (whatever) removing people, is ground in the last little stanzas. They float up to the sky to receive their rewards for having allowed the folks to die or for taking them up into the sky or what have you.
I don't like the few interpretations that I've read about this song.
To me (maybe because my grandfather had just passed away when i listened to this and realized what it was), it's about death.
The dogs coming to his father but being scared away... the father got sick or maybe there was just the threat of death in the family, but the person got better and that caused the dogs (death) to be held off. Death took his dog away. Death then took his sister away, and because the mother cries "blood dust" it makes me feel like the sister was miscarried. The blood dust in this case would be ... from the uterus. Dust because the child has died. This is my favorite part of my interpretation because I've been trying to define and give meaning to the blood dust since I first heard this song. The idea of the dogs being death, or perhaps God or angels of death (whatever) removing people, is ground in the last little stanzas. They float up to the sky to receive their rewards for having allowed the folks to die or for taking them up into the sky or what have you.
you got it. this is just what i thought and im glad you described it as well as you did.
you got it. this is just what i thought and im glad you described it as well as you did.