This song is absolutely one of my favorites on The Shepherd's Dog, probably right after Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car and Boy With A Coin.
When I hear this song it sounds honestly kind of menacing/scorning or sarcastic in a way. The song contrasts Cains actions to those of Abel (Although the examples in the song are not in any way related to those in the Bible). The comparisons show Cain as being very complex and stubborn (his lines are very long and descriptive, while Abel's are only a few words).
While Cain is bartering over a lame mule, Abel is getting a phone.
When Cain gets a knife (he's stressing over Abel's actions, wanting to kill him), Abel is chilling out and buying herb.
When Adam is praying, Cain is distracted by a brawl with two cats, while Abel focuses on his father's prayer.
Albeit those lines might not be intended for literal interpretation, they make sense like that, portraying Cain as morally lacking and Abel being a better more virtuous person.
This song also mentions:
And even the last of the blue-eyed babies know
And even the last of the brown-eyed babies see
And even the last of the black-eyed babies say
While there have been many posts indicating how the eye color changes from blue to brown to black (which I personally see as degrading from more innocent to less innocent), the ending of each sentence hasn't been brought up yet. It changes from know to see to say.
To me this represents:
knowing (instinct, having faith)
seeing (only observing, then remembering what you saw, doesn't require faith)
and saying (Just repeating what you have seen or heard, doesn't require observation or faith).
as degrading, just like the eye color idea. By the way I only say "degrading" because the color becomes darker, I don't have a problem with brown eyes :).
Overall this song is amazing and Sam's voice really sounds amazing in the song!
Viva la vida de Iron & Wine!
This song is absolutely one of my favorites on The Shepherd's Dog, probably right after Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car and Boy With A Coin.
When I hear this song it sounds honestly kind of menacing/scorning or sarcastic in a way. The song contrasts Cains actions to those of Abel (Although the examples in the song are not in any way related to those in the Bible). The comparisons show Cain as being very complex and stubborn (his lines are very long and descriptive, while Abel's are only a few words).
While Cain is bartering over a lame mule, Abel is getting a phone.
When Cain gets a knife (he's stressing over Abel's actions, wanting to kill him), Abel is chilling out and buying herb.
When Adam is praying, Cain is distracted by a brawl with two cats, while Abel focuses on his father's prayer.
Albeit those lines might not be intended for literal interpretation, they make sense like that, portraying Cain as morally lacking and Abel being a better more virtuous person.
This song also mentions:
While there have been many posts indicating how the eye color changes from blue to brown to black (which I personally see as degrading from more innocent to less innocent), the ending of each sentence hasn't been brought up yet. It changes from know to see to say.
To me this represents: knowing (instinct, having faith) seeing (only observing, then remembering what you saw, doesn't require faith) and saying (Just repeating what you have seen or heard, doesn't require observation or faith). as degrading, just like the eye color idea. By the way I only say "degrading" because the color becomes darker, I don't have a problem with brown eyes :).
Overall this song is amazing and Sam's voice really sounds amazing in the song! Viva la vida de Iron & Wine!
-Bryan