To me this song is about a relationship that is either deteriorating or an on-again/off-again couple. The lyrics suggest that the couple is deciding whether to continue in the relationship or to end it for good.
You left it, I sent it
I want it back
You left it, I sent it
I want it back
(Although his stanza could literally be about sending something back in the mail, perhaps an engagement ring, I think it's about a much more general concept, like love. If you consider the song to be about a failing relationship, it could be the man's last appeal to his significant other that he wants back whatever they lost.)
If I had you here, I'd clip your wings
Snap you up and leave you sprawling on my pin
This plan of mine is oh so very lame
Can't you see the grass is greener where it rains
(The boyfriend/husband points out that if he could, he'd keep his girlfriend with him by clipping her wings so she can't stray. Collectors also pin butterfly and insect specimens. He realizes that this plan is futile, but he wants her to know that despite all of their problems, "the grass is always greener where it rains." Basically something beautiful can come out of their troubles.)
You left, I died,
I went and you cried
You came, I think
But I never really know
I've served my time
I've watched you climb
the wrong incline
But what do I know
(I believe these lyrics suggest the couple has been in this type of rough situation before. "You left, I died. I went, you cried." But they've come back to try again. To me, the phrase, "You came, I think, but I never really know" is sexual. The man is expressing vulnerability by admitting that. The rest of the stanza is about the person realizing they are headed in different directions, more specifically that his partner is either changing or growing more distant. The "incline" in this case is leading her away from him.)
Accept it, Don't let it
Turn the screw
Accept it, And let it
Scream back at you
(This is him trying to tell himself to accept the situation. To not "turn the screw" means to not make a bad situation worse.)
Now this applies both equally to you and I
The only thing we share
is the same sky
These empty metaphors
they're all in vain
Like can't you see the grass is greener where it rains
(The person is trying to accept that they don't have anything to hold each other together anymore. While the person was previously more hopeful in the "grass is greener" metaphor, now he's saying he understands it's all in vain. It appears that this isn't his choice, however. That he's the one who is being left.)
In the garden Snake was a charmin'
And Eve said let's give it a try
Now lead us not into temptation
But no matter how hard I try
When in the garden and
Snake is a charmin'
And Eve says let's give it a try
Eve is the apple of my eye
(The religious nature of this stanza is interesting. Biblically the snake/serpent represents the devil and temptation. In this song I believe the snake represents their relationship, or the promise of better times. They're deciding whether it's worth giving their relationship another try. According to the lyrics, Eve wants to "give it a try." The boyfriend seems like he wants to resist her temptation, as he knows they don't have anything anymore, but "Eve is the apple of [his] eye." When someone is the apple of your eye, you put them above all others. You cherish that person. An interesting twist is the play on words - Eve may be the apple of his eye, but the apple also represents the acceptance of sin in the bible. So he may allow Eve to convince him to give it another shot, even though he knows it will not lead to anything good.)
And I lie behind you
And I cradle you in the palm of me
And I pat your hair down
I think will we sink or swim?
'Cause we could do either on a whim
(Perhaps this scene is after an argument or a tiring discussion about their relationship. He's wondering if they will succeed at being together or not.)
For me this song is beautiful because it seems like nothing has really been resolved. There's no easy happy ending.
To me this song is about a relationship that is either deteriorating or an on-again/off-again couple. The lyrics suggest that the couple is deciding whether to continue in the relationship or to end it for good.
You left it, I sent it I want it back You left it, I sent it I want it back (Although his stanza could literally be about sending something back in the mail, perhaps an engagement ring, I think it's about a much more general concept, like love. If you consider the song to be about a failing relationship, it could be the man's last appeal to his significant other that he wants back whatever they lost.)
If I had you here, I'd clip your wings Snap you up and leave you sprawling on my pin This plan of mine is oh so very lame Can't you see the grass is greener where it rains (The boyfriend/husband points out that if he could, he'd keep his girlfriend with him by clipping her wings so she can't stray. Collectors also pin butterfly and insect specimens. He realizes that this plan is futile, but he wants her to know that despite all of their problems, "the grass is always greener where it rains." Basically something beautiful can come out of their troubles.)
You left, I died, I went and you cried You came, I think But I never really know I've served my time I've watched you climb the wrong incline But what do I know (I believe these lyrics suggest the couple has been in this type of rough situation before. "You left, I died. I went, you cried." But they've come back to try again. To me, the phrase, "You came, I think, but I never really know" is sexual. The man is expressing vulnerability by admitting that. The rest of the stanza is about the person realizing they are headed in different directions, more specifically that his partner is either changing or growing more distant. The "incline" in this case is leading her away from him.)
Accept it, Don't let it Turn the screw Accept it, And let it Scream back at you (This is him trying to tell himself to accept the situation. To not "turn the screw" means to not make a bad situation worse.)
Now this applies both equally to you and I The only thing we share is the same sky These empty metaphors they're all in vain Like can't you see the grass is greener where it rains (The person is trying to accept that they don't have anything to hold each other together anymore. While the person was previously more hopeful in the "grass is greener" metaphor, now he's saying he understands it's all in vain. It appears that this isn't his choice, however. That he's the one who is being left.)
In the garden Snake was a charmin' And Eve said let's give it a try Now lead us not into temptation But no matter how hard I try When in the garden and Snake is a charmin' And Eve says let's give it a try Eve is the apple of my eye (The religious nature of this stanza is interesting. Biblically the snake/serpent represents the devil and temptation. In this song I believe the snake represents their relationship, or the promise of better times. They're deciding whether it's worth giving their relationship another try. According to the lyrics, Eve wants to "give it a try." The boyfriend seems like he wants to resist her temptation, as he knows they don't have anything anymore, but "Eve is the apple of [his] eye." When someone is the apple of your eye, you put them above all others. You cherish that person. An interesting twist is the play on words - Eve may be the apple of his eye, but the apple also represents the acceptance of sin in the bible. So he may allow Eve to convince him to give it another shot, even though he knows it will not lead to anything good.)
And I lie behind you And I cradle you in the palm of me And I pat your hair down I think will we sink or swim? 'Cause we could do either on a whim (Perhaps this scene is after an argument or a tiring discussion about their relationship. He's wondering if they will succeed at being together or not.)
For me this song is beautiful because it seems like nothing has really been resolved. There's no easy happy ending.