Was revisting this album recently, and prior to having bought it in '05, I'd never really dealt with loss before as an adult. Since then, well, a lot has happened, including a scene recounted in the song.
I have no interpretation to offer, since I think the song is experiential and thus, too, are my comments. A line that guts me every time, in addition to the ones you've all noted, is that "it stung like a violent wind that our memories depend on a faulty camera in our minds..."
The song is so delicately balanced as a composition, as melody and prosity; the phrasing of the piano creates an almost nauseating urgency hidden by its beauty and then you are destroyed fully by the lyrics - the expression of the crushing reality and numbing sorrow already present, plus the fact that our memories fade and change. In effect, he acknowledges that as horrible as the scene before him is, the implications are foreever: because of our memories, we will be losing your loved ones until our own end. It's like an existential piling on.
Then of course there's his subtle question about the breadth and richness of our own lives: who will be there to smell the piss and 409 for us?
Was revisting this album recently, and prior to having bought it in '05, I'd never really dealt with loss before as an adult. Since then, well, a lot has happened, including a scene recounted in the song.
I have no interpretation to offer, since I think the song is experiential and thus, too, are my comments. A line that guts me every time, in addition to the ones you've all noted, is that "it stung like a violent wind that our memories depend on a faulty camera in our minds..."
The song is so delicately balanced as a composition, as melody and prosity; the phrasing of the piano creates an almost nauseating urgency hidden by its beauty and then you are destroyed fully by the lyrics - the expression of the crushing reality and numbing sorrow already present, plus the fact that our memories fade and change. In effect, he acknowledges that as horrible as the scene before him is, the implications are foreever: because of our memories, we will be losing your loved ones until our own end. It's like an existential piling on.
Then of course there's his subtle question about the breadth and richness of our own lives: who will be there to smell the piss and 409 for us?
Brilliant.
Your third paragraph is absolutely perfect and brought me to tears. Thank you.
Your third paragraph is absolutely perfect and brought me to tears. Thank you.
Spot on, especially the description of the piano. I always thought it felt rushed, kind of panicky, and the loop makes it feel never ending.
Spot on, especially the description of the piano. I always thought it felt rushed, kind of panicky, and the loop makes it feel never ending.