Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie

That means no where I come from

(This first sentence seems to be the theme of the entire song; the realization that a relationship is ending. I'd call this part a response to the feeling of being rejected, or perhaps to being regarded without passion over time; though I think it's a snapping comeback to an uncommitted lover who speaks in maybes, "where [SHE] comes from" meaning "from a higher understanding", only sassier.)

I am cold, out waiting for the day to come

(she doesn't take this omen of failure lightly so she waits bitterly, she waits restlessly, perhaps even a little terrified but still unsheltered from that inevitable final page)

I chew my lips, and I scratch my nose, feels so good to be a rose

(She entertains her anxious self, these are the things you do when you're left to your thoughts for hours at a time [when you're as still as a flower]. The rose reference is preempting the idea of no longer being held, noting the undisputed beauty of a thing covered in thorns. She is consoling the part of herself that's going to miss the affection that comes from a treasured lover. Of course it feels good to be a rose, honey)

Oh don't, don't you lift me up like I'm that shy, no no no no no, just give it up

(The ball has dropped, at this point I see her crumbling and trying not to crumble at the same time. I see her refusing the sympathy hug they always try to give after you get dumped. It hurts, but nobody prefers that god-awful pity.)

There are bats all dissolving in a row into the wishy-washy dark that cannot let go

(Here is an image of something disappearing into the distance. Once again, the reference of bats specifically is preempting the time change from night to day [bats being nocturnal something must be up, bedtime maybe?]. The view has her hypnotized. She is deliriously unhappy to see this person leave but she can not look away.)

and I cannot let go, so I thank the lord and I thank his sword though it be mincing up the morning, slightly bored

(Here is where it gets a little complex... her thoughts are clearly stuck on what has happened but it's worse than sadness, she is resorting to bargaining via prayer, sarcastically perhaps because she practically blames Him before she praises Him by referencing his effortless cruelty. I relate. I hate that I relate but I relate.)

O, morning without warning like a hole and I watch you go

(The light of the sunrise catches her off guard. She attributes a weightless feeling to her last glimpse of his departure from her life. [You would too.] It's probably comparable to something like standing on a trap door as it opens below you, having your familiar perspectives drastically ripped away from you).

There are some mornings when the sky looks like a road

(This isn't a fork in a road she's already travelling. This is a brand new road laid out before her, like it or not. I call this road "The Alone Again Road". She is at the very beginning of one of these roads. The sky probably looks like other things on other occasions too.)

There are some dragons who were built to have and hold

(Now I imagine she is again coming to her own rescue with positive reinforcement. Maybe I'm biased because I have a stuffed animal dragon named Snarl and I love him. But I still think this is a variation of the old "fish on the sea" expression... only more unique because of the actual unlikelyhood of there being a dragon. Period. Could it just mean that there ARE people out there who want commitment?)

And some machines are dropped from great heights lovingly

(I think of the vague imagery of "machines" as being a metaphor for technology in general. I think dropping them from "great heights" is an act of destruction. I think she admires people who value nature, and as much as it seems out of place.. it's the adverb "lovingly" that brings us back. What I take from this line is that there are people who would sacrifice their modern trinkets for love.)

and some great bellies ache with many bumblebees and they sting so terribly

(In this line I hear more about the types of people who exist out there as she continues to console. People with great bellies have probably stomached a lot of terrible things but that doesn't mean they don't suffer in their own hidden ways just the same.)

I do as I please. Now I'm on my knees. Your skin is something that I stir into my tea

(These first two sentences hit me like a proverb: first you act selfishly, then you pay a price. I picture her sobbing as she literally collapses and begins begging, wishing she had done things differently. Her vocal argument is that this person's flesh was something she took pleasure in regularly. This person is what sweetened her life.)

And I am watching you and you are starry, starry, starry

(I know she keeps telling us that she can't let go [or even look away] like it's a chorus... but this time it really cuts deep. Think of being drawn to something as far away as a starry night. And how depressing it is to lose yourself in something you can never touch.)

and I'm tumbling down, and I check a frown.

(Aha! Here she even admits her devastation, so strong that she finishes the rest of the song from the ground. These words are all crying words but she's a trooper. She presses on.)

Well, just look around, it's why I love this town

(Re-read almost any part of the song so far, her very rich surroundings help to keep her in check now that she's eating dirt. Life everywhere, a very vocal sky above and an ocean beach nearby... I love this town too!)

just see me serenaded hourly! celebrated sourly! dedicated dourly;

(Maybe she's still surveying her surroundings.. a cuckoo clock might be something that serenades her hourly, something citrus paired with something alcoholic could help her be celebrated sourly... and, aww... being in love with someone who's left for good can easily leave anyone dedicated dourly.)

waltzing with the open sea: Clam, crab, cockle, cowrie

(Here it is, a crabby shellfish parade for which the song is named. Happy, unnoticed creatures that get along just wonderfully being small and living alone. How true.. how awesome.. how, ok it's terribly dark and sad to compare oneself to seafood in the midst of the already lowered self-esteem from recent betrayal. But the tears aren't far.)

will you just look at me?

(This one kills me. A prayer of desperation, of panic, and of such little gain even if answered. Can you imagine drowning [in sorrow] and all you ask for is someone to glance over? It's petty, it's meek, it's... understandable attention-mongering. However, wanting to be noticed should not be mocked. On a scale versus nothing, validation wins every time. Then again, you know what they say about giving cookies to mice.)

Woh whoa oh oh woh oooh, ooh oh woh oooh, ooh oh woh oooh

(Told ya the waterworks were coming. Go on girl, sing those tears out.)

(This song rips my heart out. But let me finish by saying that I could have interpreted this song a few other ways too: "saying goodbye to someone who is dying", "re-emerging from a reclusive sabbatical", "subtle examples of discovering God in nature"... but, because of this indeterminate versatility, it suits me any day of the week. And I relate to that too.)