I recently had an experience that resonated with this song. It might not be the "meaning" that Mr. Downie had in mind, but it's how I relate to the song. I found myself in a relationship (spit on a lighthouse) which one day started to fail because of my own personal problems (four thousand men died in the water) and this caused pain for my partner (five hundred more). I decided the best thing for both of us was for me to end the relationship and focus on myself. But, this was very hard to do (I kicked my partner off my pantlegs and headed for home).
Breaking up with someone makes you feel selfish, because you have to hurt a person you care about. It's an experience you want to repress. When I talk about the experience with my former partner, the perfect metaphor is the one Downie states in his closing lines: it's "as faint a sound in my memory as those fingernails scratching on my hull."
I recently had an experience that resonated with this song. It might not be the "meaning" that Mr. Downie had in mind, but it's how I relate to the song. I found myself in a relationship (spit on a lighthouse) which one day started to fail because of my own personal problems (four thousand men died in the water) and this caused pain for my partner (five hundred more). I decided the best thing for both of us was for me to end the relationship and focus on myself. But, this was very hard to do (I kicked my partner off my pantlegs and headed for home).
Breaking up with someone makes you feel selfish, because you have to hurt a person you care about. It's an experience you want to repress. When I talk about the experience with my former partner, the perfect metaphor is the one Downie states in his closing lines: it's "as faint a sound in my memory as those fingernails scratching on my hull."