anonymous
November 27th, 2008 03:19PM
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I think this song is a take on a Cinderella type story, where the setting is a dusty, desert town (like Sam's Town) in 1961.
There are two lyrics that catch my attention in this song, 1.) "She said she'd always knew he'd come around." and 2.) "Out here the good girls die."
1.) It's basically saying that this girl had always liked this guy, but he never liked her back. Yet she always had faith that one day it would work out, basically that he'd realize he loved her and come around to his senses, and he did.
2.) It's not literally that the good girls die, they're all still alive. What they're saying is that the good girls die like on the inside. They're the ones that get their hearts broken time and time again by the guys, and always feel like dying because the right guy never seems to come along or he doesn't seem to want her.
That's my interpretation. It's such a GREAT song!
anonymous
September 10th, 2009 06:15PM
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Hey everyone,
This song is a difficult one to interpret mainly because of all the metaphor's that he uses throughout the song but I think I have figured most of it out.
The first part of the song from the beginning to "I don't believe you" is all about his parents meeting and his own problems with his father. He is describing how his mother fell in love with his father because at that time he looked like she wanted him to and he serenaded her with the song "Blue River." So when he asks "Blue River what'd you do to me?" he is saying that if it were not for that song, he would have a better father.
The second part, I believe, is about his life at home. He looked at his mother as this beautiful woman that just needs a break from this like. The lines about the devil, are referring to him realizing that there was going to be a big fight coming between his parents. He turned the other way while they were fighting because at his young age he couldn't do much but, he had faith that his mother(the pawn) would win the fight.
The third part is about his father's conversion to the Mormon church and becoming a better person. His mother states she knew this day was coming. He continues on stating how is mother begins to act like nothing was ever wrong and the past years never existed. The song then goes into his view on his father's new beliefs. "Go gives us hope but we still fear we don't know" He thinks that God is there to give people hope but deep inside they fear they are wrong. "The mind is poison." Likely refers to the fact that his father thinks these thoughts are not pure. "Castles in the sky, sit stranded, vandelized. The drawbridge is closing." This could mean many things but I think that this is a reference to his mother's dreams. They have been torn at and the "drawbridge" to those dreams is not going to be open much longer. His mother is getting to the point of no return. This is probably him talking about their move to Utah
Yet again after stating his mother needs a break, he sings about the trouble he foresees. The lines leading up to "The Valley of the Great Divide", probably refers to him leaving everything behind and running away to live with his aunt back home in Nevada(home of the great divide mountains).
The next set of lines is describing Nevada as a horrible place where it does not snow, dreams are forgotten, and plants don't grow. Most importantly, it is the place where "good girls die." He believes that this is where his mother began to die when she met his father.
The final verse is the most touching and saddest of them. He sees his mom is closer to death. He is begging her not to go because everyone still needs her here. "Is there still magic in the midnight sun?" Could be a reference to her brown eyes. He is asking if she still has life(magic) in her eyes or if she left that spark of like in the eyes of his father back when he wooed her with his singing back in Nevada.
All of this is just opinion and some of the information may not be as accurate as I think it is. Hope everyone likes this look at it though. :-)
anonymous
March 9th, 2010 01:19PM
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The Dustland fairytale beginning
Just another white trash county kiss in '61
Long brown hair and foolish eyes
He looked just like you'd want him to
Some kind of slick chrome american prince
A blue jean serenade
Moon river what'd you do to me
I don't believe you
(He talks about his mother and father meeting and their first kiss. He says that his mother was a fool for falling for him at the time as, from Brandon's own words, his father wasn't the best guy to fall for)
Saw Cinderella in a party dress,
But She was looking for a night gown
I saw the devil wrapping up his hands,
He's getting ready for the show down
I saw the minute that I turned away
I got my money on a pawn tonight
(As if he's watching them meet - he see's that his mother is looking for somebody to love and how his dad (the devil) is getting ready to be that person. He turned around and doesn't want to know what happened next)
Change came in disguise of revelation
Set his soul on fire
She says she always knew he'd come around
And the decades disappear like sinking ships,
But we persevere
God gives us hope
But we still fear
We don't know
Your mind is poison
Castles in the sky, sit stranded, vandalize
The drawbridge is closing
(His father finally saw sense, and gave up alcohol as he was an alcoholic and he joined the Mormon Church. It took them decades to sort everything out, but they persevered and got somewhere because God gave them hope. He still believes that his dad's mind has poison in it but is trying to get rid of it. The castles (the bottles of drink) are now stranded and vandalised as no one is touching them. That chapter is closing)
Saw cinderella in a party dress,
But she was looking for a night gown
I saw the devil wrapping up his hands,
Hes getting ready for the show down
I saw the ending where they turned the page
I threw my money and I ran away
Straight to the valley of the great divide
(Partly the same reason as before. He saw the relationship ending before anyone else did. So he ran away from his home in Utah and went to Nevada - Valley of the Great Divide)
Out where the dreams all hide
Out where the wind don't blow
Out here the good girls die
And the sky won't snow
Out here the birds don't sing
Out here the fields don't grow
Out here the bells don't ring
Out here the bells don't ring
Out here the good girls die
(He wishes he'd stayed in Utah because everything in Nevada is bad, nothing good happens to the right people.)
Now, cinderella don't you go to sleep
It's such a bitter form of refuge
Why don't you know the kingdoms under siege
And everybody needs you?
Is there still magic in the midnight sun?
Or did you leave it back in sixty-one?
In the cadence of the young mans eyes
Out where the dreams all hide
(He finds out that his mum has cancer and is dying and it's such a bitter way to die. He telling her that she can't leave them because everybody needs her. He asks if there is any life left in her or did she leave that back when his mother and father met)
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