Something struck me immediately upon listening to this song for the first time: It sounds like, for one of the only times in Davy's repertoire, two distinct voices are interacting in the same song.

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It may sound like two parallel trains of thought, but I am convinced that they are two distinct entities, perhaps personality facets, or people outright. They are either incapable or unwilling to talk about the same thing, and that is what creates the face-value confusion about what the speakers are actually referring to.

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Regardless of that, it appears the battle that was their relationship is over. The speaker obviously wishes things were different, but in the very last line wonders what would become of him if things hadn't been the way they were. Perhaps - if they'd been normal. But how can we get to the bottom of what the subject matter actually is?

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Davy often drew lyrical inspiration from a mood he knew a song would have, then an image evoking that mood would occur to him (or he would see it while out and about) - he would notoriously leave songs on the shelf until he found that image or idea that accurately represented the "soul" of the song. The "shoebox chapel" and "spots of still dust" were almost certainly sights Davy beheld while this song was bandied about in his head.

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And what mood do those evoke? The song would seem to suggest loneliness, or the regret of days gone by. After all, a "shoebox" chapel hardly sounds like it has all of its walls at right angles still, and dust implies a lengthy passage of time without activity. The concept of "outgrowing lullabies", and "sorrowing chimes" at daybreak seem to prove this theory.

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Yet, I wonder why Davy chose "sorrowing" instead of "sorrowful." At first glance, it would seem to indicate a present or immanent malaise, instead of a former one, or the memory of one. Perhaps the speaker knows the malaise will follow them into the future, or even all their life? Indeed, the various scenes that are set by the main speaker seem to conjure up an itinerant, going hither and thither throughout life - to places familiar and unfamiliar, haunted by the other speaker, or something it represents.

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Downstream of the lyrics, the arrangement echoes these themes as well. Once the primary voice is able to begin a line on its own, in the choruses, the tone of the piece significantly brightens. But Frier's snares are lagging in the chorus, as if still weighed down by the reality they must eventually return to. If that is the case, then perhaps the timing of the snares tightening up for the final, wordless coda symbolize freedom? Or security?

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It all seems terribly morose, for as happy as the choruses sound. There is a distinct falling motion in the voicing of the chords, melody, and harmony, at the end of every phrase. Only the light, chugging guitar plays a run that ascends with any permanence - though this is likely a simply arrangement/mixing choice, and has no bearing on thematic elements at all.

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★★★★☆