You can listen to this song on my "My Music" page. Here are the lyrics from songmeanings.com, with a few edits recommended in their forum comments:
Of all the churning random hearts
Under the sun
Eventually fading into night,
These two are opening now
As we lie, I touch you
Under fuller light.
Girl, if you're a seascape
I'm a listing boat, for the thing carries every hope.
I invest in a single lie.
The choice is yours to be loved
Come away from an emptier boat.
'Cause when the dead moon
Rises again
We've no time to start a protocol
To hem us in.
And when the dog slides
Underneath a train,
There's no cry, no use to searching for
the mutt's remains.
Throw all consequence aside
The chill aspire, people set alight.
Of all the intersecting lines in the sand
I routed a labyrinth to your lap.
I never used a map sliding off the land
On an incidental tide,
And along the way you know, they try
They try.
And we got sea legs
And we're off tonight
Can I've that to which they've no right?
You belong to a simpler time
I'm a victim to the impact of these words,
And this rhyme.
'Cause when that dead moon
Rises again
We've no time to start a protocol
To have us in.
And when the dog slides,
Open the door, and where'd she go?
There's no time, no use to searching for
The mutts remains.
Throw consequence aside
And the chill aspire, people set alight.
Leave it to me to choose the weirdest song lyrics I've ever heard to interpret for my first blog post. But this is one of my most favorite songs in the world, so I am welcoming the challenge. It appears that a lot of people see this album as a whole story, which is interesting. I love albums like that, but never listened to this one (Wincing the Night Away) in that context.
On its own, though, this song sounds to me like a guy is trying to get this girl to leave her current dude for him. I think her current dude is possibly abusive, or the narrating guy is at least is trying to convince her that his love is better. He wants her to run away with him.
James Mercer (lead singer) is speaking of "churning random hearts under the sun, eventually fading into night," referring to people who are unhappy with their current lovers and looking for other options, but still going home to them at night.
This comes up again in the chorus. The "dead moon" is the woman's current dude. When she goes back to him, they part further from making or executing a plan for them to run away together. Then, "when the dog slides underneath the train..." is describing how, when her guy comes after them looking for her, she will not have to deal with seeing his pain. They will be gone, and he will be history. This is even clearer in the second chorus, when it says, "open the door and where'd she go?"
"Throw all consequence aside, the chill aspire, people set alight" = people do this all the time. People do harsh things and move on. It's life.
In the next verse, "Of all the intersecting lines in the sand..." he says only his heart is what led him to her. Not by following some silly cookie-cutter thing like everyone else does. Even though that is what everyone always wanted him to do. Maybe, in real-life terms, he is referring to, perhaps people trying to set him up on dates or join some internet dating thing. He found her by faith or fate, not coincidence. He knew what he was looking for and he found her.
"We've got sea legs," the name of the entire song. A term of encouragement. Mercer is telling her they are strong together, they will make it. They will get through the rough part and it will be smooth sailing. "You belong to a simpler time." He sees her as pure in spirit. And in this verse, he is appalled at the ways that she is treated in her world and wants to take her away from it. He knows it is a crazy idea, though. Her dude might follow them and come after her, but Mercer, or the narrator, would give his life for her. "I'm a victim to the impact of these words."
In the beginning of the song, the ninth line is, "I invest in a single lie." That lie is their sea legs. He knows he needs to take her away and he needs to believe they can make it through in order to save her. In reality though, he is not so sure. But he doesn't let her know that.
