To me this song is about falling in love with someone who has been severely mistreated in their past, and how the trauma of that affected this later relationship. The phrase "you were dead by the time that i had found you", used twice to bookend this song, to me first means that this partner was already irreparably harmed by their trauma by the time they met the author, and in the second instance, its a literal phrase where the author couldnt get to this person before they died. "I carried you west to the sea where i could wash you" to me implies wanting to care for them. "Going west" in the american canon implies seeking wealth in reference to the california gold rush, and to wash someone is an act of love and care. The author wanted to fix the harm that the person they love had inflicted on them, and to elevate them to something better. They want to fix them. "You went large until the day they finally found you. They cut out your tongue so you could not scream when you came to", the abused person was vulnerable their whole life, as if they were a fugitive that would inevitibly be caught, using a cold irony in how, in the case of the fugitive, they would deserve to be "caught", while in the case of the abused, the opposite is true. They didnt deserve any of it. This expresses the spite and hatred that the author has for those who abused the person they love. The abuser then figuratively cut out the persons tongue so they could not scream when they came to, meaning that the abused person kept quiet about what happened to them in a way that abuse victims often do. "When you came to" also to me implies that the abuse victim may have not realised the extent of their abuse until later on, perhaps implying child abuse. "You pissed blood, and then they chained you up when you turned blue", in my interpretation, is about how the abused person suffered terrible trauma, and was further mistreated for how they reacted to this trauma, as if being punished for it, deepening their trauma. The image of pissing blood may, if taking the previous lines as implying child abuse, imply something more literal. Again, this could imply something that is also common in victims of abuse in how they are further blamed and mistreated for their trauma. The lines "your body felt just like a backpack/t shirt" to me mean an image of how the author, in this idea of trying to "carry" their loved one to a better life, felt them withering away over time. The song ends on the more literal statement of the abused person being dead, in a remorseful realisation of inevitability when compared to the more figurative expression of the line at the start, leading me to assume that they died by their own hand. So to me, this song is about falling in love with someone who has been harmed so deeply in their past that the author is helpless in preventing a tragic end for them. Which is heartbreaking.
That is a very deep analysis and I get where you’re coming from, but I think this song is about a really hard breakup. Not only moving out of town, far away to try and get a fresh new start but realizing the baggage follows you and running away doesn’t solve any problems(hence the backpack and t-shirt reference)The author is trying to kill this person in his own mind, hiring imaginary hitman to destroy the memories of the one they loved beyond recognition. Very cathartic and heartbreaking simultaneously. The reference of “building a tower to all the nicer things they could of been” is the author lamenting what could of been of the relationship but will never be
You were dead By the time that I had found you Your blood was spilled On the couch where we had first kissed So I carried you west To the sea so I could wash you Your body felt just like a backpack And I don't know What they did to your face And I don't like it You lived large 'Till the day they finally caught you They cut out your tongue So you would not scream When you came to And you pissed blood And then they chained you up When you turned blue Your body felt just like a t-shirt And I wanna build a tower To all the nicer things You could've been But I don't like it You were dead By the time that I had found you
@@michaeldean1330 And Pat The Bunny/Wingnut Dishwasher's Union/Ramshackle Glory/Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains (all one person) and PLEASE check out Ceschi, PLEASE, his split with Pat changed my life. And Ghost Mice, and Defiance, Ohio.
There's terrible people in this world but it doesn't mean there aren't good ones. I hope only for the best of things for you, and for good people to be by your side. :(
This may sound off to some, but it's my own personal interpretation of the song. I feel like he's singing about an ex lover who he finds dead either days or weeks after a nasty break up, reflecting on the good memories they once shared only to see them horribly mutilated and disfigured. And taking their body to the sea to "wash them" or what i figure, to forgive them and move on. And on a little personal tangent, I used to listen to this and think about my ex who had broken my heart a few years ago and left me in a devastated state of mind. And I'd imagine the end of our relationship is almost like stumbling apon the worst imaginable scene of someone you once loved so much only for them to be brutalized and taken away so easily (not that I ever wished death or anything morbid on them, it just left me with terrible heartbreak.)
This song hits home because I walked in on my ex boyfriends suicide days after a bad breakup. I miss the days i listened to this song and didnt relate to it. I have a new relationship now but it feels like a matter of time before im his "backpack"
@@user-xv1cs9mm9dI'm so sorry you had to endure that, I truly hope you're healing and are able to find closure. I wish you the best, and no matter what they were like, I hope they rest easy.
@@Pokey_Puni_ I appreciate your kindness, it genuinely means a lot to me. I'm sorry to of put something that heavy on you. I'm in a better place now since posting my initial comment. I hope you are well and have the support you need around you. Take care.
Nothing is wrong with you, this song is a full, absorbent bed of extreme emotions, absolutely nothing is wrong with you. We all love you, and AJJ certainly loves you too. I hope you are well, friend.
It's funny how a work of art can take on different meanings than what the author intended For me the first verse is about (on a surface level) a woman that he loved found dead. Though there's plenty of metaphors to be found there ("you were dead by the time that I had found you" meaning she'd been dead inside for awhile or the "her" the narrator knew is no longer who she is) The second verse sounds like him addressing the person or people who did that to his love
Yha to me its about a girl he cared about being kidnapped And tortured and killed and him finding her body and reflecting on all she could have been and then carrying her body to the sea to give her a burial as beautiful as he felt she was
This is genuinely one of the most beautiful works of art I've ever heard
It's a song
@@TEKASHI-de1qtthat's why they said "heard" honky
this gives off post-apocalyptic sunset vibes and i love it
💯
What are you actually talking about
this song ripped out my heart and threw it on the ground and stomped it into mush
To me this song is about falling in love with someone who has been severely mistreated in their past, and how the trauma of that affected this later relationship.
The phrase "you were dead by the time that i had found you", used twice to bookend this song, to me first means that this partner was already irreparably harmed by their trauma by the time they met the author, and in the second instance, its a literal phrase where the author couldnt get to this person before they died.
"I carried you west to the sea where i could wash you" to me implies wanting to care for them. "Going west" in the american canon implies seeking wealth in reference to the california gold rush, and to wash someone is an act of love and care. The author wanted to fix the harm that the person they love had inflicted on them, and to elevate them to something better. They want to fix them.
"You went large until the day they finally found you. They cut out your tongue so you could not scream when you came to", the abused person was vulnerable their whole life, as if they were a fugitive that would inevitibly be caught, using a cold irony in how, in the case of the fugitive, they would deserve to be "caught", while in the case of the abused, the opposite is true. They didnt deserve any of it. This expresses the spite and hatred that the author has for those who abused the person they love. The abuser then figuratively cut out the persons tongue so they could not scream when they came to, meaning that the abused person kept quiet about what happened to them in a way that abuse victims often do. "When you came to" also to me implies that the abuse victim may have not realised the extent of their abuse until later on, perhaps implying child abuse.
"You pissed blood, and then they chained you up when you turned blue", in my interpretation, is about how the abused person suffered terrible trauma, and was further mistreated for how they reacted to this trauma, as if being punished for it, deepening their trauma. The image of pissing blood may, if taking the previous lines as implying child abuse, imply something more literal. Again, this could imply something that is also common in victims of abuse in how they are further blamed and mistreated for their trauma.
The lines "your body felt just like a backpack/t shirt" to me mean an image of how the author, in this idea of trying to "carry" their loved one to a better life, felt them withering away over time.
The song ends on the more literal statement of the abused person being dead, in a remorseful realisation of inevitability when compared to the more figurative expression of the line at the start, leading me to assume that they died by their own hand.
So to me, this song is about falling in love with someone who has been harmed so deeply in their past that the author is helpless in preventing a tragic end for them. Which is heartbreaking.
That is a very deep analysis and I get where you’re coming from, but I think this song is about a really hard breakup. Not only moving out of town, far away to try and get a fresh new start but realizing the baggage follows you and running away doesn’t solve any problems(hence the backpack and t-shirt reference)The author is trying to kill this person in his own mind, hiring imaginary hitman to destroy the memories of the one they loved beyond recognition. Very cathartic and heartbreaking simultaneously. The reference of “building a tower to all the nicer things they could of been” is the author lamenting what could of been of the relationship but will never be
this song has always made me sad. but today it makes me special sad
how have i gone so long without knowing about this band holy fuck
You were dead
By the time that I had found you
Your blood was spilled
On the couch where we had first kissed
So I carried you west
To the sea so I could wash you
Your body felt just like a backpack
And I don't know
What they did to your face
And I don't like it
You lived large
'Till the day they finally caught you
They cut out your tongue
So you would not scream
When you came to
And you pissed blood
And then they chained you up
When you turned blue
Your body felt just like a t-shirt
And I wanna build a tower
To all the nicer things
You could've been
But I don't like it
You were dead
By the time that I had found you
Song makes me reflect on the hiv epidemic.
The idea of this being a lover giving his dead partner is just heart wrenching
imma like every damn video, I found the goldmine of music that really speaks to me!! you've made my day, my week, and possibly my year. THANK YOU!!!!
Welcome to the family! So thankful they have so many songs because I feel this way too. Never gets old 🖤
Check out the mountain goats
@@michaeldean1330 And Pat The Bunny/Wingnut Dishwasher's Union/Ramshackle Glory/Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains (all one person) and PLEASE check out Ceschi, PLEASE, his split with Pat changed my life. And Ghost Mice, and Defiance, Ohio.
Hi welcome to the comment section and if you see reading this I hope your having a good day and that your drinking water. stay hydrated
Thank you. Just drank some water.
@@jacobhogan8598 good my friend keep safe
hello, i love you.
thank you very much, you reminded me that my throat's been aching and i need some water. thank you
Those comments are surprisingly wholesome especially looking what stuff we're under.
oyasumi punpun
sometimes i’m afraid i exist to be mistreated by people i love
Same
I love you
There's terrible people in this world but it doesn't mean there aren't good ones. I hope only for the best of things for you, and for good people to be by your side. :(
I feel you there
This may sound off to some, but it's my own personal interpretation of the song.
I feel like he's singing about an ex lover who he finds dead either days or weeks after a nasty break up, reflecting on the good memories they once shared only to see them horribly mutilated and disfigured. And taking their body to the sea to "wash them" or what i figure, to forgive them and move on.
And on a little personal tangent, I used to listen to this and think about my ex who had broken my heart a few years ago and left me in a devastated state of mind. And I'd imagine the end of our relationship is almost like stumbling apon the worst imaginable scene of someone you once loved so much only for them to be brutalized and taken away so easily (not that I ever wished death or anything morbid on them, it just left me with terrible heartbreak.)
This song hits home because I walked in on my ex boyfriends suicide days after a bad breakup. I miss the days i listened to this song and didnt relate to it.
I have a new relationship now but it feels like a matter of time before im his "backpack"
@@user-xv1cs9mm9dI'm so sorry you had to endure that, I truly hope you're healing and are able to find closure. I wish you the best, and no matter what they were like, I hope they rest easy.
@@Pokey_Puni_ I appreciate your kindness, it genuinely means a lot to me. I'm sorry to of put something that heavy on you. I'm in a better place now since posting my initial comment. I hope you are well and have the support you need around you. Take care.
for me it makes me think of my brothers corpse on the bathroom floor after an OD, the one I didn't save him from
this is the only song that's ever made me cry. like full on ugly sobbing snot everywhere etc etc etc. something's wrong with me
Nothing is wrong with you, this song is a full, absorbent bed of extreme emotions, absolutely nothing is wrong with you. We all love you, and AJJ certainly loves you too. I hope you are well, friend.
You just have emotions, nothing wrong keep listening and living!!
never gets old
love it
Seen them twice. Last show they played this year in SD.
Gives off Breaking Bad vibes.
Damn
Llegué por un amv de Oyasumi Pun Pun y me puse a escuchar el álbum, hermoso
but is corn a fruit or summin
yes, corn is a fruit. I love you
It's a grain
it’s got the juice
Yo what does this song mean? I dont think it’s literal, sean doesnt seem like the type to deal in dead bodies
He said in some interview that he just wanted a song that resembled an action movie.
@@Im.Really.Me.I.Pinky.Promise oh dope
It's funny how a work of art can take on different meanings than what the author intended
For me the first verse is about (on a surface level) a woman that he loved found dead. Though there's plenty of metaphors to be found there ("you were dead by the time that I had found you" meaning she'd been dead inside for awhile or the "her" the narrator knew is no longer who she is)
The second verse sounds like him addressing the person or people who did that to his love
Yha to me its about a girl he cared about being kidnapped And tortured and killed and him finding her body and reflecting on all she could have been and then carrying her body to the sea to give her a burial as beautiful as he felt she was
hey man i thin k this song is about die hard like the bruece willis die hrd
Saddest song he's ever written, am I right?
I think bad bad things is a bit sadder.
A mentally chalanged person torturing his family and killing himself is pretty sad.
El principito and we're all gonna die are close contenders imo.
Ur body fell just like a BACKPACK 🎒
0:24, 0:50
But I don't like it is the best line