<<Any kind of stanza by stanza explanation
would be really welcome.>>
OK Matt...here's a shot at it, and I'll preface it by saying that I'm NOT an
electrician, thankfully my incompetence as a handyman has not brought about
my premature demise! (Especially as my next of kin doesn't have my list of
"funeral songs"):~)
<<The Minus is loveless
He talks to the land
And the leaves fall
And the pond over-ices>>
Sounds like she's describing the other half of the relationship, how he seems
to have some kind of earthly "power", but is "loveless" and doesn't have the
same skills in the romance department.
<<She don't know the system Plus
She don't understand
She's got all the wrong fuses and splices
She's not going to fix it up
Too easy>>
She describes him as a "Minus", and she's the "Plus", that is that they are
opposites. (Conducting electricity requires a positive/plus charge as well as
a negative/minus charge, like on transistor or car batteries). The two
opposing forces have to be fused to generate electricity, and she says her
"fuses and splices" are all wrong; that is she can't properly connect with
him.
<<The masking tape tangles
It's sticky and black>>
Like Catherine said, this would be electrical tape, used to protect or bind
wires. Another metaphor for her failure to make her relationship succeed.
<<And the copper
Proud headed Queen Lizzie
Conducts little charges
That don't get charged back>>
Like Catherine said, this refers to a Canadian penny, with Queen Elizabeth
(Lizzie)'s picture on it. The copper used as a temporary fuse, again, not
doing the job to fix the problem.
<<Well the technical manual's busy
She's not going to fix it up too easy>>
Here's an interesting metaphor...who's her "technical manual"? Myrtle, her
mother? Or a close friend? Or a professional therapist? Regardless of who it
is specifically, the person is not too receptive to being the resource that
Joni hopes she would be.
<<And she holds out her flashlight
And she shines it on me
She wants me to tell her
What the trouble might be>>
So now rather than getting the desired advise from whoever the "technical
manual" may be, they are turning the tables and asking her to define the
problem. This leads me to believe that the "technical manual" is a
professional, who's trained to ask those kind of questions..."so how did that
make you FEEL", etc.
<<Well I'm learning
It's peaceful
With a good dog and some trees
Out of touch with the breakdown
Of this century
They're not going to fix it up
Too easy>>
Here she appears to shrug off the inability of the "technical manual" to
solve her relationship disconnect, and she retreats to the therapy of
something with which she has a better connection with - nature. (Sort of a
continuation of the "out of the city and down to the seaside", "Got to get
ourselves back to the garden" kind of theme.
<<We once loved together
And we floodlit that time
Input output electricity>>
Recalling the time when the relationship worked, and produced a light like a
floodlight, which is a VERY powerful beam.
<<But the lines overloaded
And the sparks started flying
And the loose wires
Were lashing out at me>>
And the following deterioration of the relationship, again using the
electrical metaphors to communicate it.
<<She's not going to fix that up
Too easy
But she holds out her candle
And she shines it in
And she begs him to show her
How to fix it again>>
Like you would light a candle to provide a minimum amount of light during a
blackout, she shines a candlelight into the "blackout" of the relationship.
Coincidentally, candles are also considered romantic, so she could be trying
to symbolize the re-introduction of the romance.
<<While the song that he sang her
To soothe her to sleep
Runs all through her circuits
Like a heartbeat
She's not going to fix it up
Too easy>>
Like electrical current running through the circuit, the sound of his voice
still resonates in her, and she appears to be hopeful, yet always
realistically sceptical that it might not be an easy fix.
Hope that's sorta what you were looking for...maybe it will "generate" some
more discussion from those who are "current" on the list! (groan)
Bob
NP: Death Cab For Cutie, "Bend To Squares"
