The giant of Illinois
Died from a blister on his toe
After walking all day through the first winter snow

Throwing bits of stale bread
To the last speckled doves
He never even felt his shoes filled with blood

Delirious with pain, his bedroom walls began to glow
And he felt himself soaring up through falling snow
And the sky was a woman's arms

A boy with a club foot
Had sat next to him in school
Once upon a summer's day
They went wandering through the woods

They spotted a sleeping swan
On the banks of a muddy stream
And they stormed it with rocks
Till it collapsed in the reeds

They lay out on the grass
Full of chocolate and lemonade
But underneath it all the giant was afraid
The sky was a woman's arms

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Andrew Bird’s song “Giant of Illinois” tells the story of a giant from Illinois who met his demise from a blister on his toe brought about by walking all day through the winter snow. Despite feeling his shoes fill with blood, he continued on and even threw bits of stale bread to the last speckled doves. He eventually became delirious with pain and felt himself soaring up through the falling snow. He felt the sky as a woman's arms embracing him as he passed away.

The song also talks about a boy with a clubfoot who had sat beside him in school. They had once gone wandering through the woods together and seen a sleeping swan on the banks of a muddy stream. Without hesitation, they began to throw rocks at the swan until it collapsed in the reeds. They lay on the grass after that, full of chocolate and lemonade. However, underneath it all, the giant was afraid. The song continues with the metaphor of the sky as a woman's arms, which can symbolize the comforting thoughts that the giant had as he passed away.

Overall, the lyrics can be interpreted in many ways. From the perspective of the giant, they can be seen as his last moments of life and his perception of death as a comforting entity. The story of the boy with a clubfoot can be seen as a parallel event that shows the giant’s underlying fear of hurting others, despite his size.

Line by Line Meaning

The giant of Illinois
The subject of the song is the giant of Illinois

Died from a blister on his toe
The giant died from a minor injury on his foot after walking for a long time in the snow.

After walking all day through the first winter snow
The giant died after walking all day during the first snowfall of the winter.

Throwing bits of stale bread
The giant was throwing away bits of old bread he had with him.

To the last speckled doves
He was feeding the remaining speckled doves he saw.

He never even felt his shoes filled with blood
The giant had been walking so much that his shoes had filled with blood, but he didn't notice.

Delirious with pain, his bedroom walls began to glow
The giant was in so much pain that he became delirious and saw his bedroom walls glowing.

And he felt himself soaring up through falling snow
He had visions of himself flying through the falling snow.

And the sky was a woman's arms
He felt comforted by the thought of the sky being like a woman's arms.

A boy with a club foot
A boy who had a club foot.

Had sat next to him in school
The giant and this boy used to sit next to each other in school.

Once upon a summer's day
One day during the summer.

They went wandering through the woods
The two of them explored the woods together.

They spotted a sleeping swan
They noticed a swan that was asleep.

On the banks of a muddy stream
The swan was near the banks of a muddy stream.

And they stormed it with rocks
They threw rocks at the swan.

Till it collapsed in the reeds
Their rock throwing caused the swan to collapse into the reeds.

They lay out on the grass
After the incident with the swan, they laid down on the grass.

Full of chocolate and lemonade
They were both happy and content with chocolate and lemonade to drink.

But underneath it all the giant was afraid
The giant had a fear that constantly lingered below the surface of his enjoyment during those moments of happiness.

The sky was a woman's arms
The giant associated the sky with the comfort of a woman's arms once again.

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