Got Up This Morning
Francis Sage Lyrics

It's not that what we're doing is wrong
Acknowledging that the situation is morally ambiguous

But let's try to keep this a secret
Asks to keep the situation confidential

Between me, you, and the song
The only participants should be the singer, the other person, and the music they enjoy

A menage a trois that sings to me
A metaphorical connection between the three involved parties, including the music

Sinfully
Full of lust

When god plays along
The tone of the song is flirtatious, and hence it seems like there is divine intervention

I was sweet on her
Affectionate towards her

She was sweet on Jesus
Religious or spiritual in nature, perhaps she uses faith to abstain from physical intimacy

We slept with a blanket barrier between us
Physical intimacy maintained through an obstacle that may symbolize guilt or purity

Master of her craft, I had her laughin like hyenas
The artist has an effect on the person they are involved with, with humor being a centerpiece

When I asked her if she'd marry an elitist
Contemporary relationships being used as a point of conversation

Staggering genius in lace
She is intelligent and confident, perhaps to a point of speaking in riddles or metaphorical languages

With the grace of a drunken monk
The person has an ethereal character about her, like a monk lost in a brewery

The mask isn't seamless cause her face says something's up
Hiding true intentions become tricky once the other person shows a lack of comfort and trust

But I don't dare ask her I just listen
Not pushing further towards a more intense relationship, but remaining passive

Switchin to my good ear and adjusting my position
Literally trying to be involved fully, even physically and paying attention to detail

As she discusses Ginsberg I listened and learned
They communicate about poetry and its interpretations

As she dispersed his words I just resisted the urge to do like he would
Remains original and true without copying the discussed writer

Whatever he wanted, if she allowed me to
The singer sees the woman's interest and consent as the last word

She dangled that carrot then asked me:
Metaphorical manipulation for the conversation to go where she wants it to go

What would Bukowski do?
A reference to the writer who is associated with drinking, women, and a dissolute lifestyle

He'd make you his mom and then completely lie about it in a book later on
An inappropriate act explained with a sense of humor that reduces its force or impact

Spirits were lifted when she whispered something French in my ear
Being positive towards or relieved by something intimate that she has said, probably in another language

Tension was there
The situation is volatile

When I responded in English it sounded less sincere
The singer is more comfortable expressing himself through foreign expressions

The sex in the air couldn't be left alone
The intensity of the situation is palpable

So welcome to the Terrordome
A metaphor for being in a situation that can only lead to danger, anxiety or uncertainty

A bedroom full of pheromones
Scents that arouse desire are present in the room

Where nothing that we say is set in stone
Words are not to be taken seriously, and situations change rapidly

If I thought it was for posterity I'd already be writing better poems
The singer is not taking this situation seriously and would not make grand gestures

But I'm talking in extremes
Being hyperbolic in conversation or passion and hence, perhaps being misunderstood

Best this and best that
Exaggerating a lot about the emotions involved and prioritizing everything above everything

Best not regret anything that ever gets said to this hell cat
Implying that the woman is cat-like and implying danger as in the metaphor of a wild cat

Creepin on all fours
Acting in a conniving, secretive manner

Ready for combat
The singer is prepared to fight if need be

With secretive wars sneaking her claws in our contract
The woman has metaphorical weapons that she uses to manipulate the relationship towards a better deal for herself

Bending every which way but loose with no proof that anything that we've suggested to this day is the whole truth
Implying that the woman is capable of lying and manipulating the relationship as per her convenience

I heard her chemical romance was a medical slowdance
The wordplay indicating something physical that can lead to an emotional experience

Said my advance was sexual
The woman is clear about the intent of the situation

Held my genitals with cold hands
A momentary physical interaction that indicates disinterest or disdain

Set up the Coke cans
A precursor to what could be sexual or mischievous fun

Broke out the Red Ryder
Red Ryder being an air rifle, an allegory about danger or excitement

Then one by one I tried to knock down everything that's dead inside her
The person tries to bring life to the woman by being intimate with her, emotionally and physically

She used to treat street dividers like a balance beam
The woman is shown having odd or quirky behavior which the artist may find endearing or exciting

Arms spread wider than the legs in her dad's magazine
A reference to pornography and the woman's physical attainments, sexualizing her

Re-enacting the pages that she got trapped between
The woman used pornography or images for sexual satisfaction, bringing back to memory things that arouse her

I used it for kindling and then spilled the gasoline
The singer found out what the woman enjoyed sexually and be more aggressive in an attempt to be closer to the woman

Now I'm your water boy
The situation changed rapidly within the relationship, and the artist has lost power to the other person

I fetch it from your cheeks just like tennis balls
A sexual connotation for fetching which can be interpreted as demeaning

Smell the stench of your weakness on the bedroom walls
The singer being aware of the change of dynamic and the other person's changes

Somebody careless let em vaporize
When careless, someone can lose everything, like a vaporized scent

"Who let these fall to the floor from your poor vacant eyes?"
Implies tears as a sentimental value, perhaps due to pain, loss, manipulation or emotional exploitation or vulnerability

Disintegrate
Collapse

This ain't a great first impression
The interaction proved to be a degrading event, an expected outcome of the preceding events

But I work better on pages, they say words are my profession
Indicating that the person may be better with words on paper rather than in social interactions

Let me spell it out in simple language
Asking to explain in simpler terms

Plain English
Direct and easy to understand

I want your suicide to be a book of mine that I never finish
Urging the other person to turn a tragedy into a literary masterpiece, without intention of finishing it

Got up this morning Didn't know right from wrong
Jolie Holland's chorus emphasizes the idea that there is no clear right or wrong in this situation

What you want with a woman who won't do what you say?
Jolie Holland's questioning emphasizes the power dynamic in the relationship, ultimately leaving the artist powerless and emasculated