Sadie
Joanna Newsom Lyrics

Sadie, white coat
Addressing Sadie, who is wearing a white coat.

You carry me home
Sadie is carrying the singer home.

And bury this bone
The singer asks Sadie to bury a bone so they can gnaw on it later.

And take this pine-cone
The singer also asks Sadie to take a pine-cone.

Bury this bone to gnaw on it later;
The bone is meant to be dug up and used for gnawing at a later time.

Gnawing on the telephone
The singer is so hungry he feels like gnawing on the telephone.

And 'till then, we pray and suspend
Until the bone can be dug up and gnawed on, they pray and wait.

The notion that these lives do never end
They have the idea that lives never end.

And all day long we talk about mercy:
They talk about mercy all day long.

Lead me to water, Lord, I sure am thirsty
They pray to the Lord to be led to water as they are thirsty.

Down in the ditch where I nearly served you
Possibly a reference to a near death experience in a ditch.

Up in the clouds where he almost heard you
The singer might have been pleading to God while in a near-death state and saw the vision of heaven.

And all that we built
All the things that they have built in their lives.

And all that we breathed
All the air they ever breathed.

And all that we spilt, or pulled up like weeds
All the things they have spilled or removed from their lives.

Is piled up in back
All the things they've done are piled up behind them.

And it burns irrevocably
All that they've done can't be undone.

(And we spoke up in turns
Both Sadie and the singer are taking turns speaking.

'Till the silence crept over me)
Until there was silence in the room.

And bless you
The artist is blessing Sadie.

And I deeply do
The artist really means the blessing.

No longer resolute oh
They're no longer determined.

And I call to you
The singer is calling out to someone.

But the water
Possibly a reference to baptism.

Got so cold
The water was cold.

And you do lose
You'll lose what you don't hold.

What you don't hold
If you don't hold onto something tightly, you'll lose it.

This is an old song, these are old blues
The artist is stating that this song is an old one, with old lyrics.

And this is not my tune, but it's mine to use
Even though it is not the singer's own words, they take ownership of the song.

And the seabirds where the fear once grew
There might have been a place where they felt afraid and the seabirds there remind them of their fear.

Will flock with a fury
The seabirds will fly away with a lot of energy.

And they will bury what'd come for you
People will eventually die and leave things behind.

And down where I darn with the milk-eyed mender
Possibly a reference to a place the singer spends a lot of time.

You and I, and a love so tender
The singer and Sadie share a deep love for one another.

Stretched on a hoop where I stitch - this adage:
They are working on something while they speak.

"Bless our house and its heart so savage"
They are blessing the house even though it can be chaotic at times.

And all that I want
All the things the singer wants.

And all that I need
All the things they truly need.

And all that I've got is scattered like seed
All the things they have are spread out like seed.

And all that I knew is moving away from me
Everything they knew in the past is slipping away from them.

(And all that I know is blowing
All the things they know currently or think they know.

Like tumbleweed)
Are blowing away like tumbleweed in a desert.

And the mealy worms
Possibly, maggots.

In the brine will burn
They will burn in brine.

In a salty pyre
They will burn like in a funeral pyre.

Among the fauns and ferns
Possibly, a reference to a forest.

And the love we hold
The love Sadie and the singer share.

And the love we spurn
The love that they reject.

Will never grow cold
The love they have will never grow cold.

Only taciturn
They only show their love through action.

And I'll tell you tomorrow
The singer will have more to say tomorrow.

Sadie, go on home now
The singer is telling Sadie to go home.

And bless those who've sickened below
The artist is asking for blessings for those who are sick.

And bless us who've chosen so
The singer is asking for blessings for both Sadie and themselves.

I tie in a knot and I lay at your feet
The singer ties something in a knot and lays it at Sadie's feet.

And I have not forgot, but a silence crept over me
The artist has not forgotten but there is a heavy silence in the room.

(So dig up your bone
They call back to the earlier line where they ask Sadie to bury a bone.

Exhume your pine-cone, my Sadie)
The singer is telling Sadie to dig up the bone and the pine-cone.