The band has released five albums: "3/5" (1997), "The Cat and the Cobra" (1999), "Go Forth" (2001), "Let's Stay Friends" (2007) and "Root for Ruin" (2010). "Inches", a compilation of the non-album singles the band released between 1995 and 2004 was released in April 2004.
Our Coastal Hymn
Les Savy Fav Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come and stand by my bedside.
If I die tonight
Put my head inside a masons jar.
Put it in the ocean
And send it out to sea,
I'm wading because
And when my seal is broke,
I'll split my eyes and lips asking,
"Is this a judgment or a joke?"
This is a chance to make it up.
This is a chance to dissect it.
This is a chance to break it up.
These are the words we've selected.
Don't believe my lies
Of an afterlife spent drifting,
After 30 hours I sank straight
To the bottom,
Of the harbor near my home.
There I lay alone.
The spider crab is finely clad
Beneath my cloak of brain and bone.
These are the notes we've selected.
In the basement of the dress shop,
They play poker on the weekend,
Old men trading laces,
It's an absolute disgrace.
They never gave a tip to the boy who
Ran the route.
They never gave a shit
What the paper was about.
When they heard he'd died
They read the news that day,
Just so they could see what his
Obituary would say
It said
Rally up my friends and stand by my
Bedside.
Rally up my friends and stay with me
Tonight.
The lyrics to Les Savy Fav's "Our Coastal Hymn" speak to mortality, the uncertainty of the afterlife, and the bonds of friendship. The opening lines rally friends to come and stand by the singer's bedside and, if he dies, to put his head in a mason jar and send it out to sea. The words paint a picture of someone contemplating their mortality, perhaps feeling disconnected or lost, but calling upon those closest to them for support.
The lyrics take a darker turn in the second verse, as the singer admits to lying about an afterlife spent drifting and tells of sinking to the bottom of the harbor near their home. Here, they lie alone, and the spider crab is "finely clad beneath my cloak of brain and bone." The metaphor implies a sense of insignificance or irrelevance, as even in death, the singer is reduced to nothing more than a vessel for the creatures of the sea.
The final verse changes focus, telling a different story of a boy who ran a paper route and was never appreciated by the older men who played poker in the basement of the dress shop. When he dies, they only read the news to see what his obituary would say. The lyrics suggest a profound sense of loneliness or disconnection, perhaps even a fear of being forgotten after death.
Overall, "Our Coastal Hymn" offers a complex, evocative meditation on mortality, friendship, and the sometimes harsh realities of life.
Line by Line Meaning
Rally up my friends,
Gather my friends,
Come and stand by my bedside.
Stand near me in my time of need.
If I die tonight
In case I die tonight
Put my head inside a masons jar.
Preserve my head in a jar like the ancient Egyptians.
Put it in the ocean
Place it into the sea
And send it out to sea,
Release it into the vast water.
I'm wading because
I'm doing this because of
And when I hit some shore,
And if I reach a shore,
And when my seal is broke,
And when my container is opened,
I'll split my eyes and lips asking,
I'll gape my eyes and mouth and inquire
"Is this a judgment or a joke?"
"Is this a punishment or a mockery?"
This is a chance to make it up.
This is an opportunity to make amends.
This is a chance to dissect it.
This is an opportunity to thoroughly examine it.
This is a chance to break it up.
This is an opportunity to dismantle it.
These are the words we've selected.
These are the statements we have chosen.
Don't believe my lies
Do not trust my falsehoods
Of an afterlife spent drifting,
Of a wandering existence after death,
After 30 hours I sank straight
Thirty hours later, I sunk immediately
To the bottom,
To the very depths,
Of the harbor near my home.
Of the port adjacent to my dwelling.
There I lay alone.
There I remained solitary.
The spider crab is finely clad
The spider crab is well-dressed
Beneath my cloak of brain and bone.
Beneath the cover of my intellectual capacity.
These are the notes we've selected.
These are the inscriptions we have chosen.
In the basement of the dress shop,
In the ground floor of the clothing store,
They play poker on the weekend,
They engage in a card game on weekends
Old men trading laces,
Elderly men exchanging clothing trimmings,
It's an absolute disgrace.
It's wholly disgraceful.
They never gave a tip to the boy who
They never rewarded the young person who
Ran the route.
Delivered the items.
They never gave a shit
They did not care at all
What the paper was about.
About what the publication was regarding.
When they heard he'd died
When they learned he had passed away,
They read the news that day,
They read the report that day,
Just so they could see what his
Only so they could learn what his
Obituary would say
Obituary had stated
It said Rally up my friends and stand by my
It indicated Gather my friends and be with me
Bedside.
Close to me in this ordeal.
Rally up my friends and stay with me
Gather my friends and remain with me
Tonight.
For this evening and night.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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