Nadler studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design, where she began her performing career after writing songs for many years.
The foundation of her sound is her haunting mezzo-soprano, and a delicate 6-string acoustic guitar, often accompanied by a variety of instruments, including electric guitar, theremin, and piano. Nadler writes strange, yet classic, melancholy songs. Her voice is often bathed in a wash of reverb and space echo and creates a ghostly, atmospheric feeling to the music.
She has American Gothic leanings; her songs often take place in an imagined, idealistic time with a cast of characters of her own creation.
Official Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marissa-Nadler/300932499775
Bandcamp: http://marissanadler.bandcamp.com/
Cactus Tree
Marissa Nadler Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In a decade full of dreams.
And he takes her to a schooner,
And he treats her like a queen.
Bearing beads from California,
With their amber stones and green.
He has called her from the harbor,
He has kissed her with his freedom,
In the breaking and the breathing of the water weeds.
While she was busy being free.
There's a man who's climbed a mountain,
And he's calling out her name,
And he hopes her heart can hear,
3,000 miles he calls again,
He can think her there beside him,
He can miss her just the same.
He has missed her in the forest,
While he showed her all the flowers,
And the branches sang the chorus,
As he climbed the scaly towers of a forest tree.
While she was somewhere being free.
There's a man who sent a letter and he's waiting for her reply.
He has asked her of her travels since the day they said goodbye.
He writes, "Wish you were beside me, we could make it if we try."
He has seen her at the office, with her name on all his papers,
Through the sharing of the profits,
He will find it hard to shake her from these memories.
And she's so busy being free.
There's a lady, in the city, and she thinks she loves them all.
There's the one who's thinking of her,
There's the one who sometimes calls.
There's the one who writes her letters,
With his facts and figures scrawl.
She has brought them to her senses,
They have laughed inside her laughter.
Now she rallies her defenses,
For she fears that one will ask her for eternity.
And she's so busy being free.
There's a man who sends her medals,
He is bleeding from the war.
There's a jouster and a jester and a man who owns a store.
There's a drummer, and a dreamer,
And you know there may be more .
She will love them when she sees them,
They will lose her if they follow.
And she only means to please them,
And her heart is full and hollow like a cactus tree.
While she's so busy being free.
Like a cactus tree-
Being free.
The song "Cactus Tree" by Marissa Nadler is a beautiful melody about a woman who enjoys her freedom and independence. The lyrics paint a picture of a woman who has had many men in her life but is currently single, and yet she is always making herself busy with different activities. In the beginning, we hear about a man who has been sailing and has taken her with him. He treats her like a queen and showers her with gifts. However, while he is out on the boat, she is busy being free.
In the second stanza, we see the man who has climbed a mountain and is calling out her name, hoping her heart can hear him. He misses her even as he climbs a forest tree and sees all the flowers, and the branches are singing in chorus. But she is far away, busy being free. In the third stanza, a man sends her a letter, wishing she was with him, and he could make it work if they try. She is all over his papers at the office, and he can't shake her memories. He is hoping that she will respond because she is so busy being free.
The fourth stanza introduces a lady in the city who thinks she loves everyone, and there are men out there who love her. The one who sometimes calls and the one who writes her letters with scientific scribbles on them. She has come to her senses, and they make her laugh inside her laugher, but she is terrified to commit to any one of them fully. Finally, the fifth stanza tells us that there is a man who sends her medals. He is bleeding from the war. There is a jouster and a jester and a man who owns a store. There is a drummer and a dreamer, and there may be more. She will lose them if they follow her, but she means to please them. She is full and hollow like a cactus tree.
Overall, the song speaks to the idea that a woman can be independent and free, but it can be lonely at times. It's about being a woman in a world where commitments and expectations can feel stifling.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a man who's been out sailing,
A man has been sailing for ten years while he treats his partner like a queen with beads from California
In a decade full of dreams.
The man has accomplished great feats while his partner had dreams for the future
And he takes her to a schooner,
He takes her to his boat and showers affection on his partner
And he treats her like a queen.
He treats her with respect and admiration like royalty
Bearing beads from California,
He brought her gifts from California like amber stones and green colored beads
With their amber stones and green.
The color of the gift she received from him are natural and earthy
He has called her from the harbor,
After he arrived from his trip, he called her from the harbor
He has kissed her with his freedom,
He kissed her with the freedom that his sailing life brings him
He has heard her off to starboard
While sailing, he listened to her in the distance off the starboard side of his ship
In the breaking and the breathing of the water weeds.
He can hear the sound of her capture by the ocean's surrounding fauna, and also hear the sounds of the harmony in 'breaking and the breathing'
While she was busy being free.
She was preoccupied with being free and pursuing her own interests, goals, and dreams apart from her partner
There's a man who's climbed a mountain,
Another man climbed a mountain and calls out her name hoping she can hear him
And he's calling out her name,
He shouts out her name in the hopes of her hearing him
And he hopes her heart can hear,
He wants to make a connection with her despite the great distance between them
3,000 miles he calls again,
The journey between them stands about 3000 miles, and he continues to call for her
He can think her there beside him,
Even though she is far away he can imagine her with him.
He can miss her just the same.
He misses her presence deeply
He has missed her in the forest,
He imagined her with him on a forest adventure
While he showed her all the flowers,
He showed her all the beauty he could find
And the branches sang the chorus,
Nature sang and created beautiful music with tree branches and leaves
As he climbed the scaly towers of a forest tree.
He climbed a tall tree to experience the beauty of nature to its fullest
While she was somewhere being free.
His partner was doing her own thing and wasn't there on his adventure even though he wished she was
There's a man who sent a letter and he's waiting for her reply.
Another man sent a letter to her and he's waiting for her response
He has asked her of her travels since the day they said goodbye.
He wants to know about her journey since they parted ways
He writes, 'Wish you were beside me, we could make it if we try.'
He wishes she was next to him working together to get through their hardships
He has seen her at the office, with her name on all his papers,
Despite the distance between them, he sees her name all around his workspace and is constantly reminded of her
Through the sharing of the profits,
He is sharing his profits and success with her
He will find it hard to shake her from these memories.
He finds it challenging to keep his feelings for her at bay
And she's so busy being free.
She is prioritizing her own freedom and independence over their relationship
There's a lady, in the city, and she thinks she loves them all.
A lady in the city is in love with many men
There's the one who's thinking of her,
One person in particular is thinking of her
There's the one who sometimes calls.
Another person in her life occasionally reaches out to her
There's the one who writes her letters,
Another person in her life writes her letters
With his facts and figures scrawl.
The person who writes letters is very calculated and precise
She has brought them to her senses,
She has come to a realization about her feelings for these men
They have laughed inside her laughter.
She enjoyed the company of these men, and they laughed together
Now she rallies her defenses,
She puts up her guard for fear of being hurt or asked something unexpected
For she fears that one will ask her for eternity.
She is scared that one of the men will ask her to commit to them forever, and she is not ready for that
And she's so busy being free.
Once again, she prioritizes her independence over commitment
There's a man who sends her medals,
Another man sends her medals as a gift
He is bleeding from the war.
This man is injured from a war
There's a jouster and a jester and a man who owns a store.
There are more men in her life that are drastically different
There's a drummer, and a dreamer,
She meets a man who is passionate about music and another who is very imaginative
And you know there may be more.
There could be more men who she has met or will meet in the future
She will love them when she sees them,
She has the capacity to love each of these men when she's in their company
They will lose her if they follow.
However, they will lose her if they try to hold onto her for too long
And she only means to please them,
Her actions are only to please her suitor
And her heart is full and hollow like a cactus tree.
Although her heart is full of love, she is also guarded, empty, and unapproachable like a cactus tree
While she's so busy being free.
Despite the men in her life, she still prioritizes her own freedom and independence
Like a cactus tree-
She compares herself to the sturdy and unmovable cactus tree
Being free.
She is free to roam about and pursue what is important to her without the duties of commitment
Contributed by Sydney A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.