Lacrimosa
Regina Spektor Lyrics

We keep on burying our dead
Despite the fact that we are aware of our mortality, we continue to mourn our deceased loved ones and pay our last respects by interring their bodies underground.

We keep on planting their bones in the ground
As a way of commemorating the legacy of the departed, we maintain the tradition of wearing threads of their clothes or burying their remains in the soil, believing that a part of their spirit will reside and flourish there.

But they won't grow
Although we expect the dead to have a physical presence in the earth, we know, deep inside, they won't grow and continue to thrive, that life without them may feel lackluster at times.

The sun doesn't help
Even though the sun emits solar energy that can fuel life on earth, it cannot reverse the inevitable law of nature that states that everything that lives must die; It does not prevent our loved ones from resting in peace or protect us from the pain of losing them forever.

The rain doesn't help
Rain is associated with the first signs of new growth and renewal, and it is believed to restore the natural balance of life. Still, in the context of life, it fails to resurrect someone back from the dead or wash away the sorrow of mourning.

If my garden would have a fence
If we could isolate and protect our most prized possessions or loved ones from the perils of this world or keep them contained and protected within the behest of our emotions, wouldn't that be a comfort?

Then the rabbits couldn't just come in
Rabbits suddenly entering our garden exposes the fragility of our protection mechanisms; we can't do anything but watch them eat our flowers and tarnish our emotions with their 'shadow.'

And sit on the grass
The rabbits sit on the grass as if it is no big deal to disturb our peace, to eat the plants we've tended to for years or decades, reminding us that this world is beyond our control.

And eat all the flowers
When someone or something we have sacrificed our time, resources, or emotions for is taken from us, it feels as if they've eaten our flowers, as if it is a theft that we cannot stop.

And shit
In this sense, the rabbits defecating on our ground is a metaphor for the scars that people leave on us when they leave - an insult that reminds us of our emotions that we can't let go of.

Hi, I'm Icarus, I'm falling
Through Icarus, the singer reveals her awareness of being on the verge of a disastrous emotional threshold, falling at such a high alarming rate to a point of no return, eventually leading to a severe emotional breakdown or loss.

Down, man for judgment must prepare me
As the artist considers the final moments of her downward spiral, she wonders if there is an impending judgment waiting for her at the end of it all that she must accept and prepare for.

Spare, oh god, in mercy spare me
The singer is pleading for mercy from what is to come, begging for a reprieve from the punishment she feels is unfurled upon her due to her mistakes that she's made.

Man, I have a terrible feeling
The singer shares that she is engulfed by a premonition of imminent danger, a realization that something has gone drastically wrong with the world, and that we are all signs of the decimation it may have created.

That something's gone awful, very wrong with the world
The singer believes that the implications of the bad things that have occurred within the world will impact everyone, transforming it into an alien place that we will never recognize again.

Is it something we made?
The artist wonders whether the destruction of the world was a consequence of human action, whether our decisions or perceptions have irrevocably damaged the world or lives of someone else.

Is it something we ate?
She seems to imply that the problems the world is facing right now could be traced back to what humanity has consumed or brought into their systems, like pollution or greed, affecting everyone.

Is it something we drank?
Consequently, the singer also considers whether substance abuse or addiction might lead to negative consequences that we are currently dealing with that will impact the world greatly.

And all we've got
The singer reflects the realities of life as one of the only things that we can take with us is memories, thoughts, and emotions that we pull out from ourselves.

Is a giant crop
The artist references inherited grief, an enormous memory of those we have loved that we carry with us, often in the form of images, such as names and dates.

Of names and dates
The significance in remembering those we cared about of name and dates that we commemorate are symbolic of our struggles to remember those who altered our own lives by sacrificing their own.

Down on this day of tears and mourning
The artist is once again coming back to the elegiac moment at hand; acknowledging the grief, weeping, and sorrow of the day of mourning for her dearly departed, Icarus.

Lacrimosa
Lacrimosa, a Latin term meaning 'weeping,' is an expression of sadness and pain in this song's context, attributing to the melancholic sounds of a Mass for the Dead, the realisation that death has claimed those we have loved.