Richard Buckner is an American singer songwriter born in California, reside… Read Full Bio ↴Richard Buckner is an American singer songwriter born in California, resident in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for a number of years, and currently living in Brooklyn, NY. A critically-acclaimed artist most often associated with the Alternative Country movement, Buckner has in recent albums eschewed his initial acoustic approach and displayed an increasing interest in more abstract music styles.

Buckner began his career with the acoustic "Bloomed" (1994), a lyrically dense suite of songs recorded in Lubbock, Texas and heavily influenced by that state's tradition of whisky-soaked poet/troubadors, probably best embodied by Townes Van Zandt. In 1996, he released the major label "Devotion & Doubt," with members of Giant Sand backing him, displaying a more adventurous, almost avante garde approach to songwriting and arranging.

Since then, he has returned to recording for smaller labels, to continued critical acclaim and cult status. His 2000 album The Hill - his first for Chicago-based indie label Overcoat Recordings - features poems from Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology (1915), which Buckner set to music. The album plays as a single track, nearly thirty-five minutes long. He returned in 2002, first with the "teaser" EP Impasse-ette, then a full-length entitled Impasse one month later. In early 2003, his self-released, self-titled album was reissued by Overcoat, and was his final release for the label. In 2004, an edited version of Richard Buckner's song Ariel Ramirez, from the album Since (1998) was featured in one of the television ads for Volkswagen's Touareg.

He is currently aligned with North Carolina-based indie label Merge Records, who have released four of his albums so far: 2004's Dents and Shells, 2006's Meadow, 2011's Our Blood, and 2013's Surrounded, as well as the 7-inch single Willow (b/w Lost). He also recorded an album with Jon Langford (most notably of The Mekons) called Sir Dark Invader vs. The Fanglord (2005) for Buried Treasure Records.

Rafters
Richard Buckner Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

now that i know what i'd hoped had to
be in mind was true and refused (and just
in time), do you wonder why? it seems
i let up with the dents of a near-collision.
i couldn't call, and wrecked and turned
up missing.

but, until then, i'm cutting to

the end:

it's cold in the light
(the one we never seemed
to find).

i opened the door instead, but, you knew
the lock (and the way i was looking)
and still not a thing was said. i guess
i can show that i thought i'd never
have you long. it's a wall that you feel,
but you're already slipping and away you
slide. can you take the ride? what
did it mean when we stood with our building,
slanted: high, and we spoke of harder
times?

i pulled the rafters down, but the ghosts
were only dropping

and since that night...

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Richard Buckner's "Rafters" are truly haunting and melancholic, as they reflect on the fleeting nature of relationships and the inevitable moments of rupture that we must all face. The first verse deals with some kind of painful realization that the singer has just had about his relationship. He had hoped that something was not true, but now he knows it is, and this has caused him to feel like he's been in a near-collision - perhaps emotionally or psychologically. His inability to reach out and communicate effectively has led to a kind of disappearance or fading out of his presence in the other person's life. This sets the tone for the rest of the song, which deals with themes of closure, detachment, and memory.

The second verse opens with the singer acknowledging the fact that he is cutting to the end, whatever that end might be. The repetition of the phrase "it's cold in the light" reinforces the sense of sadness and emptiness that permeates the song. There is a sense of finality and resignation to the singer's voice that borders on despair. The imagery of the door being opened, but no words being spoken, is particularly powerful - it suggests a disconnection and a lack of understanding that feels all too familiar for anyone who has experienced the end of a relationship. The line "I guess I can show that I thought I'd never have you long" is perhaps the key to the whole song - it speaks to the fleeting nature of love, and the sense that we are never truly in control of our own hearts. The final image of the rafters being pulled down, but the ghosts remaining, is a poignant one - it suggests a kind of haunting or lingering presence that remains even after the physical structures of a relationship have been dismantled.

Overall, "Rafters" is a beautiful and melancholic meditation on the nature of relationships, and the pain of endings. It's a testament to Buckner's skill as a songwriter that he can evoke such deep emotions with such simple and sparse language.

Line by Line Meaning

now that i know what i'd hoped had to be in mind was true and refused (and just in time), do you wonder why?
Having finally discovered that what he had hoped was true, but had been rejected, the singer wonders whether others are surprised.

it seems i let up with the dents of a near-collision.
The singer avoided getting hurt by easing up just in time, but still sustained some damage.

i couldn't call, and wrecked and turned up missing.
He was unable to ask for help and ended up in a bad situation that made him disappear.

but, until then, i'm cutting to the end:
Switching to the conclusion, he moves on from the previous situation.

it's cold in the light (the one we never seemed to find).
There is no warmth in the figurative light that they could never seem to locate.

i opened the door instead, but, you knew the lock (and the way i was looking) and still not a thing was said.
He made an effort to open up, but it was clear that the other person knew he was struggling, and yet they did not communicate.

i guess i can show that i thought i'd never have you long.
He realized that he never expected to have the other person in his life for very long.

it's a wall that you feel, but you're already slipping and away you slide.
The other person feels trapped, but despite their efforts, they are starting to slip away.

can you take the ride?
Asking the other person whether they are ready for the emotional journey ahead.

what did it mean when we stood with our building, slanted: high, and we spoke of harder times?
Reflecting on a past encounter, where they talked about overcoming adversity while standing in a crooked, tall building.

i pulled the rafters down, but the ghosts were only dropping
Trying to eradicate the ghosts of past relationships, but they continue to linger.

and since that night...
Everything has been different since that moment.

Contributed by Connor V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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