Spirits of the Red City is a nine-member collective of friends and wanderin… Read Full Bio ↴Spirits of the Red City is a nine-member collective of friends and wandering musicians led by Will Garrison. Members call home places as close as Minneapolis and as far as Alaska and New York City. Call the music time-weathered folk or strewn remnants of Americana or something else entirely. Here is what you will hear: Opaque lyrics, at once lonely and longing and hopeful and weary and love-strewn, given breath with explorative structure and melody, and supported by an ensemble of strings, trumpets, drums and found percussion, banjos, accordions, vocal harmonies and more.

Spirits of the Red City are:
Will Garrison: guitars, lyrics, vocals
James Waldo: cello, vocals
Jason Overby: banjo, accordion, guitars, vocals
Brian Voerding: trumpet, valve horns
Anthony Poretti: drums, percussion
Ben Waldo: mandolin, viola
Alyssa Overby: vocals
Rachel Overby: bass, vocals
with help from a rotating cast of good friends.

Mine
Spirits of the Red City Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

i said that i would write you
in the mornings of the days
in the mornings of the days
we said many things

there was a hole in my hand
all my love fell through it
all my love fell through it

at your feet on the ground

it's easy like sunsets
and lonely like moments
and lonesome like captains
but how could you have been mine

breaking you down
to heavy blue flowers
to heavy blue flowers
after all this time

it's easy like sunsets
and lonely like moments

and lonesome like captains
but how could you have been mine

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Spirits of the Red City's song "Mine" seem to express a lament about a love that was lost. The singer speaks of promising to write to his lover in the mornings of the days, which suggests a past devotion that has now vanished. The line "we said many things" further implies a bygone time when the couple shared their feelings freely. However, the next line introduces a motif of loss: "there was a hole in my hand / all my love fell through it." This image paints a vivid picture of a love that slipped away through the singer's fingers, leaving him empty-handed and possibly regretful.

The chorus repeats the lines "it's easy like sunsets / and lonely like moments / and lonesome like captains / but how could you have been mine." The imagery of sunsets suggests a beautiful but fleeting moment, much like the love that the singer had. The sense of loneliness is also pervasive; the singer seems to struggle with feelings of isolation and desperation. The final line in the chorus, "how could you have been mine," conveys a sense of disbelief or confusion - perhaps the singer cannot fathom that he lost something so precious.

Line by Line Meaning

i said that i would write you
I promised to communicate with you through writing

in the mornings of the days
I planned to write you in the morning every day

we said many things
We had many conversations and shared many thoughts

there was a hole in my hand
I was unable to hold onto my love for you

all my love fell through it
My love for you slipped away from me

at your feet on the ground
My love for you is now lying in front of you, unclaimed

it's easy like sunsets
The beauty of a sunset is effortless and natural

and lonely like moments
Moments of solitude can be sad and isolating

and lonesome like captains
Being in charge can sometimes feel lonely and isolating

but how could you have been mine
I am questioning if you were truly ever mine to begin with

breaking you down
I am analyzing and trying to understand you better