The Garden
The Crane Wives Lyrics

The Crane Wives's song "The Garden" delves into themes of self-doubt, guilt, and the need for redemption. The lyrics "Tear it down, tear it down around my head, I need you to bury this beneath my bed" imply a sense of shame and the desire to hide something shameful. As suggested by "the lies that I might have told instead", the singer is grappling with guilt over their past actions. The mention of "the crows in the garden laughing at my expense" suggests that these hidden secrets may have been revealed or discovered, thereby leading to feelings of exposure, humiliation, and ridicule. Nevertheless, the singer seeks to find solace through their lover. The lyrics, "Hold your light to the darkness in my head, put your ear to my heart, or set your teeth against my throat, give me something pretty to wear beneath my blood-stained clothes" imply that the singer is seeking emotional or physical intimacy as some form of absolution.

The second verse of the song seems to be a continuation of the first. The lyrics "Lay me down, pour the dirt into our bed, tell the crows, they can have their pound of flesh" again imply the singer's desire to bury their guilt and shame. However, the references to "ghosts at the window" and "quiet prayers" suggest that the singer is haunted by their past and seeking some form of penance or forgiveness. The line "when they come for us, they'll come where their mercy nills" implies an inevitable reckoning for their actions, and the use of the word "darling" throughout the song suggests that the singer's lover is complicit and implicated in some way.