Blood
The Middle East Lyrics

Older brother, restless soul, lie down
Addressing the older brother, who's unsettled and feeling restless, the song tells him to take a break and lay down.

Lie for a while with your ear against the earth
The song advises the brother to rest his head on the ground and listen.

And you'll hear your sister sleep talking
The song suggests that while the brother rests, he'll hear his sister speak in her sleep.

Say, 'Your hair is long but not long enough to reach Home to me But your beard Someday might be'
In her sleep, the sister acknowledges the physical distance between her and her brother but expresses hope that one day his beard will grow long enough to reach her, implying hope for their reunion.

And she'll wake up in a cold sweat on the floor Next to a family portrait drawn when you were four And beside a jar of two cent coins that are no good no more She'll lay it aside
The sister awakens from her sleep and finds herself next to a decades-old family photo and a jar of useless coins, laying them aside as she moves on with her day.

Older father, weary soul, you'll drive Back to the home you made on the mountainside With that ugly, terrible thing Those papers for divorce
The song addresses the old father, who's tired and facing the difficult task of driving back to the home he used to share with his soon-to-be-ex-wife while carrying the painful papers of divorce.

And a lonely ring A lonely ring Sit on your porch And pluck your strings
The father is left with his loneliness, symbolized by the single ring, and he seeks some solace by playing strings on his porch.

And you'll find somebody you can blame And you'll follow the creek that runs out into the sea And you'll find the peace of the Lord
The father tries to find someone to blame for the pain brought by his divorce but ultimately realizes that he must follow his path and trust in a higher power for peace.

Grandfather, weary soul, you'll fly Over your life once more before you die
The song addresses the grandfather, an old and tired person who reflects on his life before his last breath.

Since our grandma passed away You've waited for forever and a day Just to die
Ever since his spouse passed away, the grandfather has been waiting for his own death in a sort of limbo, wanting to join her.

And someday soon You will die
The song accepts the inevitability of the grandfather's death.

It was the only woman you ever loved That got burnt by the sun too often when she was young And the cancer spread and it ran into her body and her blood And there's nothing you can do about it now
The song reveals that the grandfather's one true love died painfully from cancer, which the singer attributes to too much sun exposure in her youth, and the grandfather is left to grieve.