Be There in Bells
The Pines Lyrics

Late at night, watching the satellites
During a late night, observing the orbiting machines around the Earth.

North Carolina and the rolling hills
The US state of North Carolina, featuring picturesque hills that undulate.

Orion, draws back the arrow
The constellation of Orion, pulls back an imagined bow and aims toward something.

Aiming at the heart of a scarecrow
Directed at a fabricated figure in a field, positioned for fending off birds.

Cloud to cloud, hour to hour
From one cloud to another, and for every instance of time that passes.

Dust to dust, flower to flower
Humankind's journey from life to death, and the natural regrowth of flora.

I close my eyes, so I might dream
To slip into a dream state, the singer of the song closes their eyes.

Won't you meet me, When the Sun stands still?
Will the other person acknowledge the artist when time appears to pause momentarily?

And I will, be there in bells
Indeed, the artist will come with chimes in hand.

I thought I was in love once, I don't know
The singer attempted romance, unsure of the success of the endeavor.

I was over dressed and scared to be alone
Possibly overdressed, it's speculated that the performer had anxiety around singlehood.

The pain is there, for to protect
An unpleasant emotion exists as some form of safeguarding.

If it didn't hurt then we'd all bleed to death
The pain is likely a part of a bodily warning system.

Black to black, reel to reel,
What comes after is similar to what came before; from one spool of film to the next, and so on.

Heart to heart, shield to shield
Dealing with emotions head-on, and with a firm exterior.

The Great Spirit rose over ol' St. Paul
An all-encompassing power, one that is imagined to have hovering over historically-significant St. Paul.

You are forever forgiven and all
The listener is pardoned in perpetuity.

I fell asleep and woke up in the sky
The performer went to sleep and found themself in the airspace above the Earth.

There was a light so bright, I could see through my skin
So bright, it seemed to grant transparency to the individual.

All the sorrow and the cold north wind, I had to go through
Prior struggles, particularly hardship and frigidity in the artist's past.

I had to find you
The singer had a mission: to locate the person with whom they were historically entwined.

Dollar to dollar, broke to broke,
From one financial status to another, one that is perhaps more dire.

Ash to ash, smoke to smoke
Everything eventually breaks down to ash, a remnant associated with fire.

I close my eyes, so I might dream
For a second time in the song, the performer mentions closing their eyes to induce a dreamlike state.

Won't you meet me, When the Sun stands still?
Once again, the singer requests the attention of a character when time momentarily stops.

And I will, be there in bells
And, again, the singer promises to be there with some bells in hand.

I will be there in bells
One final instance of the repeated promise of bringing bells to see the other character.