The band's 2003 album Up All Night reached the top five of the Australian Albums Chart, it achieved double platinum status and won four ARIA Awards in October. Two further top five albums were issued, Sun Dirt Water in 2007 and Temptation in 2011. The Waifs have three top fifty singles, "London Still" (2002), "Bridal Train" (2004) and "Sun Dirt Water". The band supported Bob Dylan on his 2003 Australian tour and then his 2003 North American tour, including a gig at the Newport Folk Festival.
The Waifs founded the independent label Jarrah Records in July 2002, co-owned with fellow musician John Butler, and their common manager Phil Stevens, which handles their Australian releases.
Fourth Floor
The Waifs Lyrics
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With the shallow window box
She's digging in the soil with a silver spoon
Her hands inside rubber gloves
Planting seeds, pulling up weeds
The cycle of life is complete
Who would have thought it, in a city of stone
I cannot tell what kind of flowers they are
I'm too far below on the street
But the color they add to the building so drab
Brings a warm splash of welcome relief
Yeah, it's something worthwhile
For the sun to shine on
A reason to radiate heat
Well that small window box,
It was a skipping my feet
Four floors below on the street
For every good seed she plants in the soil
There's a dozen bad waiting to grow
To strangle the goodness she's trying to nurture
To kill all the seed that she's sown
Every time you water the garden
You also water the weeds
A foul administration of sin and temptation
Four floors above the street
Some people don't understand why she does it
Some people look for a reason
Maybe she just likes the feel of the soil
Or keeping in tune with the seasons
Maybe she has so much pride in herself
Got to keep it all visually pleasing
A small paradise in a world of concrete
Four floors above the street
A small paradise in a world of concrete
A small paradise in a world of concrete
A small paradise in a world of concrete
Four floors above the street
The Waifs’s song “Fourth Floor” tells the story of a woman who has created a garden on the fourth floor of a building in a city made of concrete. The lyrics make use of a striking visual image of the woman planting seeds, pulling up weeds and digging in the soil with a silver spoon while wearing her rubber gloves. To the people on the street below, it’s a beautiful sight to see the colorful flowers she’s planted in the shallow window box. The song suggests that despite the chaos, noise and disorder of everyday life in the city, a small garden can bring a sense of peace and happiness to people passing by.
Although the lyrics suggest that the woman has successfully created a small paradise in the midst of a bustling city, there are hints throughout the song that it isn’t all sunshine and roses. The cycle of life is complete, but there’s always the danger that the good seeds will be choked out by the bad. The song ends with the refrain “A small paradise in a world of concrete,” reminding us that the beauty and goodness we create need to be carefully tended if they’re going to survive.
Line by Line Meaning
On the fourth floor of the building
The gardener is on the fourth floor of a building
With the shallow window box
She has a window box garden with shallow soil on her floor
She's digging in the soil with a silver spoon
The gardener is planting and taking care of the plants with precision, using a silver spoon to dig
Her hands inside rubber gloves
The gardener is wearing rubber gloves to protect her hands while planting and taking care of the plants
Planting seeds, pulling up weeds
The gardener is taking care of the plants by planting seeds and removing the weeds
The cycle of life is complete
The process of planting, growing, and harvesting in a garden represents the cycle of life
Who would have thought it, in a city of stone
It is surprising to see a garden thriving in a city with no greenery
Four floors above the street
The garden is located on the fourth floor of the building, high above the busy street
I cannot tell what kind of flowers they are
The artist is too far away to see what type of flowers are in the garden
I'm too far below on the street
The artist is standing on the street, far below the garden
But the color they add to the building so drab
The flowers brighten up the otherwise dull and unattractive building
Brings a warm splash of welcome relief
Seeing the colorful flowers is a comforting and welcoming sight
Yeah, it's something worthwhile
The garden is valuable and worth the effort put into it
For the sun to shine on
The garden benefits from the sunlight it receives
A reason to radiate heat
The garden is a source of warmth and life
Well that small window box,
The garden is small, but still effective
It was a skipping my feet
Seeing the garden makes the artist feel happy and joyful
Four floors below on the street
The singer is still standing on the street below the garden
For every good seed she plants in the soil
There are also bad seeds waiting to grow in the same soil
There's a dozen bad waiting to grow
There are many negative things that can undermine the positive ones in the garden
To strangle the goodness she's trying to nurture
The bad plants can grow and take over the good ones, harming the garden
To kill all the seed that she's sown
The bad plants can prevent the good ones from growing and producing fruit
Every time you water the garden
Taking care of the garden requires consistent effort, like watering it regularly
You also water the weeds
While watering the garden promotes growth of good plants, it can also help bad plants grow
A foul administration of sin and temptation
Bad plants are like sins and temptations that have the potential to harm the garden
Some people don't understand why she does it
Not everyone understands why the gardener puts so much effort into the garden
Some people look for a reason
Some people try to find a logical reason for why the gardener does what she does
Maybe she just likes the feel of the soil
The gardener may simply enjoy the sensation of working with the garden soil
Or keeping in tune with the seasons
The gardener may be motivated by wanting to align with the natural rhythms of the seasons
Maybe she has so much pride in herself
The gardener may put so much effort in the garden because it brings a sense of pride and accomplishment
Got to keep it all visually pleasing
The gardener wants the garden to not only thrive, but also look aesthetically pleasing
A small paradise in a world of concrete
The garden is a small, yet beautiful oasis in the midst of a city's often bleak and industrial surroundings
Four floors above the street
The garden is elevated above the hustle and bustle of the city street
A small paradise in a world of concrete
Overall this line emphasizes how special the garden is to the gardener and arguably for the world too considering the context of the song. This emphasizes fragility of nature and how delicate ecosystems can be found in concrete jungles.
A small paradise in a world of concrete
The garden is a small, yet beautiful oasis in the midst of a city's often bleak and industrial surroundings
A small paradise in a world of concrete
The garden is a small, yet beautiful oasis in the midst of a city's often bleak and industrial surroundings
Four floors above the street
The garden is elevated above the hustle and bustle of the city street
Lyrics © WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
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