Civil Twilight
The Weakerthans Lyrics


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My Confusion Corner commuters
Are cursing the cold away
As December tries to dissemble
The length of their working day
And they bite their mitts off to show me
Transfers, deposit change
And I can't stop finding your face
In their faces, all rearranged
And angry like you never were

And I ease us back into traffic
Dusk comes on and I wonder
Why I'm always remembering you
At civil twilight

For the most part, I think about golfing and constantly calculate
All the seconds left in the minutes, and so on, et cetera
Or recite the names of provinces and Hollywood actors
Oh, Ontario
Oh, Jennifer Jason Leigh
But this part of the day bewilders me

Streets slow down and ice over
Dusk comes on and I struggle
Stop to stop, to stop thinking of you
In civil twilight

Hey, every other hour I pass that house
Where you told me that you had to go
I wonder if the landlord has fixed the crack
That I stared at instead of staring back
At you, my chance to say something
Seemed so brief, but it wasn't
Now I know I had plenty of time
Between the sunset and certified darkness
Dusk comes on and I follow
The exhaust from memory up to the end

Of civil twilight
At civil twilight




At civil twilight
At civil twilight

Overall Meaning

The Weakerthans’ song Civil Twilight describes the singer’s contemplations about the transient nature of life and love during the time of day when the sun is just below the horizon. The title itself refers to the period of Civil Twilight, which is the brief moment when the sun is between 0 and 6 degrees below the horizon. The song starts with the singer observing commuters on a cold December day while remembering a past lover. The commuters’ faces reflect his lover's face all rearranged and angry, which shows a stark contrast to her actual demeanor since she was never angry before. Even though the singer is surrounded by others, he can't help but find his love in every face he sees.


As the day turns into evening, the singer is still remembering his love during the Civil Twilight hours when the world transitions from day to night. During this time, the road slows and becomes icy, and the singer struggles to stop thinking about his love. The singer then reminisces about a particular house that his love once lived in, where he missed the chance to say something significant. He wonders if the landlord has fixed the crack that he once stared at instead of staring back at his love. He realizes that he had plenty of time between the sunset and certified darkness but failed to seize the opportunity.


The song reflects on the brevity of life and the importance of seizing the moment with loved ones, as seen in the missed opportunity with the lover. The use of Civil Twilight as a metaphor for the transitions in life highlights the fleeting nature of people's lives and relationships.


Line by Line Meaning

My Confusion Corner commuters
The people taking the same daily route as me from Confusion Corner suffer from absolute chaos.


Are cursing the cold away
They are using any and all force to counteract the cold weather.


As December tries to dissemble
With winter's arrival, the month of December tries its very best to conceal something.


The length of their working day
Specifically, workers try to disguise the extent of their working day.


And they bite their mitts off to show me
The passengers gnaw off their gloves to demonstrate such things as their transit validation or attempting to make change during fare payment.


Transfers, deposit change
The amount of 'busyness' involved in public transit fare payments.


And I can't stop finding your face
Regrettably, I cannot seem to stop recognizing you in their faces, which are distorted and contorted.


In their faces, all rearranged
Their faces are so unfamiliar to me, but every so often, a new connection is made in my brain, and I see you.


And angry like you never were
Despite their frustration, their grimaces and frowns are nothing compared to the wrath you used to direct at me.


And I ease us back into traffic
I ease ourselves back into traffic (congestion).


Dusk comes on and I wonder
As the sun sets, I begin to ponder.


Why I'm always remembering you
Why do my thoughts always return to you?


At civil twilight
During the time of day when it is neither completely dark nor fully daytime.


For the most part, I think about golfing and constantly calculate
Most of the time, my thoughts are preoccupied with calculating (for anything and everything) and playing golf.


All the seconds left in the minutes, and so on, et cetera
Calculations in every possible fashion like dividing minutes into seconds and so on.


Or recite the names of provinces and Hollywood actors
Occasionally, I will associate the names of provinces from the country and Hollywood's notable actors.


Oh, Ontario
A reference to a Canadian province.


Oh, Jennifer Jason Leigh
A Hollywood actor.


But this part of the day bewilders me
However, this time of day is confusing to me.


Streets slow down and ice over
The streets will gradually decelerate and glaze over with ice.


Dusk comes on and I struggle
At dusk, it's a struggle for me.


Stop to stop, to stop thinking of you
I put to an end to the cycle of trying to stop thinking about you.


In civil twilight
The strange time of day when your thoughts might run rampant.


Hey, every other hour, I pass that house
Every two hours, I pass by the house you left.


Where you told me that you had to go
The last place I saw you before you left me.


I wonder if the landlord has fixed the crack
I wonder if the landlord repaired the break in the wall that I previously spent hours staring at in place of staring into your eyes.


That I stared at instead of staring back
I was frozen when you left, and I couldn't respond to what happened.


At you, my chance to say something
For once, I had nothing to say to you.


Seemed so brief, but it wasn't
What felt like a small period of time was indeed not.


Now I know I had plenty of time
Now, taking a step back, there was a vast expanse of time where I could have said something.


Between the sunset and certified darkness
The period of time between the sunset and the time of the day that confirmed the full arrival of darkness.


Dusk comes on and I follow
At dusk, I begin following a particular thought pattern.


The exhaust from memory up to the end
Remembering everything about you from the very beginning to the very end.


Of civil twilight
The time of day that confuses me with your memories.


At civil twilight
During the time of day that perplexes me with memories of you.


At civil twilight
Within the time of day that can trigger a sequence of events that I'm not fully prepared for.


At civil twilight
In that moment of confusion when everything seems to hit at once.




Lyrics © MOTHERSHIP MUSIC PUBLISHING
Written by: John K Samson, Jason Tait, Greg Scott Smith, Stephen Allan Carroll

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

CareandCompassion

My confusion corner commuters are cursing the cold away
As December tries to dissemble the length of their working day
And they bite their mitts off to show me transfers, deposit change
And I can't stop finding your face in their faces, all rearranged

And angry like you never were

And I ease us back into traffic
Dusk comes on and I wonder
Why I'm always remembering you
At civil twilight

For the most part I think about golfing and constantly calculate
All the seconds left in the minutes, and so on, etcetera
Or recite the names of provinces and Hollywood actors;
Oh, Ontario, oh, Jennifer Jason Leigh

This part of the day bewilders me

Streets slow down and ice over,
Dusk comes on and I struggle
Stop, to stop, to stop thinking of you
At civil twilight

Hey, every other hour I pass that house,
Where you told me that you had to go
I wonder if the landlord has fixed the crack,
That I stared at, instead of staring back at you

My chance to say something
Seemed so brief but it wasn't
Now I know I had plenty of time
Between the sunset and certified darkness
Dusk comes on and I follow
The exhaust from memory up to the end

At civil twilight
At civil twilight
At civil twilight
At civil twilight



All comments from YouTube:

beth r

i love the weakerthans, and this song is my favorite of theirs. " i cant stop finding your face in their faces all rearranged." one of the best lyrics ever.

psychicmaster

I think this is among their best. I love the way JKS so perfectly describes what goes on in the mind of an overthinker while the world passes by.

Ben Barclay

One of my best friends one day looked at me, paused for a second, and said: "You know, Ben, you think too much". Nailed it. Not that I could stop. It's just the way we are.

Dylan Brannon

My favorite line from this song is "Hey, every other hour I pass that house where you [broke up with me]." And then the rest of the song he's wondering why he thinks about this girl while driving this route! It's so funny how he can't even make that simple connection.

Let alone that Civil Twilight is both the time between close of business and sunset, but also a summation of their civil relationship reaching its end.

shadysh8s

I can't believe that this doesn't have million views. I've bought every album over the years and just discovered they have a couple music videos! Manitoba proud.

Andrew Russell

This band brings chills to my spine with the way they encapsulate what it is to be a Canadian. I sometimes get choked up just trying to sing along. Lyrical genius inside of simplicity. I have a guitar..... can I be in your band?

Blank Gen

I feel the same way and I'm an Australian , a great band with great lyrics who I would live to see live.

Megan Mango

I think they encapsulate what it is to be human. Be a man, show emotion & cry during sad songs. I applaud that, as most women would.

Liam

Great comment brotha.

Patrick Gavisk

@Blank Gen And I kick my own ass for NOT going to see them the two different chances I had...

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