We lay your body gently do… Read Full Bio ↴The table set for you now, this one last time
We lay your body gently down, and gather around
A cheap pine box, my covenant, I'll not forget
Your hands once warm and full of love, grown cold in death
My sweet November
To you he flies
All must surrender to her
We all must die
Now Winter holds you in her thrall, the sun turns red
The cold, hard earth is calling you into her bed
How soon our precious love is spent and desolate
The ages waste in passing, erase the dead
My sweet November
To you he flies
All must surrender to her
We all must die
I miss you more with every day
I miss you more than words can say
And, hunted by the jealous grave,
My heart is empty
November
Winter's Thrall Lyrics
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We lay your body gently down, and gather around
A cheap pine box, my covenant, I'll not forget
Your hands once warm and full of love, grown cold in death
My sweet November
To you he flies
All must surrender to her
Now Winter holds you in her thrall, the sun turns red
The cold, hard earth is calling you into her bed
How soon our precious love is spent and desolate
The ages waste in passing, erase the dead
My sweet November
To you he flies
All must surrender to her
We all must die
I miss you more with every day
I miss you more than words can say
And, hunted by the jealous grave,
My heart is empty
The lyrics to Winter's Thrall's song "November" are about death and the aftermath it leaves behind. The song speaks to the finality of death and the loss we feel when someone we love passes away. The first verse describes a funeral where the singer is laying their loved one's body to rest in a cheap pine box. They are surrounded by family and friends who have come to pay their final respects. The singer acknowledges their own mortality when they say, "My covenant, I'll not forget," implying that they too will eventually die.
The chorus of the song speaks to the idea that death is a universal truth that everyone must face. The singer says, "To you he flies, All must surrender to her, We all must die." Death is personified as a female, which is a common motif in literature and mythology. The singer is acknowledging that death is an inevitable part of life and that we all must come to terms with it.
The second verse describes the singer's grief and the feeling of emptiness they experience after losing someone they love. The cold, hard earth is calling the deceased into her bed, and the singer mourns the passing of their love as the ages waste in passing, erasing the dead. The final lines of the song depict the singer missing their loved one more with each passing day. They feel hunted by the "jealous grave," as if death is actively trying to take them too. The song ends with the singer acknowledging the emptiness in their heart.
Line by Line Meaning
The table set for you now, this one last time
We have prepared a final farewell, your last meal with us.
We lay your body gently down, and gather around
We have respectfully placed your lifeless form in its resting place, gathered to pay our final respects.
A cheap pine box, my covenant, I'll not forget
Though it may not lavish, this box I chose to house you in is my solemn promise to always remember you.
Your hands once warm and full of love, grown cold in death
The hands that were once nourishing and loving have become cold and lifeless in your passing.
My sweet November
A term of endearment given to the month representing the artist's beloved.
To you he flies
The beloved has passed away and their spirit has flown to November.
All must surrender to her
Death is unavoidable and all souls must succumb to it.
We all must die
Death is a certainty that will affect us all.
Now Winter holds you in her thrall, the sun turns red
Winter symbolically represents death and has claimed the beloved. The world is in mourning as indicated by the red sun.
The cold, hard earth is calling you into her bed
The grave is preparing to embrace the beloved into its unyielding grip.
How soon our precious love is spent and desolate
The love between the singer and the beloved has been cut short and has left behind emptiness.
The ages waste in passing, erase the dead
Time marches on and as it does, it slowly eradicates all traces of the deceased.
I miss you more with every day
The pain of losing you is becoming more profound with each passing day.
I miss you more than words can say
Words cannot adequately express how much I miss you.
And, hunted by the jealous grave,
The singer feels stalked by the looming threat of death that has claimed their beloved.
My heart is empty
With their loved one's passing, the artist's heart has been left with a hollow, empty ache.
Contributed by Xavier K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.