The Trapeze Swinger
iron and wine Lyrics

Please, remember me
The singer is asking the listener to not forget them

Happily
The singer wants the listener to remember them as happy

By the rosebush laughing
The singer and the listener shared a memory of laughing by the rosebush

With bruises on my chin
The artist had bruises on their chin that the listener might remember

The time when
The artist is referring to a specific time in the past

We counted every black car passing
The singer and the listener used to count black cars that passed by

Your house beneath the hill
The listener's house used to be situated beneath a hill

And up until
This line is connecting the previous lines to the next ones

Someone caught us in the kitchen
The artist and the listener were caught in the kitchen by someone

With maps, a mountain range
When caught, the artist and the listener had maps and a mountain range

A piggy bank
They also had a piggy bank

A vision too removed to mention, but
The artist does not want to mention what the vision was

I heard from someone you're still pretty
The singer heard that the listener is still pretty

And then
This line is connecting the previous lines to the next ones

They went on to say
The person the singer heard from continued to say something

That the pearly gates
The person mentioned the pearly gates, implying death

Had some eloquent graffiti
The pearly gates were graffitied with eloquent phrases

Like 'We'll meet again'
One phrase on the gate was 'We'll meet again'

And 'Fuck the man'
Another phrase on the gate was 'Fuck the man'

And 'Tell my mother not to worry'
The graffiti included a message to tell someone's mother not to worry

And angels with their gray
The artist is referring to the color of the angels'

Handshakes
The angels have gray handshakes

Were always done in such a hurry, and
The handshakes were done quickly

At Halloween
The artist is referring to a memory around Halloween

Making fools of all the neighbors
The singer and the listener played a prank on their neighbors

Our faces painted white
The singer and the listener had painted their faces white for the prank

By midnight
By midnight, the singer and the listener forgot about each other

We'd forgotten one another
The artist and the listener forgot each other in the moment

And when the morning came
The memory continued until the morning came

I was ashamed
The singer was ashamed of their actions

Only now it seems so silly
Looking back, the singer feels that the prank was silly

That season left the world
The season the artist is referring to has passed

And then returned
The season has returned again

And now you're lit up by the city, so
The artist imagines the listener being in the city

In the window of the tallest tower call
The singer is picturing the listener calling from the tallest tower

Then pass us by
The listener would be too high up to see the artist

But much too high
Emphasizes the height difference between the singer and the listener

To see the empty road at happy hour
The listener is too far up to see the empty road during happy hour

Leave and resonate
The singer wants to leave and have an impact on people

Just like the gates
The effect will be similar to the graffiti on the pearly gates

Around the holy kingdom
The gates surround a holy kingdom

With words like 'Lost and Found' and 'Don't Look Down'
These phrases are painted on the same gates

And 'Someone Save Temptation', and
Another phrase painted on the gates is 'Someone Save Temptation'

As in the dream
The artist is referring to a dream

We had as rug-burned babies
The dream is from when they were babies with rug-burns

Among the fallen trees
The babies were among the fallen trees in the dream

And fast asleep
The babies were asleep in the dream

Aside the lions and the ladies
There were lions and ladies in the dream

That called you what you like
The ladies called the listener what they liked

And even might
The ladies might have given the listener a gift for their behavior

Give a gift for your behavior
The ladies might reward the listener for good behavior

A fleeting chance to see
The listener had a brief opportunity to see something

A trapeze
They had a chance to see a trapeze

Swing as high as any savior, but
The trapeze swung as high as any savior would

My misery
The singer is referring to their own misery

And how it lost me all I wanted
The artist's misery caused them to lose everything they wanted

Those dogs that love the rain
The artist is referencing dogs that enjoy being in the rain

And chasing trains
They also enjoy chasing trains

The colored birds above there running
The birds they see are colorful and running

In circles round the well
The birds are circling a well

And where it spells
This line is connecting the previous lines to the next ones

On the wall behind St. Peter's
The singer is referencing a wall behind St. Peter's gate

So bright with cinder gray
The wall is bright but still cinder gray

And spray paint
The wall has spray paint on it

'Who the hell can see forever?', and
One of the phrases painted on the wall is 'Who the hell can see forever?'

Seldomly
The singer is rarely remembered

In the car behind the carnival
The singer is referencing being in a car behind a carnival

My hand between your knees
The artist's hand is between the listener's knees

You turn from me
The listener turns away from the artist

And said 'The trapeze act was wonderful
The listener commented on a trapeze act they had seen

But never meant to last'
The act wasn't meant to last a long time

The clown that passed
A clown went by

Saw me just come up with anger
The clown saw the singer getting angry

When it filled with circus dogs
When the area filled with circus dogs

The parking lot
The singer and the listener were in a parking lot

Had an element of danger, so
The parking lot was dangerous in some way

Finally
This is the last time the artist is asking to be remembered

And all my uphill clawing
The singer worked hard to achieve something, clawing their way uphill

My dear
An affectionate term for the listener

But if I make
The artist is speculating on their own success

The pearly gates
The artist is referencing the gates of heaven once again

Do my best to make a drawing
If the artist gets to heaven, they will draw something

Of God and Lucifer
The singer wants to draw God and Lucifer

A boy and girl
The artist wants to draw a boy and a girl

An angel kissing on a sinner
The singer wants to draw an angel kissing a sinner

A monkey and a man
The singer wants to draw a monkey and a man

A marching band
The singer wants to draw a marching band

All around the frightened trapeze swingers
All these figures will be around the frightened trapeze swingers