some song analyses
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There's a fire burning
And I'm learning to be
So much more than my tiredness
So much more than that old witch sleep wishes
She kisses my eyelids
And I breathe

The first verse is reminiscent of someone realizing he needs to change. He's waking up from a slumber---I'm going to take a shortcut and say "old witch sleep" is a metaphor for depression---and realizing it's time to move on from what he's been. He's going to be something.

The Old Witch Sleep can represent how attractive doing nothing is. "You don't have to be brilliant," she reminds him; how tempting is it to do nothing? He's under no obligation to do something with his life. He can be one of the "hollow folk" and play their empty roles. Yet those "hollow folk" are hollering---maybe they, too, want to be more than they currently are. (Maybe he is one of the hollering hollow folk.)

"'Sleep now,' oh, she says" is self-evident---Old Witch Sleep (OWS) is trying to convince him to continue doing what he's always done. She's trying to keep him in her embrace. "Then the hollow folk come / Pour me wine by my bed" could be the "hollow folk" trying to convince him to give in. They, too, have been seduced by OWS and haven't decided what they want to do. There's company in misery. They're repeating the things he's said, and saying no, he can't be more than the OWS wishes.

'Cause you are in the earth of me
You are in the earth of me
My head's not yours, it's mine
'Cause you are in the earth of me

The OWS and the "hollow folk" are a part of him, but they do not define him. This matters. He can't banish them, but he can conquer them. He drinks their wine, but he doesn't give in to them. Instead, he lifts his glass "to that last good man grace." The Good Man Grace (GMG) is the opposite of OWS; he's the ability to grow, move on, and be more than the OWS wishes. The narrator wants the GMG, but he's left him; maybe GMG represents a helpful force that has finally given up on him.

GMG still insists that the narrator is better than what he's currently doing. The narrator stands and argues, insisting he can't be better. "I can't do this," he insists, but the GMG still believes he can. The narrator is conflicted---he's not sleeping, he's standing, but he's arguing that he can't do more than sleep. He's still waking up from OWS' temptations. OWS still pleads, telling him to sleep.

You're not a coward 'cause you cower
You're brave because they broke you
Yet broken still you breathe

This could be GMG reframing the OWS temptations. She and the hollow folk would say they've worn him down, he's cowering and must continue to cower, he is a coward and broken. Yet the GMG can point out that the narrator is still here, and he's still trying to move forward. He was cowering, but he has woken up. He's learning to be more. He's breathing. He's no coward; he's brave.

Then the hollow folk pour me Another shard full of glass And I toast to their talents And I forgive them at last 'Cause I know, oh I know, I know

The hollow folk come to comfort him, but this time, he recognizes their comfort for what it is. This is no wine, no time to let loose; their words are shards to hurt him with. He forgives them. Why?---because they're a part of him. They don't define him. He'll take his time, but he'll do it on his terms. He can take his time (and rest) without giving in to OWS and the hollow folk.

Highly recommend listening to this song; the beat and style change after this verse. It grows upbeat. The music sounds like it's moving forward and gaining energy. How much energy?---enough to bury the disagreements between him and OWS. I fucking love the bridge.

"I'm all yours / but you're all mine" recognizes that the OWS and her hollow folk are part of him. He has belonged to them, but he understands that they belong to him. We've heard this a few times in the chorus, but here, he's changing the tune. "Let's dance together / You and I" shows him beginning to bridge the divide. Instead of talking about how they don't define him, he's going to do something about it. He is, for lack of a better phrasing, asserting his dominance and directly addressing the problem: "I'm not trapped with you / You see / You're the one who's trapped with me." He has completely reframed the problem. Active, not passive, approach.

'Cause I've been here so many times before
Don't you think I look pretty
Curled up on this bathroom floor
But where you see weakness I see wit
Sometimes I fall to pieces
Just to see what bits of me don't fit

He's done this dance before. He knows what's going on, and he's finally chosing to do something about it. Sure, he fell. Sure, he rested for a bit. Sure, OWS saw him resting and decided to seduce him ("don't you think I look pretty / curled up on this bathroom floor"). She saw this as him being weak; he's framing his rest as intentional and necessary. She was preying on him, and he let himself be preyed on; he's recognized this and is ready to move on. Like a butterfly in the cocoon (pardon the cringe analogy), he's ready for a transformation.

'Cause we'll dance together so close we're sharing breath
But now I'm leading, doesn't that just scare you to death

THAT LINE ABOUT LEADING IS GOD-TIER. He has taken control. This has been gradual, he's had to work to overcome OWS, and now he's in the last stages. He's dreamed about how great overcoming OWS will be ("When I stand all those folks will run / And tell the tales of what I've become"). "Those folks" could be a reference to the hollow folk; these people, who are like him, who he was once one of, will see him overcoming OWS (and be inspired by it?). He's done what they couldn't do.

I think this song is being sung from the perspective of a guy who was friends with a guy named Cairo and a girl who Cairo is in a relationship with. Cairo is an accomplished person who craves more ("You restless son / You ribbon winner"). His accomplishments are public; he did them for attention, and managed to get the attention of a girl ("Did it turn out right? / You livin' with her?"). This isn't enough for Cairo. He's still restless; was what he earned worth it? Was it what he wanted?

The narrator knew both Cairo and his girl ("Three's a crowd / and two's in love"), and he feels abandoned by them ("But I can't sleep alone"). He's more loyal to Cairo than he is the girlfriend. In some sense, Cairo met a girl and, while he tried to remember the narrator, he still managed to leave the narrator behind.

The second verse takes a dark turn. What Cairo thought was true might not be true ("You read it wrong" / ... / You've stolen everything you believe"). Maybe his allegience to the girl is misplaced. In his quest for achievements, he remained ignorant of what was really going on ("Did you try too hard? / Your mind too meagre"). In some sense, Cairo is losing himself ("No face for feeding"). He's lacking a sense of stability; he left a friend behind and is being abandoned by the person he followed ("No steady stream of human life"). He's desperate ("Chasing anything into the night").

From this perspective, the song is a plea.

---

To me, parts of this song can be read as a metaphor for addiction. The second verse describes someone who misinterpreted something ("You read it wrong"); what he thought was good has failed him. An addict finds solace in their addiction. That solace gives way to misery and desperation ("No face for feeding / ... / No steady stream of human life"). The addict makes excuses and grows desperate ("Now you're leaching blood / You read-mouthed sinner"); still, more is never enough ("Chasing anything into the night").

From this perspective, the song is a plea from the friend of an addict. The friend can't help Cairo, and he wants Cairo to return. You messed up. I get it. Please, come back. For me.