Waxing Or Waning?

Song Meaning

The lyrics immediately plunge into a scene of quiet departure, painting a picture of someone leaving a note and taking a "one way trip to the city" just after dusk. It's a decisive, almost clandestine, break from a former life, setting a tone of hopeful yet uncertain ambition. This ambition quickly meets the gritty reality of urban struggle, described through stark images like "A cold water flat" and "want ads are strewn on the floor." The internal tension is palpable as "you get so mad" seeing your parents reflected in the mirror, signaling a fierce determination to carve out a unique identity, distinct from their perceived contentment. A narrator then emerges, observing "You" from a distance, recalling a shared past. The repeated image of "I see you there / Nude at the top of the stairs" (later "Alight") is particularly striking, conveying both raw vulnerability and a kind of inner glow or resolve, always seen as "so far away." This intimate yet distant gaze emphasizes the profound impact "Your dreams and your schemes moving me" had on the narrator, hinting at a deep, personal connection to "the plans that we made." The song culminates in the poignant question, "Waxing or waning? Your call," a powerful metaphor for growth or decline, placing ultimate agency squarely on "You." This line encapsulates the high stakes of rejecting a "content just to live and get by" existence, as embodied by "your brother and Mike," and choosing instead a path fraught with uncertainty but driven by fierce, individual ambition. The narrator's lingering concern for "your fine / At 13th and 9" grounds this grand struggle in a specific, vulnerable plea.