Fair September

Song Meaning

This track paints a stark picture of a love that's faded, even transformed into something unsettling. The narrator recalls a lover who once shone brightly, comparing her to a 'beautiful rose / Out in the morning light.' That vibrant image is now a ghost of the past, replaced by a figure who is 'strange,' 'silent and pale,' and only emerges 'at night.' This isn't just a lover's quarrel; it's a fundamental shift in who this person has become. The central tension lies in the narrator's inability to reconcile the past with the present. He remembers the radiant lover, but is confronted by a nocturnal, almost spectral presence. This transformation is so profound that the narrator feels a deep sense of alienation, noting, 'Darling girl, you're strange to me now.' The shift from daylight vibrancy to nighttime pallor suggests a loss of life or spirit, leaving the narrator adrift in a changed reality. The lyrics masterfully use contrasting imagery to highlight this decay. The once-bright rose is now a pale, nocturnal being, and the narrator himself adopts a similar pattern. He finds the daytime 'hateful and sore,' mirroring his lover's aversion to the light, and waits 'alone through the day / And like the jasmine bloom' – a flower that often opens at night. This shared avoidance of the sun creates a somber, shared isolation, a dark echo of their former connection. Ultimately, the song's power comes from its quiet, melancholic portrayal of loss and transformation. The narrator isn't angry; he's bewildered and resigned. The simple, direct language and the recurring refrain about the 'hateful and sore' sun amplify the feeling of a love that has withered and retreated into shadow, leaving only a haunting memory and a shared, sunless existence.