Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a tender, almost ritualistic picture of the beginning of a romance. The narrator invites a lover to embrace the night's dew, promising to dry her hair, and then to wash and perfume her feet. This imagery evokes a sense of care and devotion, setting a scene that the narrator explicitly states is how romances begin, and how 'we two' started. However, this idyllic beginning is sharply contrasted with the reality of a long-term relationship. The narrator reveals that after ten years, the couple has been 'fighting' constantly. This isn't a gentle disagreement, but a sustained conflict that wears the narrator down, as indicated by 'when I arrive tired.' The core tension lies between the romantic ideal of how relationships start and the messy, combative, yet ultimately enduring nature of their reality. The most striking craft element is the direct address and the shift in perspective from the initial romantic gestures to the present-day struggle. The narrator uses the couple's enduring, albeit difficult, relationship as a