Song Meaning
These lyrics plunge into a raw moment of profound betrayal and isolation. The speaker grapples with the disloyalty of friends and the departure of a lover. It's a stark portrayal of being left alone in a time of deep personal sorrow.
The central emotional tension stems from a dual abandonment. Not only has a "love chose to lurk in the sea" and gone "her own way," but the speaker's friends have also deserted them. The powerful image of friends having "run off the dance / That sadness kept for me" suggests a particularly cruel form of betrayal—leaving the speaker to grieve entirely alone, even stealing their "heart away."
Amidst this external abandonment, the lyrics pivot to an internal struggle. The speaker directly addresses their own heart, pleading, "Hey my heart, let me be." This personification reveals a desperate attempt to quiet internal turmoil and memory. The desire to "Hang on back to the trees" evokes a yearning for a simpler, more detached state, away from the pain of human connection.
The repeated lines, "Free in my so late dreams / Early in the morning," create a poignant sense of longing. It seems that true freedom and peace are currently only found in the escape of dreams, a state that feels delayed or elusive even as the new day begins. The lyrics effectively capture the persistent, almost haunting nature of grief and the difficult search for solace when both external support and internal peace feel out of reach.