Buildings Are So Tall These Days

Buildings

Regina Spektor

He was a husband who drove his wife home drunk from the parties

He was a husband who drove his wife home

And in the car he would lean her head gently against the side door window

And in the bathroom he would hold her hair back and hope, saying:

Oh they build buildings

Oh they build buildings

Oh they build buildings

Oh they build buildings

Oh they build buildings

Oh they build buildings

Oh they build buildings

So tall these days

And in the morning she'd wake up and crouch recollections all day

But she would always always wake up the next morning

He'd take one look at her a say "Oh, oh it's okay"

And her conscience would issue yet another last warning, saying:

Oh they build buildings

Oh they build buildings

Oh they build buildings

Oh they build buildings

Oh they build buildings

Oh they build buildings

Oh they build buildings

So tall these days

And she would ask for time

And she'd ask for time

And she'd ask for time

And she'd ask for time

And she would beg for time

And she'd beg for time

And call it a gift

And he would give her time

And he'd give her time

And he'd give her time

And he'd give her time

But time is not given and time is not taken

It just sifts through its sift

But time is not given and time is not taken

It just sifts through its sift

Sifts through its sift

Just sifts through its sift

Oh, Oh ooooo

Sifts through its sift

Just sifts through its sift

And it was coffee and coffee and coffee and coffee and coffee

And coffee some more

He'd go to work and she'd take a sick day and rot at the core

And by the time he came back she'd scrub the bathrooms and make them smell like pine

It would be almost as if nothing had happened

And he'd give her time

Oh, oh, and he'd give her time saying:

Oh they build buildings

Oh they build buildings

Oh they build buildings

Oh don't they build buildings

Oh they build buildings

Oh they build buildings

Oh, they build buildings so tall these days

And she would ask for time

And she'd ask for time

And she'd ask for time

She'd beg for time

And she would beg for time

And she'd beg for time

And call it a gift

And he would give her time

And he'd give her time

And he'd give her time

And he'd give her time

But time is not given and time is not taken

It just sifts through its sift

But time is not given and time is not taken

It just sifts through its sift

Oh sifts though its sift,

Sifts through its sift

Oh oooo

Oh sifts through its sift

Sifts through its sift

He was a husband drove time

Home, time, car

Oh core

Cores the day

Core coffee

Core warning

Last warning

Was a husband

Time pine

Scrub scrub

Bathroom

Lean hair back

Car window

Hope

Time give

Don't they build buildings so tall these days

It's my first time posting a blog in here so don't expect too much, okay? I just want to share what I think about the song. Now, we begin...

Today, I heard this song accidentally and I did like it. I searched for the lyrics and there it is above this paragraph. It was then that I noticed what the meaning of this song was.

I saw different views from different people about this song. Some think that this song is a bit of a tragedy, some say that it's a lov story and some think that it's suicidal. Well, some people think like me. I think this song is a love story but a story with a tragic ending. And today, I will point out some evidences that what I think about this song is true or if I will be mistaken, I shall listen to everyone's opinions and criticisms.

This song is a story about a caring husband and an alcoholic wife. The man is always sticking to the side of his wife because he loves her dearly. The woman is suffering from depression so she drinks to try and help the pain and her husband stands by her side. The woman know that her husband is having a hard time dealing with her everytime she is drunk that is why the line "And she would ask for time" and "And she would beg for time" is saying that the woman is having a hard time in coping up with change and so she ask for some more time from her husband for change.

The part where Regina Spektor sings "But she would always wake up the next morning, and he would look at her and say 'Oh, that's ok.' and her conscience would isssue her another last warning" is talking about how she'd feel guilty every morning she wakes up, because her husband has to put up with her depression and alcohol abuse for another day, but he would sympathise and tell her it's ok, but he conscience is telling her it's wrong to put him through that.

The part "Oh, they build buildings so tall these days" gave me a hard time because I thought of two different views. One is the literal - buildings nowadays are so tall that the husband is having a hard time carrying his wife from the first floor to the floor of their home. The other one is the metaphor that says nowadays, buildings are taller that refers to change in todays life. It's like the husband is telling his wife that "You need to change because it's the only permanent thing in life."

The ending? Well, that's the most challenging part. At first, I thought the ending is that the woman is reminiscing the events of her life just like in a flashback. But everything that I thought changed when I heard how Regina sang the last word.

The part when Regina Spektor sings the later part with jumbled words is like a flashback of the woman's life, and as she's falling, she's going over in her head what her husband did for her. The note that Regina ends on, as she sings the word "days" sounds very saddening, as though a life has just come to an end.

Well, that's how I interpreted the song. How about you?