Shearwater - Home Life

Today's song is Home Life by the band Shearwater. It is from their 2008 album Rook. The band started out in 2001 as a side project of Jonathan Meiburg and Will Sheff of Okkervil River. Starting in 2005 Will Sheff lessened his role with the band, focusing mostly on Okkervil River, with Jonathan Meiburg taking over Shearwater as his main band. Since then they have released 3 new albums. If you enjoy the song, be sure to check them out live at the Bottleneck in Lawrence, KS on April 8.

The song is in a triple meter; I'm not sure of the exact time signature but it definitely has a waltz-feel. I really love the instrumentation in the song. The addition of the clarinet, strings, and piano to the traditional rock setup works really well for this song. The song builds up to a nice climax at 3:45, which is my favorite part of the song. I absolutely love the drums during the climax, and I think using the snare drum with the snare off was definitely the right choice.

When it comes to the lyrics of this song I am absolutely clueless on the meaning. I have been listening and staring at the lyrics for a good 30 minutes, and can't make any progress. What do you think the song is about?