the title of the song "pier 39" which is a famous pier in california definitely goes along with the song. all in all, Justin Vernon is a very symbolic and metaphorical lyricist, so you have to keep in mind the vision of the pier throughout the words.
You talk about affinity
You talk about you telling me
Your habitat
it begins with narrator a conversation with a person. affinity is an unexpected attraction between people or other things, so i imagine the person is perhaps talking about what relationships she's been in or maybe how she feels about love. I read the next line a little broken so it makes more sense; "you talk about you (break) telling me your habitat." i think the narrator has possibly just met this person, and she is telling him about herself, her "habitat", the place she lives, the main parts of her life.
The harbor lights they follow me
They're tearing at our company
Can't you see?
i am still a little puzzled by this stanza. i think it's classic example of JV's symbolism; harbor lights are used to guide ships at sea towards the harbor in dense fog or storms. Harbor lights usually spin around in a light house, but he says they (not just it, to suggest more than one) "follow" him, so i think he is saying there are some things on his mind constantly trying to guide him home, or somewhere he know he has to be. he feels like these thoughts are tearing at the company between him and this person. By using the word "tearing" he is suggesting he feels a connection to this person he doesn't want to just release.
I'm cold like a carving
Cold like a wind
Bold, gentle, stubborn
Your rolling waves
i think this stanza is just a continuation of the previous line "can't you see?" i see this stanza as him saying to this person that he feels like he will hurt them, or that from past experiences he is "cold" and he's trying to say "can't you see that i have these "harbor lights" tearing at our company?" I think he used cold (the emotion) and carving (as a verb) to say that he felt like he would scar them, to say he would be quick and chilly like a wind. it's possible he is trying to warn them away? perhaps he feels guilty for knowing he is caught in a situation that is bad for him and that he'll have to get out of because of the lights "tearing at him." "Bold, gentle, and stubborn" are just the ways that he describes the beauty in this person, and that their rolling waves make it seem so easy to talk to or be around, rolling waves are usually calming and peaceful. perhaps the things he is shown in this person are telling him that this person makes him happy?
I'm baffled by your symmetry
Underneath the budded tree
Waiting on your game
this one isn't so complicated. human attraction is based upon bodily symmetry of others, so easily enough said, the narrator finds this person beautiful like he's never seen before, he's baffled by it. i think the second two lines are simply saying he sees the buds of flowers on a tree, and that he's underneath them, waiting for them to blossom. perhaps he feels like it's a game he's waiting on to play.
To send you to some other joy
I'll pick you up and write you notes
Fancy meeting you here
i'm starting to get the feeling some of these lines play off of each other. i think this might be a continuation of the "waiting on your game" line. i'll just say so and go with it. he might be saying he's waiting on her "game" to send her to some other joy. perhaps another love? maybe he's saying he's seen this before? anyways, the second line, i feel, is him saying that he will pick her up or be there for her when she is hurting, and that he'll write her notes and be her friend. Then, by some random chance, he's hoping might meet her somewhere (maybe a state of mind rather than a place?) that brings them together again, "fancy meeting you here." fancy would usually suggest a happy coincidence.
Cause you're old like the street names
Feels old like our card games
Tired as home and morning pains
I tie you up with me
another simply put stanza: i think he's saying she's someone he knows quite well like street names that have been there for him for a long time, perhaps something that directs him (in JV's symbolism). I think the second line is just saying that they found joy in simple things like card games. Finally, they are both tired and bored like home can get, and tired of morning pains (which i interpret as waking up without anything to be happy about), so he ties this person up with him, or perhaps takes a step towards being with this person again. i think that this songs stanzas may stretch over a period of time, not just one occurence.
You will somehow make me learn
That what is it inside me that
burns
this stanza might connect to the next, but i interpret this as the narrator is telling himself that "you will help me understand what this feeling inside me is, (saying burning to say) it's a pain and i don't understand, i don't want it. i don't know how you will make me learn, but you will."
A carnival inside this mind
Just a divert roadside sign
Directing you along the way
a carnival inside his mind might be saying he feels like there is a party in his head, a happiness full of fun and joy is just an unexpected detour in the other person's life, but it will end up leading them back to their way.
Feels old like your pages
I'm feeling born like your babies
I've been boarded up like cages
But I'm busting out
But I'm busting out
i don't really understand this paragraph. i think it might be another stanza continuation. He's perhaps saying "directing you along the way feels old like your pages", like he's done this "directing" with himself before, and maybe the pages represent the person's history. Feeling born like babies might make him feel as if he's brand new, like saying "all your creations, all the thoughts that come from you are newborn and beautiful, and i've been boarded up in the cage of my own mind. I feel so brand new because of you, i'm busting out."
And don't you give up on me
Don't be like me cause you love me
Don't give up on me
Don't be like me cause you love me
i am not sure at all what the storyline of this song is now, but i know it's him speaking to a girl, that's about it xD maybe he's saying he's been a prisoner of himself all along? I'm not completely sure i understand this line, but i can give personal meaning i find in it. wow, what a terrible way to finish an analysis. i think this stanza is saying either one of two things; "don't give up on me, i'm still here. just be yourself, don't be like me just because you love me." i feel like it's saying more of: "i know how much you care about me and just want to do what you feel makes me happier in the end, but please don't give up on me like i gave up on myself, i still care a lot about you."
a little skewed.
i'm probably wrong.
whatever. at least i tried. =p
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