"Maybe after He's Gone"

Backdated, archival post

[link to original on tumblr]

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I was thinking about "Maybe after He's Gone" this morning, specifically the third verse.  At first, I just realized that after the line "I'm alone," most of the instruments drop out so that the song is nearly a cappella (there's still a piano part).  The voices are (almost) alone, just like the singer/speaker.

I looked at my transcription though, and - after I fixed my line breaks - I realized two other things:

First, the sentiments "I'm on my own" and "I'm alone" are illustrated in how the verse is a line shorter than the others.  There's a lack in both instances.

Secondly, those full lines are pretty parallel:  "I feel so cold; I'm on my own" and "Night surrounds me; I'm alone."  The similarity of those lines tacitly indicates that the night is cold.