she’s looking for things
before my great-grandfather goes on a trip
to teach at a university
i believe that’s what the song is about
she’s running around the house
fetching his things
funny to think he’d travel with his file/drill and clam shells
I believe by drill she meant a hand drill that he’d use to crack the shells into various shapes
then he’d file the edges
so they were soft
before he’d fit them together
the color of the clam shells go from white to blue/purple
and various shades between
Ed Droste on the inspiration for “Marla” (on Yellow House). His great-great-aunt went to New York to be a singer, failed, and drank until she died at 40. She sang the original lyrics to piano accompaniment. Her recording sounds the way old things should: grayscale, distant, muffled, wavering with vibrato. Vaguely haunted.
I might make more of this later on.
(Via)
