Eagle on a Pole
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Eagle on a Pole Lyrics
Saw an eagle on a pole, I think it was an eagle
Watched its' shadow fly 'cross the cement
And I woke up in the snow, all the trees, and crowds, and people
No shirt, no shoes, no idea where they went
I followed the fence line thin back where the yard begins
My woman, she stood crying like a man
[Chorus 1]
Said, where have you been, where have you been?
I thought you said that all of that was done
El cielo es azul
Just don't go telling everyone
[Verse 2]
Thought the kettle was a train, thought that Monday was a doorframe
I tried so hard to finally settle down
Heard the fire pop and snap like a tack piano rag
I never could get used to happy sounds
Yeah, I hope the world's exposed a cruel and elaborate hoax
It convinces me to walk without a cane
[Chorus 2]
But what can you do, child, what can you do?
I always heard that what is done is done
El cielo es azul
Just don't go telling everyone
The past don't ever quit, there's boxes in the attic
Baby shoes and taxidermy dreams
While the ashes of the dead, like a dandelion head
Explode and then are scattered by the breeze
It's such a long way back to all the fun I've had
When nothin' ever seemed to bother me
[Chorus]
But what can you do, child, what can you do?
Sleep 'neath the stars, and toil in the sun
El cielo es azul
Just don't go telling everyone
About
From Conor’s 2008 solo album “Conor Oberst.”
In an interview with MTV news, Oberst stated “We were on the bus one day and a friend of ours that travels with us and works for the band kind of came out from the back of the bus and said that first line: ‘Saw an eagle on a pole… I think it was an eagle.’ And then this guy Simon Joyner, who is a great songwriter from Omaha and one of my great friends, he was on tour with us and sitting there and he was like, ‘You know, that’s a great name for a song.’ We kind of had a contest where he wrote a song with that first line, and [then] I did, and a couple of our other friends. We kind of all played them for each other. Simon’s is better than mine, but it is a good line to start a song.”
Another version–Mystic Valley Band drummer Jason Boesel’s interpretation–is on the next album, Outer South.
Oberst told the Independent newspaper July 18,2008 that this song is “about infidelity, and acceptance of the way things are.”
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
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