The Graduate

Six years ago! Can’t believe it’s been that long. So many miles traveled, for both The Arcadian Wild and for us. How appropriate for this time of year, but this is not just for graduates! I still go back to this song with appreciation as I ponder the progression in the lyrics from individual to community, from seemingly unaccompanied to an unexpected ending. It reminds me of the encore they performed, of “In the Middle” by Jimmy Eat World, when last we heard them in OKC.

“The Graduate”

When you were younger
You dreamed of being tall
But you discovered
Growing up just leaves you feeling small

While you were sleeping
Everything changed at once
You woke in the morning
And stepped into the stinging light of dawn

You are wandering through the wild
You are wondering if and when you’ll reach the other side
Weighed down by a heart of stone
Bound to a body of broken bones
Fragile and feeling alone
But the whole story hasn’t been told

When you were younger
You saw all the world was yours
But you don’t have the same eyes
And you cannot believe that anymore

You studied the pieces
Scattered around the room
Failing is fruitful
So long as we do not forget to move

We are wandering through the wild
We are wondering if and when we’ll reach the other side
Weighed down by our hearts of stone
Bound to these bodies of broken bones
We carry such similar loads
Turns out we are not alone

We could cling to comfort,
Content to run in place
Frozen, cause we fear the cost
But how could we expect to find out where we ought to go
Unless we get a little lost

We are wandering through the wild
We are wondering when, not if, we’ll reach the other side
We share a heart of gold
We are a body of broken bones
When were we ever alone?
Together we’ll make our way home.

Isaac Horn, Lincoln Mick, Finch in the Pantry, 2019.

Lyrics reproduced from the booklet Annotated Lyrics for Finch in the Pantry. Lincoln notes both that the album was released in May, graduation season, and that he began writing this song during his senior spring semester. He writes of himself as a “collaborator” working to help the creative ideas in the songs materialize. “Sometimes ideas will grow a little tired of waiting, and they’ll leave to go find another partner more willing to share their time and attention. But on other occasions, an idea will be incredibly patient and hang around for weeks, or months, or years until its creator FINALLY notices it….” There’s much more to read there. Lincoln’s lovely name for the progression in the song is “evolving choruses” (look for the same pattern in other songs). In case you’re wondering (as was I), it turns out a finch really did fly into his pantry (it survived). These annotated lyrics booklets are a delight, in both content and design.