Big Parade by The Lumineers Lyrics Meaning – Marching to the Beat of the American Narrative
Lyrics
All my life I was blind, I was blind, now I see
Lovely girl, won’t you stay, won’t you stay, stay with me?
All my life I was blind, I was blind, now I see
Fleet of black, fleet of black limousines
Oh tinted machines, here comes the cavalcade
With the armored cars, armored cars like Barettas
Flags on antennas designed to keep me safe, keep me safe
And oh my my, oh hey hey
Here he comes, the candidate
Blue-eyed boy, United States
Vote for him, the candidate
Diamonds cut, diamonds cut for the carats
Plaster of Paris, the floats fill up the street
And the beauty queens, beauty queens with the white gloves
All sick from the nightclubs, they wave with pageantry, pageantry
And oh my my, oh hey hey
Here it comes, the big parade
Marching bands and barricades
Make way, for the big parade
Oh
Canvas covered, canvas covered in resin
Violent men dance the blood ballet
And the bookies say, bookies say it’s the third round
Oh when Louie will go down
If he don’t there’s hell to pay, hell to raise
And oh my my, oh hey hey
Here he comes, the welterweight
Take a dive, for goodness sake
Did you say goodbye to the welterweight?
Catholic priest, Catholic priest in a crisis
Torn between romance and Jesus, who will win the civil war?
And he says I’m in love, I’m in love with a woman
Yeah, this is my confession, I’m leaving, I can’t be a priest anymore, anymore
And oh my my, oh hey hey
There he goes, the man of faith
Left the church for a fiancé
Let him love, a man of faith
Oh
TV cameras, TV cameras, and stagehands
American Bandstand, electric guitars
And he’s singin’ songs, singin’ songs for the lonely
Well the girls with the room keys
They know all his words by heart, by heart, and they all sing
Lovely girl, won’t you stay, won’t you stay, stay with me?
All my life I was blind, I was blind, now I see
Lovely girl, won’t you stay, won’t you stay, stay with me?
All my life I was blind, I was blind, now I see
Lovely girl, won’t you stay?
Oh, oh, oh
Oh my my, oh hey hey
Here she comes by saving grace
Burn the car and save the plates
She’s arrived, my saving grace
Behind the folksy tune and the sway-inducing strum of the guitar, The Lumineers’ ‘Big Parade’ camouflages a stirring layer of insightful commentary on the American societal fabric. Layering allegory with rich, poetic narrative, the songwriters have dipped their lyrical brush into the palette of the country’s heartland, tracing the contours of its celebration and sorrow.
Like a mural stretching across the aisle of time, ‘Big Parade’ amalgamates snapshots of American life, the grandeur of its ceremonies, the veiled enigma of its wrestling matches with fate, and the intimate human stories that punctuate its vast tableau. As we delve into the lyrics, a parade of meanings unfolds before us, like a procession of stories interlinked forever by the march of time and the heartbeat of a nation.
The Cavalcade of Politicized Colors
It’s impossible not to feel the undercurrent of political satire when confronted with the image of the blue-eyed boy, the United States candidate, arriving to fanfare and patriotic showmanship. The very essence of American electoral spectacle – limousines, banners, and all – encapsulates the ceremonious outer shell of democracy while hinting at the hollow parades that often denote political processes. This reflection offers a critique of how political pageantry can sometimes mask the more profound, fundamental issues at hand.
The Lumineers do not simply offer commentary; they pose a question about the authenticity of leadership. Can the blue-eyed candidates really see the truth behind their tinted car windows? ‘Big Parade’ leads us through the flamboyance and beckons us to question what lies beneath the spectacle.
A Symphony of Disguised Social Commentary
The Lumineers are storytellers, spinning melodies into narratives that slice through social veneers. ‘Beauty queens with the white gloves’ evoke the toxicity and superficiality of celebrity culture, while ‘bookies’ and ‘welterweights’ pay homage to the gritty, predetermined outcomes of sporting events and life’s battles. It’s a song of contrasts – the glitz and the grime, the manufactured and the genuine.
By weaving in tales of a ‘Catholic priest in a crisis,’ they tackle internal conflict and the gripping tension between personal truth and public duty. The pivot of the priest from his faith to a romantic entanglement showcases the individual’s struggle against the collectivity’s expectations – a recurring theme of America’s narrative and, by extension, humanity’s story.
The Love Key to Unlock the Chains of Blindness
Recurring throughout ‘Big Parade’ is the plaintive call of the ‘lovely girl,’ and therein lies the crux of the personal narrative. There is a persistent theme of yearning not for the grandiose parades and spectacles, but for the clarity and simplicity of love. The transformation from blindness to sight is a poignant metaphor for awakening – to love, to reality, to the things that truly matter beyond the orchestrated chaos.
It’s the sort of chorus that could be sung in solidarity, swaying to the rhythm and holding onto the hope that insight and love can be discovered and held onto, despite the distractions of the ‘big parade.’ The Lumineers have managed to turn a seemingly ordinary plea into a profound anthem of personal revelation.
Decrypted Messages in a Resonant Welterweight Match
One cannot help but deduce the hidden meaning behind the third verse’s ‘violent men dance the blood ballet’ – a visceral analogy to the pain and aggression often shrouded within the sport. The metaphor extends beyond the ring – it’s about the entertainment of crowds through diversion and destruction. The welterweight, urged to ‘take a dive,’ symbolizes the sacrifices made and the faces lost within the spectacle of struggle, be it in a boxing match, personal endeavor, or a political arena.
The song stresses the dehumanizing effects of such performances, with outcomes that may be predestined by those behind the scenes – the handlers, the media, the power-hungry. ‘Big Parade’ serves as a reminder of the darker aspects of entertainment and how it metaphorically and sometimes literally entails fighting until hopeful triumph or bitter defeat.
An Anthem of Timeless Refrains and Memorable Lines
The final lines of ‘Big Parade’ hark back to the character of the woman singing to her beloved – a binding thread that suggests the ubiquity of love amidst a melee of life’s chaotic parade. Like troubadours of the modern age, The Lumineers capture the audience with melodic hooks and lyrics that become etched in our collective consciousness.
‘Here she comes by saving grace, burn the car and save the plates,’ encapsulates a deep-seated desire to escape the pomp and fanfare for something more elemental and real. The lyric unleashes a sense of desperation for salvation, for a savior who isn’t part of the pompous parade but rather someone who pulls us out of it, towards redemption.
