#MACBETH

A reference to Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Act I, Scene IV, in which Macbeth wishes that the stars might hide their fires (that is, burn out) so that he might be blind to the results of his own “deep and dark desires.”

#LADDERS

A direct reference to Steinbeck’s East of Eden, in which the character Lee calls man’s free choice, “timshel,” his “ladder to the stars.” Steinbeck’s reference in itself is to Jacob’s ladder in the Bible, a ladder on which Jacob ascended into Heaven itself.

The doctors try to replace “the wildness,” or whatever form of rebellion the women is committing, with “the tame,” or complacency.

While lobotomies were not limited to women, a disproportionate number of them were performed on women, sometimes as a way to rid them of melancholy, moodiness, or particularly rebellious behavior (though lobotomies were also used as a treatment for mental illnesses such as schizophrenia). One of the most famous lobotomies was performed on Rosemary Kennedy, the sister of President John F. Kennedy.

“Strange Fruit” is the title of a 1936 poem protesting the lynching of blacks in the South. The “strange fruit” specifically refers to the bodies of dead black men hanging from the trees.

The poem was set to music and performed by singer Billie Holiday.

Because of his own demons, Oberst can easily recognize the unhealthiness in others. While some might see this woman’s thinness as a sign of beauty, Oberst understands that she is withering away under the weight of her own sadness and depression, not to mention a substance abuse problem that Conor also shared at one time in his life.

It could also be his sense of nihilism that comes with being a teenager with all the connections and riches in the world and no one to guide him– no one truly cares about him at all. There’s no real meaning to his life.
It’s a sense of feeling invincible. You’re going to try things you normally wouldn’t do when you’re drunk because you feel like you can do anything.

He’s drunk, so at this point in the day, each day, he’s only be half-contemplating what jumping and killing himself would do, passing it off as a joke to his friends. It would end the self-destructive cycle he goes through every day.

This also brings the day full circle, as he started the day on the roof and was admiring the view instead of contemplating suicide.

According to biographer Michael Azerrad, the song references a man’s turn towards religion to cope with the death of his girlfriend and keep from suicide. Similarly, Lithium, a mood stabilizer often prescribed for those suffering from manic depression, can help manage the depressive, sometimes suicidal feelings that accompany the illness. Lithium can dull emotions, making them, in some ways, more manageable, just as religion can dull the pain of loss enough to keep him from cracking.

The lyrics suggest the narrator could be going crazy inside his own head. Everything denotes some type of mental breakdown.