Because I'm Bored: An In Depth Look at "Holland 1945"

So I've been on something of a Neutral Milk Hotel bender recently, (Aeroplane over the Sea, not On Avery Island) and I keep relistening to "Holland 1945." This song is just so charged with imagery and metaphors that I decided to sit down and really examine the lyrics. So, just to throw this out there: The song is about different interpretations of death, specifically the afterlife.Verse 1 and Chorus: Well, the "only girl I ever loved" is Anne Frank, but I'm pretty sure most people knew that. As best as I can figure, "now she's a little boy in Spain/playing pianos filled with flames" alludes to the idea of reincarnation. The chorus implies that such a vision of the afterlife is important to our existance as human beings. Mangum suggests that we can only carry on if we have these "visions" or beliefs, as they help us to make sense of and peace with death. Verse 2: The second verse contains several allusions to the sky, or great heights ("circus wheel," "comet's flame," "the Earth looks better from a star,"), hinting at a belief in heaven or some sort of celestial afterlife. The color white is mentioned in this verse for the first time in the song, and its use would appear to suggest life, while darker colors in the song represent death. Thus, "your dark brother wrapped in white" suggests life after death. The circus wheel and comet's flame represent an escape from the earth, a notion supported by the assertion that "says it was good to be alive, but now he rides a comet's flame and won't be coming back again." The "empty rings around your heart" can be seen to represent life without these beliefs, as "the world just screams and falls apart." Juxtaposed with the second chorus, there is even more evidence that the song is about how we cope with death.Verse 3: Whereas the first two verses represented different positive interpretations of death, the third verse presents a negative interpretation. With nothing to believe in, there is no life to be seen in this verse. The imagery of the still indentions in the sheets is much more haunting and desolate than that of the comet or pianos filled with flames of the first two verses. The final three lines, "And it's so sad to see the World agree/ That they'd rather see their faces fill with flies/ When I'd want to keep white roses in their eyes" ties the whole song together, going back to the first verse's image of "roses in her eyes." White once again occurs as a theme of life, contrasted against the darkness of flies. The final verse suggests that while the narrator (or singer) wants to believe in life after death, much of the world around him has resigned itself to accepting death at face value. Thus, while the world agrees "that theyd rather see their faces fill with flies" in death, Mangum wants to envision the dead as still having life. I have way too much time on my hands, and I'm just itching to go back to school and start working again.