Death Cab For Cutie: Brothers On A Hotel Bed Meaning

Brothers On A Hotel Bed Lyrics

You may tire of me as our December sun is setting because I'm not who I used to be
No longer easy on the eyes but these wrinkles masterfully disguise
The youthful boy below who turned your way and saw
Something he was not looking for: both a...

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   #1 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Apr 13th 2008 !⃝

   I think it is worth noting that he says " You may tire of me", but he never says anything about being tired of his lover. This might suggest that this loss of love is one-sided. The lines about the motor bike seem to me to describing the spirit of the girl in this story, so it seems clear to me that she has a free spirit and is growing restless being chained down to him. He loves her and her free spirit so he is a little passive about the idea of her leaving. He knows he is getting old and he does not want to hold her back from being happy. This is supported by how much the narrator dwells on his appearance and his lack of youth. She has maybe not yet gotten to the point where she realizes fully how much her love has died, so for now they continue on with their empty relationship.
   
   That is just my guess.

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   #2 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Nov 21st 2006 !⃝

   I believe that this song (Written by Chris Walla, the pianist/guitar/producer of Death Cab) was written about how his love interest went from "girlfriend" material to "just friends" material. The line "Now we say goodnight, on our own separate sides...like brothers on a hotel bed" interprets to loving someone like a friend or a "brother". Also, the beginning line "You may tire of me, as our december sun is setting, because I'm not who I used to be" refers to the end (december being the last month in the year) of a relationship. It also means he wasn't the same person when they originally fell in love. The following lyrics are "No longer easy on the eyes, for these wrinkles masterfully disguise...the youthful boy below" means that he is getting older, obviously. With age comes wisdom, and he has learned that he does not love her in a sense of "love"...but the love of a brotherly type person. Makes sense if you think about it.

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   #3 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Mar 17th 2007 !⃝

   This song is very easily interpreted. It's about a couple who were once vibrant and in love, but they grew old and began to feel trapped and monotonous in their relationship. They're taking each other for granted because they're no longer the vital people they used to be.
4. anonymous

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   Jun 20th 2013 !⃝

   Every song can be interpreted in a number of ways, but I refuse to believe that it's about two lovers simply growing apart. I'd like to believe the live apart, hence they yearn for the sea live navy men. They're landlocked in their own country and can't be together. Time goes on, he ages, and he's afraid that maybe too much apart has passed. He still loves her. He wishes her goodnight, but they're like brothers on a hotel bed. They're separated not because they want to be but because they have to be.
5. anonymous

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   Dec 24th 2012 !⃝

   "No longer easy on the eyes but these wrinkles masterfully disguise the youthful boy below who turned your way and saw something he was not looking for; both a beginning and an end."
   
   These lyrics, along with a lot of others, makes me think that he is absolutley talking about a relationship. I feel like through self reflection is coming realization. In his youth he looked to her as a beginning and as their "December sun is setting" he is seeing it end. I feel like the song is about the beginning of the end of a relationship and maybe a bit of mourning for his youth.
6. anonymous

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   Aug 27th 2006 !⃝

   This song is about a person who wants to break free from a current relationship and start anew. The lyric: "I have learned that even landlocked lovers yearn for the sea, like navy men" proves this point. He also expresses that they are not close anymore considering that they sleep on "separate sides" on the bed.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
7. anonymous

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   Aug 6th 2006 !⃝

   This song is about growing old and how life goes by so fast.

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