Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: folk
Song Meaning of “February Seven” by The Avett Brothers
The Avett Brothers’ February Seven tells the story of a man who is coming to terms with his own mortality. He reflects on his life and lives of those around him, and the feelings of uncertainty, sadness, and loss that come from facing death.
In the first verse, the narrator realizes how fragile lives can be and contemplates his own mortality. He sees the people whose lives have come and gone, in what seem to be moments of time. He can’t help but feel a sense of mortality as he stands, looking out from his churchyard looking in.
The chorus dares to ask a bigger question of mortality. The narrator wonders why it has to be our fate to be sloughed off, so quickly and without warning. He wonders why we have to suffer and part with what we love with such cruel finality.
In the second verse, the narrator turns inward, looking at his own life and loves, and all of the relationships that have passed by. He wonders about why we can’t control our mortality, and how there’s no way to predict when our time will come as he fondly remembers the loved ones have gone before him.
The bridge features desperate pleas for more time, begging for an extension as time ticks on from the shadows of death. He feels like his time is coming too soon, and he can’t help but find himself in shock, unable to truly process what is coming.
The song concludes by reflecting back on the fact that life is quick and fragile. Despite our best efforts, none of us can escape our mortality and our time must eventually come. In the end, the only thing we have is the time we do have, and that should be cherished and savored while we can.