The Antlers – Thirteen Lyrics

The Antlers · Hospice

Pop

Pull me out

Pull me out

Can't you stop this all from happening?

Close the doors and keep them out
Dig me out
Oh, dig me out
Couldn't you have kept this all from happening?
Dig me out from under our house

About This Song

"Thirteen" is a haunting and emotionally devastating track from The Antlers' concept album *Hospice*, serving as a climactic moment in the record's narrative about caring for a dying loved one. The song captures the desperate helplessness of watching someone suffer, with the repeated pleas to be "pulled out" and "dug out" expressing both literal and metaphorical entrapment within an unbearable situation. Musically, it builds from sparse, delicate arrangements to overwhelming walls of reverb-drenched guitars and Peter Silberman's falsetto vocals, creating an atmosphere that feels both intimate and expansive. The track exemplifies The Antlers' ability to transform personal trauma into universal art, using the metaphor of hospice care to explore themes of codependency, grief, and the weight of caring for someone beyond help. Its emotional intensity and sonic craftsmanship make it a standout in the indie rock canon, demonstrating how music can give voice to experiences that feel impossible to articulate.

Comments (5)

Anonymous 2010-01-19 20:16:00

this song is one of the ones on the album that actually scares me- in a good way:) still dont know what it means
Anonymous 2010-03-04 13:04:00

This is the second of two songs on the album about author Sylvia Plath, (source: http://www.kevchino.com/interv... the other, of course, being Sylvia (about her suicide, where she gassed herself in her oven).This song relates to her first suicide attempt, where she crawled under her house and after taking an overdose of sleeping pills (source: American Novelists Since World War II, 1980)And I know all you purists will shout about how this album is completely and singularly about the cancer patient, but you need to realise the point of a concept album. This is not a novel. This is a collection of songs, based around that idea.I am right, you are wrong.
Anonymous 2010-04-11 18:47:00

nowhere, at any point in this album, is stephen seibler talking about sylvia plath. you are a ________
Anonymous 2010-12-24 17:19:00

There are a number of sylvia plath references that are incredibly obvious. The only way that comment makes any sense is if you mean that they aren't to be taking literally but metaphorically.
Anonymous 2010-12-28 12:28:00

Yes it refers to sylvia plath.No the singer is not stephen seibler.... it's peter silberman.But the song has multiple meanings. One being about Sylvia Plath, one being about the character Sylvia in Hospice. If you read the alternate titles you would know that Thirteen is also called "Sylvia Speaks." So as for the story this is about Sylvia being near death. She either wants to stop dying or just wants everyone to leave her alone. It's open to interpretation.