"On Another Ocean (January / June)"

In the line "Wherever you run" in "On Another Ocean (January / June)," the three syllables of "wherever" are sung to different pitches (Bb Db C), giving something of a sense of the word's meaning.  "Run" is sung with a melisma (Db Eb Db), musically giving a sense of movement.

"Grown Ocean"

It doesn't affect the meaning very much, but the lines "Children grown on the edge of the ocean / Kept like jewelry kept with devotion" in "Grown Ocean" could be understood in two different ways.  As printed on the record sleeve, "kept with devotion" modifies "jewelry" because there's no comma between those phrases.  If it were written as "Kept like jewelry, kept with devotion," both "kept like jewelry" and "kept with devotion" would modify "children" from the previous line.

"The Shrine/An Argument"

I have a vinyl copy of Helplessness Blues, and the lyrics for "The Shrine/An Argument" are printed in such a way that separation and absence are emphasized.  What I would render as single lines, the record has as:

Underneath were all these pennies

Fallen from the hands of

Children they were there and

Then were gone.

and

But that day, you know, I left

My money and I thought of you only

All that copper glowin' fine.

Such renderings draw attention to the separation of the pennies from the children, the children's absence, and the separation of the narrator and his money.

"Day" in the line "Ev'ry day a-passin' complete" is sung with a melisma (Eb F Eb), giving something of a sense of that "ev'ry."

There's consonance in the line "In the ocean washin' off my name from your throat," and this particular sound in this context suggests scouring or scraping clean.

"Someone You'd Admire"

In "Someone You'd Admire," a second voice comes in for "I walk with others...," so there's a musical representation of that companionship.

The phrase "gnash their teeth" seems to be a Biblical reference.  It's actually in a few places in Matthew where Jesus explains some parables, but Matthew 13:41-42 is probably the most easily quotable:  "The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace.  In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

The strumming pattern emphasizes "claw" and "gnash" in the line "Claw at my skin and gnash their teeth and shout."  Both of these words occur on the first beat of the bar and coincide with the most forceful strum.

"Lorelei"

In "Lorelei," the parallelism in the line "Call out to nobody, call out to me" equates "nobody" with "me," which is about the same value that the narrator gives to himself in lines like "I was like trash on the sidewalk" and "I was old news to you."

The line "Old news, old news to you then" is repeated at the end of each verse, and this repetition makes the line itself like "old news."  The melody to which these "old news"s are sung is something like:

(I guessed on the key.)

In all but the last measure, the rhythm consists of two eighth notes and one half note, and there are only two pitches, so even musically, this phrase is repetitive.

It does change, however, after the line "Fell for the ruse with you then."  It's as if the music itself was tricked, and it becomes something like:

"Helplessness Blues"

In order to reflect being "unique / Like a snowflake, distinct among snowflakes" at the beginning of "Helplessness Blues," there's only one voice and one guitar.  After the lines "I'd rather be / A functioning cog in some great machinery / Serving something beyond me," a second voice, a second guitar, and harmonium are introduced in order to illustrate the opposite view.  Later, this second guitar drops out before the line "If I know only one thing," so again there's a sense of singularity.

The strumming in the guitar parts also corresponds to the number.  For the most part, if there's only one guitar, the strums are downward, and if there are two, the strums are upward and downward.

"Sim Sala Bim"

To represent "Then the earth shook..." in "Sim Sala Bim," violin tremolos begin.

The lines "Remember when you had me cut your hair? / Call me Delilah then I wouldn't care" allude to Samson and Delilah in Judges 16.

"Bedouin Dress"

Coinciding with "return" in the line "Ev'rything I took I'd soon return" in "Bedouin Dress," more instruments come in, and the dynamics increase, as if to reflect that "return[ing]" of "ev'rything."

"Blue Ridge Mountains"

"Down" in the second "Lie down" at the beginning of "Blue Ridge Mountains" is sung with a generally descending melisma (Bb Ab Gb F Gb F Eb, I think), musically giving a sense of the word's meaning.

"He Doesn't Know Why"

In "He Doesn't Know Why," the phrase "Pull the wool over your eyes" is sung to such a melody (C# D# E# C# A# G# A#) that in terms of pitch, "wool" (E#) really is over "eyes" (A#).

"Quiet Houses"

In "Quiet Houses," some of the "Lay me down"s are sung to descending phrases (D# C# C#, C# B B), musically giving a sense of that "lay[ing]... down."

"Ragged Wood"

In "Ragged Wood," "long" in "you have been gone too long" is sung with a melisma (G# B G#), musically giving a sense of duration.  Similarly, "all" in "settled before us all" is sung with a melisma (B C# F#), musically giving a sense of number.  "Fly" in the line "When the sparrow and seagull fly" is also sung with a melisma (B G#), which - although descending - musically gives a sense of movement.