The Decemberists - Record Year lyrics

I read in the paper today It's been a record year for rainfall And you were leaning against the bathroom wall In your lonely dress, was your only dress Stand accusing across I got a temper set for tender And you were shrugging it off like a feather Saying, "Oh, would you look at this weather?" What's the use of all of this? It's to remember you in the entire 'cause I'm watching it slip away And in the annals of the Empire Did it look this gray before the fall, before the fall? So rake your thumbnail across The stretch of the patina Revealing a Proserpina In a low recline, in a steep decline What's the use of all of this? It's to remember you in the entire 'cause I'm watching it slip away And in the annals of the Empire Did it look this gray, does it look so gray? Does it always look so gray before the fall, before the fall?