The Decemberists - A Record Year for Rainfall lyrics

I read in the paper today
It's been a record year for rainfall
And you were leaning 'gainst
The bathroom wall
In your lonely dress, was your only dress

Stand accusing across
I got a temper set for tinder
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 grey 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 grey does it look so grey
Does it always look so grey before the fall?
Before the fall