Apollo's Frock

apollo is the ancient greek sun god. his twin sister was artemis, the goddess of the moon. she was also known as a great huntress and watched over wildlife (which explains all the hunting references in the song).

frock is an old-fashioned word for a dress.

so i think this song is addressing the dichotomy between male & female archetypes. this idea that the sung god might wear a dress & moreover would need to be reassured that he was as beautiful as his sister (sibling rivalry?). there are shades of Neil Gaiman's writing style in this as well...the personification of ancient gods & goddesses in a modern setting ("our old meeting place in an L.A. cafe).

I think this song is also about the transfer of power from a matriarchal Goddess worship base to a Patriarchal monotheist God base. I think the use of the past tense in, "WAS always as beautiful" is important in that Apollo and Artemis were equal and opposite. Neither was greater or more powerful than the other. Then along comes Man and it decides that Apollo is more deserving of worship than his sister and suddenly the balance is shifted. So Tori calls in the Shekhina (the Anima, or female aspect of God) to scold the Church fathers (the "predators) for using their flocks (the cubs) to gain power and wealth. Also, the Shekhina laments the loss of the soul of feminine Mystery (the "soul" of the "bow and quiver," the Virgin Huntress - Artemis, The Moon).

The first verse seems to be saying that the Hunt exists the same in an LA café as it does on the Serengeti. I think this is an old female archetype sitting down with an old male archetype and re-establishing the rules of combat. The Male has transgressed. He knowingly bombed civilian targets. She's calling him to task. The "put me back in the cold" line could be a reference to being about to boil over with anger at current events. Possibly a Pele reference. And Antarctica is the coldest most desolate place on earth. If you need to cool down in a hurry...accept no substitute.

I'm shocked that no one's commented on this song yet. Out of all the tracks on Scarlet's Hidden Treasures, I think this is my favorite, next to Tombigbee. It's another one of her pieces where her piano composition is just gorgeous and goes along well with her voice, which is really hauntingly beautiful. It's just the bösendorfer and an acoustic guitar in this one. I love listening to it over and over again while doing nothing in particular. It sets a nice, calm mood.

I think the song is basically about jealousy and envy. She's trying to tell the person that they're just as good as the person they're trying to take from, and that they don't need to feel the way they do.

Obviosly a love song in a very mature way, where she know now who she's dealing with..She wants to meet him for a drink or so.. but not to begin something again.. she wants to make that really clear to him..It's a perfect song!