Wasted

"WASTED" - RESISTANT READING

At a recent gig I was floored by the atmosphere of intensity when Julia sang wasted - such poignant duality; infactuation can intoxicate you, or ravage & destroy you...

She said when she "first wrote [the song] it was about being intoxicated by infactuation for someone, but today [she] sings it with a different one" and it was really the second meaning she alluded to that is essentially captured by ameliabeth and seato.

Scenario: Unrequited love. She loves him, but this intense infactuation is wasted on = unappreciated, unwanted or unknown by her "love".

"Wasted" has two components under this reading. Firstly it has a sence of loss, in thather love goes to"waste". Secondly there is a sence of destruction, in that the situation is crushing and destroying her. She is overwhelmed by a combination of emotion and confusion. The consequence of being "overwhelmed" is it makes you unstable, and unproductive. Thus her as a person is "wasted" or destroyed as a result.

"I don't know just what I'll do Everytime you walk into the room" This conveys confusion, and a sence of being overwhelmed by, and unable to cope with, seeing him. She is also confused about her situation generally - his feelings, and her actions.

"Oh my head is spinning around And I can't see clearly right now" Her intense emotions overwhelm her, and she is sent into a spiral of conflicting emotions and confusion.

"I don't know if I'll survive, In this magical land behind your eyes." Once again she is so confused and pent up about her situation and her emotions that it feels like it is slowly destroying (wasting) her. She spends so much of her time trying to second gues what is going on in his head, "behind his eyes". She comes up with meanings/motivations behind his actions that are unlikely/fanciful to the point of being magical. Ultimately she feels like she is crushed under the weight of emotion, confuion and obsession.

"And there's all these funny little men, There all asking me to dance and sing." She is emotionally uninvolved in her real life. She alienates anyone who shows her affection, calling them "funny little men". She also paints their affection as ludicrus, and she is so far removed from the joy they propose "dance and sing" that it too seems outlandish and irrational.

"Red and yellow, pink and green, purple and orange and blue. Are all of the colours I see my love, everytime I see you." She "sees" all the colours in the same way you would "see red". It describes her complex array of emotion, and her feelings of being confused and overwhelmed by it.

RED is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love.

YELLOW is the color of sunshine. It's associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.

PINK signifies romance, love, and friendship. It denotes feminine qualities and passiveness.

GREEN is both associated with ambition, greed, and jealousy, and nature symbolizing growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility.

PURPLE is associated with royalty andbolizes power, nobility, luxury, and ambition as well as being associated with independence, creativity, mystery, and magic.

ORANGE is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics as well as representing enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.

BLUE signifies infinity. The view extends upto the blue distance of sky and sea. It is the colour of emptiness, signifying"death" and sadness.

I think it is important that she begins with red - passion and rage, and ends with blue - emptiness and infinite sadness. Ending with blue metaphorically captures the lamenting nostalgic vibe that permiates the entire song when read for the alternative meaning.

This song is is really, truly beautiful.