Thinking some more about these lyrics - they seem to me essentially spiritual in nature. The train falling off the track is another image of futility, of something ending in dissolution. The lines "So the world shrinks drop by drop / And the wine goes to your head" are key. I used to think this was something else - "So the world's dream string I draw" (lol). Here the singer is drinking up the world, and it is going to his head. He fell for the world's lies, it has led him on, and while he is aware of this it has still left a mark on him. I think the last line is the collective "our love" (not a reference to a romantic relationship) - is our love strong enough to do what? It is a little unclear, but perhaps overcome the world's illusions.
@Dreadnowt I like your interpretation and agree with a lot of it, but I do see it as a love song of the highest type. A great love song (and story) to me is one where all of the aspects you talk about are part of it, from this spiritual contemplation to the futility of existence, it all plays a part in the way we love and affects our romantic relatonships. And these relationships are also an expression of how we manage the dazzling chaos or stimula, from the beauty of the waterfront to the rain pouring in one's heart....
@Dreadnowt I like your interpretation and agree with a lot of it, but I do see it as a love song of the highest type. A great love song (and story) to me is one where all of the aspects you talk about are part of it, from this spiritual contemplation to the futility of existence, it all plays a part in the way we love and affects our romantic relatonships. And these relationships are also an expression of how we manage the dazzling chaos or stimula, from the beauty of the waterfront to the rain pouring in one's heart. To me the great power of this, one of the best love songs I've heard, is that it reveals itself in the final line, narrowing down the story as the theme explodes. Another strength of this revelation is that these troubled thoughts are occurring at great distance from the loved one (maybe on tour, typically difficult situation emotionally) but at any rate this physical distance works also as a metaphor for a growing emotional distance between the lovers. And as love dies, the world reveals itself in its wistful beauty and its cold-hearted cruelty. So can that love survive this crisis? And can this love survive this godless train crash of a world?
Hello, sns. Thanks for commenting on my comments. The song is certainly worthy of discussion and different interpretations! I just wish Sylvian would make some more music, and make what he has done more available. I check his website from time to time, but very little from his post-Virgin Records releases seems to be available. I did pick up "A Victim of Stars" recently and that had a bunch of things on it that I had not heard before. For me, his music is standing the test of time very well. Cheers...
Hello, sns. Thanks for commenting on my comments. The song is certainly worthy of discussion and different interpretations! I just wish Sylvian would make some more music, and make what he has done more available. I check his website from time to time, but very little from his post-Virgin Records releases seems to be available. I did pick up "A Victim of Stars" recently and that had a bunch of things on it that I had not heard before. For me, his music is standing the test of time very well. Cheers...
Thinking some more about these lyrics - they seem to me essentially spiritual in nature. The train falling off the track is another image of futility, of something ending in dissolution. The lines "So the world shrinks drop by drop / And the wine goes to your head" are key. I used to think this was something else - "So the world's dream string I draw" (lol). Here the singer is drinking up the world, and it is going to his head. He fell for the world's lies, it has led him on, and while he is aware of this it has still left a mark on him. I think the last line is the collective "our love" (not a reference to a romantic relationship) - is our love strong enough to do what? It is a little unclear, but perhaps overcome the world's illusions.
@Dreadnowt I like your interpretation and agree with a lot of it, but I do see it as a love song of the highest type. A great love song (and story) to me is one where all of the aspects you talk about are part of it, from this spiritual contemplation to the futility of existence, it all plays a part in the way we love and affects our romantic relatonships. And these relationships are also an expression of how we manage the dazzling chaos or stimula, from the beauty of the waterfront to the rain pouring in one's heart....
@Dreadnowt I like your interpretation and agree with a lot of it, but I do see it as a love song of the highest type. A great love song (and story) to me is one where all of the aspects you talk about are part of it, from this spiritual contemplation to the futility of existence, it all plays a part in the way we love and affects our romantic relatonships. And these relationships are also an expression of how we manage the dazzling chaos or stimula, from the beauty of the waterfront to the rain pouring in one's heart. To me the great power of this, one of the best love songs I've heard, is that it reveals itself in the final line, narrowing down the story as the theme explodes. Another strength of this revelation is that these troubled thoughts are occurring at great distance from the loved one (maybe on tour, typically difficult situation emotionally) but at any rate this physical distance works also as a metaphor for a growing emotional distance between the lovers. And as love dies, the world reveals itself in its wistful beauty and its cold-hearted cruelty. So can that love survive this crisis? And can this love survive this godless train crash of a world?
Hello, sns. Thanks for commenting on my comments. The song is certainly worthy of discussion and different interpretations! I just wish Sylvian would make some more music, and make what he has done more available. I check his website from time to time, but very little from his post-Virgin Records releases seems to be available. I did pick up "A Victim of Stars" recently and that had a bunch of things on it that I had not heard before. For me, his music is standing the test of time very well. Cheers...
Hello, sns. Thanks for commenting on my comments. The song is certainly worthy of discussion and different interpretations! I just wish Sylvian would make some more music, and make what he has done more available. I check his website from time to time, but very little from his post-Virgin Records releases seems to be available. I did pick up "A Victim of Stars" recently and that had a bunch of things on it that I had not heard before. For me, his music is standing the test of time very well. Cheers...