| Catherine Wheel – The Nude Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| i basically agree with the previous interpretation. i think its about seeing perfection in a work of art or imaginary person (like a dream girl in one's own mind) and being so in love with this concept of perfection that nothing else will do, reality is ever good enough, but the fantasy is something which can never be achieved. and the intense longing for this non-existent thing is crushing. | |
| Joanna Newsom – The Book of Right-On Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I agree with those who see religious imagery in this song. I think of this song almost as a conversation between the singer and a god she doesn't believe exists, or between her and the concept of god where she is outlining how she tried to consider the idea, but in the end it didnt make sense to believe it. I interpreted the first lines to mean that the bible (the book of right-on) may have a lot of good things to say (even if you dont believe in god) but that those things are being ignored and instead people are using the book of right-on to promote less pleasant things (people using the bible as a weapon of hate, for example). So in that sense the narrator is saying "we should shine a light on" that sort of hypocrisy. When she says "i killed my dinner..." and "taste the body" i see this as rejecting faith in god (her meal ticket to salvation? just a thought). I was raised Christian and there were constant references in church about god filling you up, making you full etc, so that you'll not "hunger". I see her as saying "thanks, but no thanks. I'll make my own way." Then the following part she offers the idea a temporary spot: "do you want to sit at my table" like saying "look, if you want to debate this idea, bring it on. Because i have no doubt that i'll win this one" (her fighting fame is fabled). Same with the part "do you want to run with my pack/do you want a ride on my back" - its like the singer is being offered fellowship and a crutch to lean on, but she basically responds "no thanks, i don't need a crutch" I connect this back to Peach Plum Pear, where she says "i was riding its back when it used to ride me" and i get the imagery of being taken for a ride, not having control of the situation. She doesn't want to ride on anything's back, she wants to be strong and walk on her own (and not be taken for a ride). With "and you do say/that you do pray/and you say/that you're ok" I see her as sorta saying "you're telling me you pray, and that everything is fine and God takes care of it, but there's something missing in your life or you wouldn't have sought out a crutch like religion in the first place", which i see again in the part where she says "pray that what you lack does not distract" almost like saying a person's belief in god is like putting the blinders on, so that you can believe that everything is going to be ok because its in god's hands. Maybe i think this because i've met too many Christians who were actually pretty messed up but were almost self-brainwashed into believing that they were ok because they could "give their burden to jesus". anyway, that's always been my take. |
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| Joanna Newsom – Sawdust and Diamonds Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I think that interpretation of most types of songs is very dependent on the listener's personal experience. I know my experience is likely biasing my interpretation of this song. I see this as very much being about love and loss. It could be any kind of love, really, but I think of romantic love when i hear it. To me it is very clear, but again, based very much on personal experience. I see the story as being more or less like this: the narrator hears the bells of love and is drawn by desire but something goes wrong - the love ends, and a part of the person locked away or shut down to prevent being hurt again (the dove). This would be something like a loss of innocence or a rude awakening causing us to quickly grow up or turn our back on a dream, for example. So i see the dove as being the emotional part of the person that must be killed/switched off in order to prevent further hurt - like locking your heart away after its been trampled. The narrator mourns that loss of self and - i believe - parts of the song are the narrator talking to him/her self (or rather the portion of that self that is being locked/stuffed with sawdust and diamonds). Other lyrics speak to the other party involved in the affair (the lover). A part of the self is rejected, for its own good, and the narrator tries to make peace with both the rejected self and the lover, but in the end is not very successful in the former. With the "why the long face" portion of the song, i believe the narrator is trying to give him/herself a bit of a pep talk, as if to say that in the grand scheme of things this hurt will not matter, not even death will matter, so things will turn out alright in the end in that sense. And though the narrator may believe all is safely tucked away, and sets off for calmer waters (those not troubled by love, perhaps), and though she has tried to silence the bells of love by shutting down the emotions that make her vulnerable, of course the sound of the bell finds her again; despite best efforts to leave it behind, she will be called by the bell over and over again. The last few lines I believe are an admission of guilt and a further apology. like saying "yeah i messed up, maybe im no angel" but goes on to say that despite the "horns and thorns" theres no use beating yourself up over it (enough of this terror), the love (desire) was strong and could not be undone, and he/she never meant to hurt anyone, and despite mistakes they’ve both made, they both deserve to be happy. It may seem elaborate to others, but it makes perfect sense to me. I wont bother accounting for the song line-for-line, but thats what i hear when i listen to it. |
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