| mewithoutYou – Aubergine Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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@jaredsleg, that's a really interesting interpretation. I had assumed it was just a love song, albeit about a bad relationship, where the singer is in love with a woman--the eggplant--that doesn't want to be with him, partly because of his attachment issues with his mother ("you at 32 still tied to your poor mother's apron strings!"). An eggplant might represent a person who is beautiful (see bullet to binary, pt. 2, where the lettuce asks to be put next to the eggplant because he "adore[s] her shining purple dress"), but is also bitter or hurtful (since eggplant is very bitter when eaten raw). The "wherewithal to leave" line could be referring to the singer's attachment to the woman, who is not into him. He waits for her to make the move to end the relationship, as a dog for its master. The sugar imagery might be referring to something like the puppy love at the beginning of the relationship, though the relationship--the singer now knows--was "spindly and sick from the outset." This interpretation would make the song similar (in meaning) to "nice and blue (pt. two)," which, I think, talks about a relationship that started well, but began "steadily sinking," then began "limping" like broken race horse, and finally was ended. I've read that the lead singer, Aaron, had a relationship that went sour like this. I had trouble understanding the "you can be your body" line, but to me it the woman is telling the singer that he is selfish to only care about himself. This meaning would tie into the ending, about the solipsistic road, which, to me, has to do with the singer getting caught up in only thinking about himself. As we often do, we think we are following God (he has a bible passage on his wrist), but really we are just doing what we ourselves want to do and saying that it is what God would want. Aaron has previously used a fish in the sea to describe a person being close to God (see "a fish swims in the sea, while the sea is in a certain sense contained within the fish" from Dryness and the Rain), so a fish in the desert is a person who is not close to God. When he's asked to explain the bible passage, he has nothing to draw on because he is not close to God, leaving him gasping for air in a spiritual sense. This whole interpretation might play into this song being about the Elephant awaiting execution and thinking about a lost love, and becoming disillusioned with her choice to derail the train, even though she was once so confident about her choice. |
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| mewithoutYou – East Enders Wives Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| Apparently, some fortune tellers use rabbits as part of their schtick. http://www.travelbelles.com/2010/09/01/istanbuls-bosphorus-bunny-fortune-teller/ | |
| mewithoutYou – Nine Stories Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| On second thought, I agree with you. I was thinking of "just as well descends" as the ladder lowering from heaven, like an attic ladder. But then I realized that Jacob saw angels ascending and descending the ladder to Heaven, so Owl is telling Walrus that, if he should ever give up his monastic ways, he can climb down that same ladder. | |
| mewithoutYou – Bear's Vision of St. Agnes Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I would add one thing. I think maybe Bear is lying about having a brother. Rather, he planning to jump from the rocks (as in fox's dream) and save fox from dying of starvation by eating Bear himself (Bear says his brother looks just like him). In Fox's dream people gather after Bear's death looking for answer, and they don't understand his death. Fox seems to understand what Bear did, and charges at the waves maybe in anger (the "cup" in hand might be Bear's blood?), but is tossed back to Bear's remains on the rocks. St. Agnes looked up from Bear's death because Bear committed suicide, which is a mortal sin that cannot be repented off (even though his intentions were pure). The ending chorus is, to me, Bear slowly dying and telling himself that as long as fox is saved from starvation, the world will be better ("we'll all improve") and thus his sacrifice is worth it. His death will be a good death, to paraphrase Henri Nouwen. |
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| mewithoutYou – Nine Stories Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| I meant the say Walrus instead of Bear...so many animals. | |
| mewithoutYou – Nine Stories Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| I like your interpretation of the pacific rivers line. I read "and if pleasures of your heavens ever end" as the Owl (the hedonist in the words of the band's website) understanding and somewhat mocking the Bear's spirituality through the Owl's own understanding of what is meaningful in life, pleasure. I also read the line as the Owl somehow recognizing that the Bear isn't all that happy (as seen in the Bear's aside). Then, I see the last line as the Owl consoling the Bear (or maybe it's more of a comeback) by telling him that, just as God is the Owl's best hope should his life of pleasure go South, God is also the best hope for the Bear once he realizes the limits of his indulgent self-seclusion. | |
| mewithoutYou – Nine Stories Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| To me, the owl is worldly and in love with (and wants to marry) the Walrus, who is depressed and has devoted himself to a life of monastic solitude. These might represent Aaron and someone who once loved him, or even two sides of himself. The ending suggests that both of their longings will one day be satisfied by Heaven (to which Jacob's ladder ascended). | |
| mewithoutYou – The Fox, the Crow, and the Cookie Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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It may be Aesop, but I'm pretty sure Aaron got it from the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen story by the same name "The Fox, The Crow, and The Cookie." You can see the book here: http://www.bmfstore.com/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=19 |
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| mewithoutYou – The Fox, the Crow, and the Cookie Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Guess what? Its a Bawa Muhaiyaddeen story. Nearly the whole album is. Beetle King and Fig with a Bellyache especially. And the title. Heres the proof: http://www.bmfstore.com/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=19 |
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| mewithoutYou – Fig with a Bellyache Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Pot to fit the lid is another Bawa saying that describes how a married man and woman put be made for each other. Here's a link: http://books.google.com/books?id=4gbhnNuEPbcC&pg=PA322&lpg=PA322&dq=found+the+pot+to+fit+the+lid&source=bl&ots=_JhTBMPO5W&sig=DOsLA9V0bvh8MaLCuJyZoIcVMf8&hl=en&ei=_e7wSdXbMoWGtgfe4ImnDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#PPA323,M1 |
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| mewithoutYou – Fig with a Bellyache Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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So, the same book where the Beetle King story comes from, M R Bawa Muhaiyaddeen's "Divine Luminous Wisdom That Dispels the Darkness" talks about how our breaking through sexual temptation is like a camel going through the desert, full of troubles and difficulties. It then says that once we break through the rough waves at the shore, the middle of the lake is calmer and easier (like overcoming addiction to sexual temptation). I'm not sure if the "separation" line means that Weiss thinks that it actually doesn't get easier. The waves in middle are the same as at the shore. Men will always lust after women, look at them with lust. Our sexual urges will persist, unconfusing as they are. Oh, and Bawa Muhaiyaddeen also says that a "fish in search of water" while in the ocean, is like a man in search of his Creator, not realizing that he is completely surrounded by God. Still not sure about the fig with a bellyache. |
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| mewithoutYou – Fig with a Bellyache Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I thinks its "we've got a heck of a lot to learn, about remaining taciturn" Taciturn is remaining quiet. A lot of the album deals with being silent and quiet. See Goodbye, I. I don't get the camel/fish/fig/separation stuff. |
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| mewithoutYou – Bullet to Binary (Pt. Two) Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Can anyone figure out what the Arabic is? | |
| mewithoutYou – Every Thought a Thought of You Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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It seems like he says "Muhammad" during the chanting in a different song, "Bullet to Binary (pt 2)." The lyrics for the arabic portion aren't up yet on this site and I can't translate what he says to know if thats what he actually says or if it refers to him as God's messanger. The rest of the album only points to Christ (when specifically alluding to a messanger rather than just God), especially "A stick, a carrot..." |
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