| mewithoutYou – Elephant in the Dock Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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The emblems line is from Yeats' poem Circus Animal's Desertion: "Players and painted stage took all my love, And not those things that they were emblems of." |
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| mewithoutYou – Elephant in the Dock Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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I have loved this line for so long. Figures, the irony of the universe would allow that It is actually from Yeats' poem Circus Animal's Desertion: "Players and painted stage took all my love, And not those things that they were emblems of." |
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| mewithoutYou – Cardiff Giant Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| And as for the last line, it's hard to interpret. If the "we" in "off we flew" refers to Peacock and Tiger, then things get tricky because the following activity is negative. They infested a perfect paper nest with plastic pulp. Yet I can't figure out if Potter Wasp is a false protagonist just based on the last line. I've also a theistic interpretation that explores self-consciousness in light of God, specifically a megalomaniacal magnifying glass God, but it has some holes in it. | |
| mewithoutYou – Cardiff Giant Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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This album is filled with Hegelian and Derridean philosophy, and this song borrows from both. This idea of an inner fortress is perhaps taken from Simon Glendinning’s brief work on Derridean philosophy. He says that Derrida resists the idea that a person is "the sole resident, as it were, of an inner fortress … withdrawal does not disclose the singularity of his being-there as an individual resident of a secure and impenetrable inner fortress, but, rather, as a singular point of confluence, a point of remarkable hospitality to the other, a generous gathering place” (A Very Short Introduction: Derrida, 20). This is huge in the rest of the album (and I mean HUGE), and in this song it is contextually relevant because of the images of deceit and tomfoolery surrounding them: con men, sycophants, imitation marble, and, of course, the Cardiff Giant, a huge 19th century hoax. Because these are convincing or intimidating images for such otherwise meager circus animals, they suffer from delusions of ungrandeur. Community is the cure. A little bit about Hegelian phenomenology/community: in short, Hegel posits that self-consciousness cannot exist in isolation but needs an opposing object with which to contextually compare and contrast. However, though the comprehension of self might be grasped in relation to an external object, Hegel further specifies that self-consciousness demands not simply an external object, but another self-consciousness (Peacock and Tiger). Social isolation or impediment has a direct affect on the depth at which one may know himself. Singer (A Very Short Introduction: Hegel) paraphrases psychiatrist R. D. Lang in saying, “If the worth of one person is systematically denied recognition by all those on whom he or she depends … that person’s sense of identity can be utterly destroyed” (78). Regarding the second chorus, the only thing I can get out of it is that if you die, you're alone, and then the 'I' is a lie because, as stated above, 'I' cannot be aware of itself in isolation. I'm doing my senior thesis (undergrad) on Weiss' philosophy, mainly in Ten Stories. It's a freaking trip. |
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| mewithoutYou – Fox's Dream of the Log Flume Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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Knowing what a fan Weiss is of Rumi, it seems like he borrowed from him when penning the exploding star line. From Rumi's "The Night Air": Every spoken word is a covering for the inner self. A little curtain-flick no wider than a slice of roast meat can reveal hundreds of exploding suns. Even if what is being said is trivial and wrong, the listener hears the source. One breeze comes from across a garden. Another from across the ash-heap. Think how different the voices of the fox and the lion, and what they tell you! The poem is about the power of words in that they may show the essence of the person speaking. Considering the more secular nature of this album, and the fact that this song is no doubt addressing his past engagement to Amanda, I would say that the Fox (Amanda) is expressing the devastating power of words, in this case coming from Bear (Aaron). Full text of Rumi here: http://harpers.org/blog/2007/10/rumis-laziest-son/ |
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| mewithoutYou – Torches Together Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| You might be the only one. | |
| mewithoutYou – Torches Together Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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tsintskaro, you make a fine observation. In reference to the stones, the church, the bride: A biblical wedding account which employs the use of lamps (or possibly torches on long poles with oil-drenched rags at the end) is the parable of the ten virgins. Again, the rabbis point to a parallel from the ancient covenant ceremony on Sinai. There, on the day of revelation, the Scripture says that the people of Israel saw thunder, lightning and smoke (Ex. 20:18). In this passage the Hebrew term for lightning (lappidim) is the same word often rendered "torches." It is possible that this same rich Old Testament imagery of light is behind the description of Jesus, the Bridegroom, coming to take the Church, his bride: "For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." (Matt. 24:27). Compare also Paul's description of the Second Coming: "when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire" (3 Thess. 1:7). Taken from Our Father Abraham: Jewish Roots Of The Christian Faith by Marvin R. Wilson (an incredible read. "It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.") More expansion on this: http://tallitministries.com/marriage.htm (jump down to where it says "In the ancient world, the wedding procession...") Thoughts? |
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| mewithoutYou – Four Word Letter (Pt. Two) Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| "...a Singer criticized by His song" could be a reference to C. S. Lewis's The Four Loves. Chapter 6 (Charity), paragraph 24 says, "What is His by right and would not exist for a moment if it ceased to be His (as the song is the singer's), He has nevertheless made ours in such a way that we can freely offer [our wills and hearts] back to Him." | |
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