| Bright Eyes – Triple Spiral Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I love the layering that happens in my mind when I consider the possible meanings in the lyrics of this song. It's like plate glass designs that from a continuously richer picture the more you stack them one on the other. And then I think that the song's simplified portrayal of religion is a little overwrought, and then I laugh at myself because this song is about overwrought emotions, not factual facts. The "triple spiral" that he loved sounds like a woman who opened him up to the idea that the Christian trinity, and/or it's associated religion, and/or the modern U.S. Republican right (stay with me now, I'll explain more further on), in many ways is badly adapted from the ancient practice of goddess worship. (Maiden, mother, crone.) The woman is so attractive because she is all three layers, or spirals, at once, intertwined. Her completeness attracts the emotionally exhausted, deflated narrater like a magnet. I wish I knew what "origami rose" and "Tiffany window" referred to. Anyone know? It sounds like the narrater became disgusted with current events in U.S. society (because this is a Bright Eyes song, I'm assuming the narrater watches too much CNN when he's depressed). The second verse sounds like Conor (I mean, the narrater) is blending his disgust at current affairs with his disdain at the use the early Christian church's co-option of aspects of pagan religion (which rode on the back of Roman imperialism into Europe). The whole second verse, to me, recalls instances from history of tragedies that would be wrenching for someone in the emotional state of the narrater to ruminate on. The "casket made of 14 karot gold" reminds me of Cortez and the New World. We all know how that turned out. Wish I knew what "dusty box of letters" and "rusty suit of armor" referred to, besides old things that used to be used but aren't anymore. Third verse is back to the woman. "They"'ve got "no sense of time", which at first appears because they've got no respect for old stuff ("letters", "armor" and "casket" from previous verse). "She", however, it turns out IS time, being "shaped just like an hourglass". Thus my mind is led to think that "they" have no sense of the triple spiral, or the feminine, so called creative half of life. Meaning, no sense of the timeless rhythm of life. "They", who ever they are, are off balance. Too many straight lines, not enough curves. Too many false promises of immortality, not enough rhythm. Too much masculinity, or destructiveness/consumption. Too much "father, son and ghost". (My inner gender neutralist is miffed at myself right now. It's just a song, i.g.n.) As for the fourth verse, I like that he backtracks and describes the process that led him to be so receptive to the woman figure in the first verse. "I never saw you coming", sounds to me like a very dry joke about waiting around for Jesus to come back but never finding him. When he realizes there's nothing there ("empty sky"), and has to deal with the aftermath. Feel free to contradict that interpretation, cause it's very loosely held. And because he can't just take a good thing and run with it, not our Conor...I mean narrater...he wants to know the ultimate truth behind the triple spiral, he wants to feel COMPLETELY complete. Because the whole last half of the fifth verse is about the triple spiral symbol itself and the ideas it represents...right? The layering effect that I mentioned at first really struck me with the sixth verse, as it's so vague you fit all kinds of images into it. Three "worlds": Christian, goddess and atheist or past, present, future or beginning, middle and end (of the relationship with religion and with this woman (very maybe)). "Three times I cried for us" seems to combine the religious significance of three as the perfect number with allowing himself to grieve "perfectly", i.e. naturally, for what he's lost into a pretty cool little verse. Sounds like he feels just as he was starting to get somewhere with his wonderings about the origins of "triple spiral" wisdom, their relationship ended and he's now looking back whistfully, which leads into the last verse: By the end of the song the relationship with the woman (his "triple spiral") has ended, but he's very grateful to her for the inspiring role she played as the narrater's spiritual muse, possibly by just being herself without explicit religious instruction in goddess worship. The very end of the song seems to communicate his wistful pining for an idealized time via references to historical practices of goddess worship. Don't really understand the use of the phrase "Indian summer", unless it's just used as an image of an idealic setting in which the narrater is able to heal his mind after having "stowed" it (denial? shock?) to avoid facing the emotional devastation that losing faith in God seems to have had. Eh? Eh? I'd love to discuss. On an tangentially personal note, I really like how he describes becoming aware of this new idea as "I heard your strange commotion". In the context of this song, I imagine the narrater thinking back with a little smile to how he remembers his "triple spiral" woman: an eccentric, satisfied feminine who is profoundly comfortable with life because she knows a deep truth. Makes me think of Harold and Maude, and I really like that movie :) |
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