| Joanna Newsom – Monkey & Bear Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| I really think that Bear WANTS to be savage and attack people; that's her natural state. Monkey's exploiting of her makes her domesticated and harmless, and he promises her that she will "bare her teeth" again after they make some money. Realistically though, she has become far too domesticated to go back to that lifestyle, and the only way she can bare her teeth again is to do it as a constellation in the sky. | |
| Joanna Newsom – Monkey & Bear Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I definitely agree that it's a song about the origin of Ursa Major; the fact that the bear's name is "Ursula" and the fact that Joanna spells plowed "ploughed" point me to this interpretation. The Big Dipper, the most famous part of the Ursa Major constellation, is also called "The Plough," an archaic spelling of plow. And again, I'm pretty sure the last line should be "Sooner or later, you'll bare your teeth" echoing what Monkey said earlier. It's significant that he says "bare" instead of attack people or just be vicious in general, foreshadowing the fact that she turns into the constellation and "bares her teeth" every night while not being an actual danger. |
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