| The Long Winters – Ultimatum Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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I'm surprised no one has mentioned the very first word of the song... 'student'. I think much of what has been written here is accurate, but I think it has to be weighed against that first word that sets the context for the rest of the song. I imagine he is a teacher. There's no indication of age, by the way, so there's no need to assume she's underage... he could just as easily be a professor. Either way, the age difference and his position makes it inappropriate. > Student why do you dream of me > When you dream of your acre of trees She has become infatuated with him, so much that she imagines their life together. Her 'acre of trees' refers to the life she wants, how people have a dream home, etc. She's fantasizing about spending the rest of her life with him. > It was agreed > I came to burn leaves > It's all I ever claimed to do Teachers break down (or burn?) old ideas and opinions, preparing the students to receive new information. More simply, a teacher is just a laborer, essentially hired to do a temporary job, and that's all. > A plow man I'll never grow into He was hired for a short time period. It was never supposed to be a life-long commitment. > My arms miss you > My hands miss you > The stars sing > I've got this song in my head Maybe there was some impropriety here. Perhaps he was tempted by her advances and fell into a physical relationship before he had really thought it through. Regardless, he is heavily infatuated (stars singing, song in his head) and he misses the physical contact they had. He wants it, even if he knows it's wrong. But then he seems to snap back to reality... > Blue in the broad light of day > Your claws are snagged on my face He's sad because of the feelings he has, most likely conflict, so he's 'blue' even though it's the middle of the day and he should be happy. Her claws are snagged on his face, meaning he can't keep his eyes off of her... he looks at her constantly, even though he may be trying to stop. > Oh I don't want my words twisted > I don't want you to listen too closely In spite of the physical attraction, he realizes it's wrong and he shouldn't pursue her. But like any infatuation, he realizes that just a sentence might be heard and twisted to mean something else. Perhaps he's watching his words, even in the middle of class, so that she won't take something he says to have a double meaning. > Or wait for me impatiently An indication that he's the only one she cares about. She just wants to see him NOW. If he sees this behavior, it just means she's falling harder, and that idea scares him. > And I hope that I can keep seeing you > As long you as you don't say you're falling in love He knows they shouldn't be together, but he wants it to continue. This conflict is horrible, but he doesn't want it to stop. He tells himself that as long as she isn't falling in love, they can continue their relationship. The end of the song implies that they even talked about it and he said, "don't fall in love with me." She promises she won't, and their emotional affair continues. > Crave translates into slave > No one can harness the rain His craving has made him into a slave for her. Despite resisting, he is seeing it happen before his eyes. No one can harness the rain... In the same way rain makes things grow, their constant attention to each other is causing their feelings to grow. > And I can make myself into rain > You'll feel me on your cheek > And on your sleeve He's telling her that if they decided to have a full relationship, he could 'water her', causing her feelings to grow even more. In other words, he would treat her like a princess. The fact that this is directly followed by the chorus, where he repeats that he misses her physically, it indicates that he is starting to think seriously about committing to her. > As long as you don't say you're falling in love > But I can feel you about to forget > Yes I can feel you about to forget She pacified him before and say she wouldn't fall in love, but her feelings couldn't be stopped. Of course, his can't either. He can feel her growing more and more in love with him, and he feels it too. Since I like to look on the bright side, I imagine a 'they lived happily ever after' scenario. One can dream, right? :) I would love to know if anyone sees it the same way as me! |
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