| Nerina Pallot – Sophia Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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I have listened to this song and thought about it a lot. I think the 5 o'clock / fire escape symphony is about the end of the working day - many people's scheduled finish time is 5pm. Everyone wants to get home as quickly as they can - which is the "fire escape" part. But they also do it in an organised way - it's routine, habit - orderly - hence the "symphony". Now that the working day is finished and there is no work occupying her mind, the woman's thoughts turn to her love. As many others have said, she loves a man but he doesn't love her back. She's constantly wondering if he's thinking about her, even though she's probably aware that she needs to let him go - her chance with him appears to have already passed. So the big question in interpreting the song is "what it Sophia's part here?" Is she a friend that the woman is sharing her heartbreak with - the listening ear? Or is Sophia the woman who has won the man's affection - her nemesis? It could be either. But would you write a song about the love of your life with your friend's name as the title? I think probably not. I think Sophia is the barrier between the woman and the man she wants to have. I guess Sophia could also be the woman's child, who's listening to her mother's thoughts, even though the child is much too young to understand. In my view, Sophia's "new born eyes" just refers to the fact that Sophia is pretty - with large eyes. Sophia has won the man's heart and the song's author just wonders if her "enemy / rival" loves the man as much as she loved him. Because she doesn't have the man's heart, the songwriter wonders if Sophia's love for him is so strong that she hurts ("do you hurt" in the bridge). She's really wondering whether Sophia is an inferior lover for him, i.e. loves him less than she does. The woman is also wondering whether Sophia's love for him is so strong that the pain of hurt is also accompanied by a strange element of pleasure ("do you hurt, but still feel alive, like never before"). I have felt the pain / pleasure of heartbreak myself. There is some pleasure in the pain, but the heartbreak far outweighs the pleasure IMO! Hope this helps or is at least interesting :) I think this is one of the best "break up" kind of songs I've heard. Beautifully performed both in this video and also the original studio track. |
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