| Hurt – The Old Mission Lyrics | 5 years ago |
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The Old Mission is an old, and probably abandoned, church. Not only is it the setting in which the reunion unfolds, but it's also the place where they were going to be married (this is all but explicitly stated). The song is mostly self explanatory, you just need to listen to the lyrics carefully. Everyone saying that it's about "a man reuniting with a woman he believed to be dead" are correct. However, leaving it at that is doing the song a great disservice. "She visits the place that the tour groups must have She's shocked to find somebody there *The place she's visiting had once been a place that people had regularly visited, but that's no longer the case. For whatever reason, the place doesn't look like anyone's been there for some time. So it's a surprise when she meets someone there. With a sun-beaten face, and a silver-grey head He knelt on the floor unaware *The person is described as an older man. These descriptions illustrate that he didn't age gracefully, or else he may have used a different adjective than "sun-beaten". Anyway, this man falls to one knee. He knelt. It's an allusion to the marriage that never came to be, and it's also used to show that he was surprised by her face as it reminded him of Marie, but that's not something he knows. So "unaware." He said 'I'm sorry madam' as he lent her his hand 'I know I must be a strange sight But I've been coming here for some thirty odd years Ever since my sweet lady died But I sure am glad you listened Oh, I sure am glad you came I've been waiting here in this mission Ever since that day' *I feel like this is pretty self explanatory. He apologizes for falling in front of her and introduces himself. He knows his presence is odd, and explains that he's been waiting 30 years since Marie died. It's later explained what he's been waiting for. Oh, that summer we met, only fools could forget Just how perfect a woman could be *Through Marie, he learned how perfect a woman can be. And it's not something he could forget. By the time she was late, we had both set a date In a place where she would marry me *By the time she died ("late" is a common euphemism for being dead, ex: "my late grandfather") they had gotten engaged to be married and had already set a date and location, which would have very likely been the Mission. "Late" could also mean "pregnant", but there's no reference to a pregnancy or a child anywhere else in the song, as such it's unlikely. But a gringo meant shame to their proud family name And her father forbade it to be *Her father didn't approve, because the man is not hispanic. So in less than a week, they found her by the creek And the parents blamed it all on me *She died, likely a suicide. And her parents blamed him for it. But I sure am glad you listened And I sure am glad you came *The story is hard for the man to recount, but he's thankful that the woman is letting him talk about this. I've been waiting here in this mission Ever since that day *He's been "waiting" for Marie to come to the Mission to get married to him. Think Hachiko, but not at all hopeful that Marie is coming back. Well, her name was Marie *Her name was Marie, and I know I probably used her name prematurely, but I wasn't about to type out "the woman who died" twenty times. And the day she met me Was the worst day of both of our lives If it wasn't for me, I would truly believe My sweetheart could still be alive *If he had to choose between all of his memories with her, and never knowing him, he would choose that they remain strangers, because he feels she would still be alive if it weren't for him. She said 'Darling, believe. Don't you recognize me? *Plot twist, he's been speaking to Marie this entire time. Though you waited here all of this time They had shipped me away to my family in Spain *Despite his clear love for her, her family had sent her to Spain. We can get on with our lives Yeah, we still have plenty of time *I believe that she's proposing that they can pick up where they left off. 'Cause I sure am glad I listened Oh, I sure am glad I came *She's glad that she took the time to listen to his story. Now they can be together. I made looking for you my mission Ever since that day' *She wanted to be there with him, and made a real effort to make it happen. Oh, I sure am glad you listened Oh, I sure am glad you came I've been waiting here in this mission Ever since that day And I sure am glad you listened Oh, I sure am glad you came I've been waiting here in this mission Ever since that day 'May God bless you, have a good day'" *He thanks everyone for coming, and wishes everyone well. I'm pretty sure the story was told at their wedding at the old mission. It's hard to ignore the cheering, and I had a helluva time trying to figure out why J. Loren would say "May God bless you, have a good day". And the only way it makes any sense it in the context of a wedding. I guess there could be other interpretations, but I don't think many of them would address the cheering that's heard throughout the song. |
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| Hurt – Abuse of SID Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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Getting the obvious bit out of the way: it's about abuse. The story is narrated by someone outside the relationship. A friend of the abused, perhaps something more. "You just don't dare. And inside you're yearning With some secret burning" He's calling the abused out a bit here. They want something better, but something's stopping them from leaving. "Still won't you help me, I'm flawed, desperate, angry with God, cause he just won't care, oh, excuse me, you're mourning, how callous and boring" He has things he needs to talk about as well, but he feels like all they talk about are the abused's issues. "I brush your hair See your face, empty smile" They return to the topic of abuse. "you know it wont stop, so you make an excuse to confuse the issue, what make you think that i'll care about you? when you lay on the ground till he tells you he's through" This is pretty straightforward. He's explaining the situation. The interesting bit is that he asks, "what makes you think that I'll care about you?" And it's a big, important part of the song. He's basically asking why should he care if the abused doesn't seem to care. The abused knows what's going on is terrible, but they lie down and take it. And the narrator claims that he's going to put as little thought into the abuse as they do. "so it finally dawned on me, yesterday morning, i just can't stare, and swallow the words, that your hero's perverted on what we share, i'll kill him, I'll beat him. The cycle's repeating. I hold thin arrogance" We see how much he actually cares about the situation despite his talk. He can't keep pretending that nothing is happening while the abuser is perverting the abused's perspective of the relationship between the narrator and the abused. He makes plans to attack the abuser. Perhaps he does, or maybe the abused tells the abuser of the plan, but it causes more issues in the abusive relationship. He acknowledges that he was arrogant in thinking he could change anything. "still wont you hold him and trust him, you love him, so much, and he still wont care, to see your face, with an empty smile, cause i touched that place on you, and all the while" He sees that the abused is planting their feet in their abusive relationship, but her loyalty doesn't matter to the abuser. He states that the abuser will never see the abused in the same way that he does. "she says it's so good, when it's so good, this is so good, when it's no good, this is so good, everybody so good, everybody so good, when you're no good, all the while, he's been using you, yes all the while, he's abusing you" A common thing happens in abusive relationships where the abused will try to rationalize the relationship. "It's so good when it's so good" is basically saying "sure, he constantly makes me fear for my life, but when he's sweet, he can be sweet". "with your naked excuse you confuse your misuse, what makes you think that I should care what he'll do you lay on the ground till he tells you he's through, and he makes up your mind that that's what you should do" He calls the abused out again. And he, again, asks them why he should care if she doesn't care. But he's really trying to talk himself out of his feelings for the abused. He's trying to see the situation for what it is, hopeless. "cause all the while you, you've been using you, yes all the while, you've been abusing you, he hurts you, miss treats you, your own mind misleads you, you just won't care, when holes in your face cant be covered with makeup you'll still stay there." He's more or less saying that the abuse won't stop, and that the violence is only going to get worse. It'll either end with the abuse getting so bad that no one can ignore it and they'll get involved like he did, or until she gets killed. Tl;dr It's a song about a man's relationship with a woman in an abusive relationship. He tries to get involved, but makes things worse. And after coming to grips with the fact that she'll never leave, he decides to leave. |
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