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Catherine Wheels Lyrics

No night to stay in
Bad moon is rising again
Dice rolls and you burn
Come down I fear
As that cold wheel turns
I know what I know
Sad Claude's been sleeping around
To stroke the right nerve
Whose needs do I serve
As Catherine's wheel turns

She was always the first to say gone
She's got her Catherine wheels on
Always the first to say gone

Go kindly with him
To his blind apparition
Whose face creases up
With age gone grey
You'll be back here one day

She was always the first to say gone
She's got her Catherine wheels on
Always the first to say gone
She's got her Catherine wheels on
Wheels on
Catherine wheels
Catherine wheels
Catherine wheels

She's gone vanished in the night
Broke off the logic of life
He woke tore the covers back
Found he was empty inside
So they were told when the moon would rise
The best time to leave with your soul
She's gone but towards the light
Watching her whole life unfold
Bruises come up dark

So strong was his hold on her
Regarded by some as his slave
He spoke as in a stranger's tongue
To spare us and drive you away
Bruises come up dark
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6 Meanings

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Cover art for Catherine Wheels lyrics by Crowded House

i love this song its a favourite ,i have no idea what its about .?

Cover art for Catherine Wheels lyrics by Crowded House

It's about a relationship gone wrong, possibly a abusive one. He's cheating it eludes to 'Claudes' sleeping around. she leaves, either through death or some other means.

Cover art for Catherine Wheels lyrics by Crowded House

The Catherine's wheel was a medivial torture device. That seems to fit the idea that it's about a relationship gone wrong. By saying 'She's got her Catherine wheels on', it's implied that she is suffering.

Cover art for Catherine Wheels lyrics by Crowded House

Neil Finn is the master of songwriting.

Cover art for Catherine Wheels lyrics by Crowded House

I do also think it's about an abusive relationship from which she escapes. How? I do not know: suicide? running off? But the lyrics are breathtaking, so poetic. "She's gone, vanished in the night; broke off the logic of life" I want this to be my epitaph!

Cover art for Catherine Wheels lyrics by Crowded House

I would agree that this song is about a messed up relationship where the female partner has been abused and she's finally broken free. My take is that she commits suicide as it is the only way she can see to escape.

On a side note, this song goes back to the days of Split Enz and was written by Neil and Tim Finn and then resurrected during the "Woodface" sessions with help from Nick Seymour.

Tim's harmonies on the chorus are breathtaking.

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