Thimble Island

i read somewhere (the person made a really good point) that this song is about a girl going to heaven, or some place beyond. because it you look into the songs you have lines such as:

You go there alone I've not heard of girls returning It is a murky, mystery place

and to find a man seems like something happy, like journying into a better life in the afterlife. i'm not saying this is deffinate, but it does give you something to think about.

Haha, okay, I don't necessarily believe that this song was WRITTEN with this idea in mind, but I can't shake the impression that Thimble Island is a metaphor for being socialized as feminine (even the name of the island works: thimbles -> sewing -> girly stuff). Girls don't return from that murky mystery place because once you've been successfully programmed to act and look the way society dictates, it gets harder and harder to drop the Cosmos, turn off Sex and the City, leave the house without makeup on, etc., because of the rewards you get for adhering to gender norms and the subtle punishments that you get for breaking them. Anybody who has ever suddenly taken an interest in fashion and makeup has probably noticed that other women who share such interests become easier to befriend and, notably, that men display more attraction... which leads to why you'd go on down to Thimble Island to find your true love there, yes? And of course, various "charms" matter much more than booklearnin' in the prevailing definition of femininity, so there's that too.

Thimble island is an actual place off the coast of Connecticut (or somewhere in that region, at least) and tourists sail around it. This song is about a girl who's going on a cruise there and hoping to find love. It's cool- I like the verse that goes "I've not heard of girls returning" etc but I don't quite know how that realtes to the rest of the song- still, exquisite lyrics as always from Rasputina!

I think that this song is about the desperate measures some people will resort to, when they've really set their minds to something. That's were the verse "I've not heard of girls returning," might come from. Because these girls are so much in need to feel love that they'll go out of town with the sole intention of metting a man to marry, and one that they don't even know from jack now less.

wait......this sounds really familiar...didnt people do that years ago? when they came over seas? looking for a better place, new world to live and thrive on....sounds like it. could be a lot of things. :)