She wanted to test her husband.
She knew exactly what to do:
A pseudonym to fool him.
She couldn't have made a worse move.
She sent him scented letters,
And he received them with a strange delight.
Just like his wife
But how she was before the tears,
And how she was before the years flew by,
And how she was when she was beautiful.
She signed the letter
"All yours,
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya!
All yours,
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya!"
She wanted to take it further,
So she arranged a place to go,
To see if he
Would fall for her incognito.
And when he laid eyes on her,
He got the feeling they had met before.
Uncanny how she
Reminds him of his little lady,
Capacity to give him all he needs,
Just like his wife before she freezed on him,
Just like his wife when she was beautiful.
He shouted out, "I'm
All yours,
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya!
All yours,
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya!
All yours,
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya!"
‘Babooshka’ is a song of love and hate. Her husband has, one suspects, lovingly stood by her for years, weathering her moodswing tears and frigid temperament (her neurotic depression?). If ‘Babooshka’ calmed down, she would know this! She knows him exactly! Just like she knows exactly the type of woman he would fall for (someone just like herself all those years ago!) Yes, if only she calmed down! … But she is self-destructing on jealous delusions, mid-life boredom, idle fantasy, etc. etc… She can’t be nice with him. Instead, she recklessly uses her ‘insight’ to test his fidelity, scheming the perfect trap! … “Exactly! A pseudonym to fool him!” … She wants him to fail the test. Why? I doubt she could answer that. Maybe she just ‘wants out’… But she is too reckless to consider impact… She wants drama… She couldn't have made a worse move…
The husband is excited by the scented letters. But they only arouse in him feelings and longings for his wife all those years ago! He is bewitched by her charm all over!
The wife is similarly seduced and aroused by ‘Babooshka’… So she wants to take her own trap further… The alter ego works on them both like a Circean drug… Indeed, the wife both is and is not ‘Babooshka’… So is the husband ever tempted to commit an infidelity? …
The denouement? … He is left with confused longing for what she is not and only too aware of what she has become… And the hard-won lesson fills her with a shattering fury…
The song reminds me of the myth of Jason and Medea … that is, before he went off with Creon's daughter! :o)
It is a tragic reflection on the breakdown of communication and the foolish consequences of a distorted sense of reality.
This is exactly the interpretation I had from the first time I heard it. I don't think it's too hard to figure out.
This is exactly the interpretation I had from the first time I heard it. I don't think it's too hard to figure out.
Since the song ends with him telling Babooshka he's all hers, you don't get to hear what came after when he finds out it's really his wife. But I like to think that such an encounter has a positive ending, along the lines of, "Hey, it's actually you all along! What happened to our live together? Why can't you be this way as yourself?"
Since the song ends with him telling Babooshka he's all hers, you don't get to hear what came after when he finds out it's really his wife. But I like to think that such an encounter has a positive ending, along the lines of, "Hey, it's actually you all along! What happened to our live together? Why can't you be this way as yourself?"
If she couldn't, then the relationship is over. If she...
If she couldn't, then the relationship is over. If she can, well, it opens up a new chapter in their lives.
From Kate:
"The games we play -- boredom breeds suspicion."
Am I overly optimistic, or is there a hint of a bittersweet happy ending here?
When he shouts out "I'm all yours, Babooshka!", is it in a final betrayal of his wife, or in realization that it is, in fact, her?
I prefer to think the latter. :)
@jasin When I was younger and my English wasn't as good as it is today I thought she wanted to test if he finds HER attractive anymore, or just stays because he is married to her. So for a long time the song had a happy end for me. He still loves his wife, but longs for a more playful relationship.
@jasin When I was younger and my English wasn't as good as it is today I thought she wanted to test if he finds HER attractive anymore, or just stays because he is married to her. So for a long time the song had a happy end for me. He still loves his wife, but longs for a more playful relationship.
This song is how about people take things for granted and, as soon as the 'novelty' of the good things they have wears off, forget how valuable they really are. Be this a friend, a lover, family, or material possessions such as a car or a house perhaps, human nature is to inevitably get bored of what they have and go after something else. It may be identical to what they once had, but it looks better just because it`s 'painted new'.
Based on this principle, the woman in the song 'paints herself new', to test her husband`s reaction.
this song is just a dark version of Escape, Jimmy Ruffin's pina colada song.
Not Jimmy Ruffin, Rupert Holmes, and yes, I AM ashamed to know that. It is indeed a darker version, but after watching the video recently, there is a great reason to love the song besides the artistic merits. rrrrowr!
Whilst most people would have little sympathy for the man as he is, or seems like he is, cheating on his wife - I believe Kate wrote it thinking that the wife was the manipulative one here. Her husband loves her but it was her who went cold on him. Yes - relationships can't keep the same passion/lust as the beginning but they can deepen over time into real love. It's a shame the woman here didn't put enough energy into her relationship in an open honest way as she did into tricking her husband. Their relationship has all but died and this stunt has only backfired and made them both seem like fools.
well it's fairly obvious that this song is about a wife that tests her hubby to see if he would fool around on her, and he falls in love with her pseudonym. So yeah bad move!
babooshka means old woman/grandmother in russian
The happy ending? … She rediscovers the ‘Babooshka’ within herself!