Just listening for the 784,654th time....and it's just perfect in every way. Just incredible. The only reason it was remade was to scoop up a boatload of money from a more modern and accepting audience. But it is a completely different song than the other one that sounds slapped together in a few takes without a thought for the meaning.
This song captivates me still, after 50+ years. Takes me to the deep South and the poverty of some who lived thru truly hard times. And the powerful spirit of a poor young girl being abandoned to her future with only a red dress and her wits to keep her alive.
She not only stayed alive, she turned her hard beginnings around, became self sufficient, successful and someone with respect for herself. She didn't let the naysayers and judgers stop her. She's the one sitting in the drivers seat at the end.
So, not a song about a poor girl, but a song of hope and how you can rise up no matter how far down you started.
There is a huge difference between a singer who simply belts out a song that is on a page in front of them, and someone who can convey an entire experience with their voice. Telling not just a story with words, but taking you inside it and making you feel like you are there, with their interpretation.
Beautiful child
Beautiful child
You are a beautiful child
And I am a fool once more
You fell in love when I was only ten
The years disappeared
Much has gone by since then
I bite my lip, can you send me away?
You touch, I have no choice (ooh, ooh)
I have to stay (ooh)
Ooh, I had to stay
Ooh, I had to stay
Sleepless child
There is so little time
Your eyes say yes
But you don't say yes
Well I wish that you were mine
I wish that you were mine
You say it will be harder in the morning
I wait for you to say, just go
Your hands held mine so few hours
(I fell into love) But I'm not a child anymore
I'm not a child anymore
I'm tall enough to reach for the stars
I'm old enough to love you from afar
Too trusting? Yes
But then women usually are
I'm not a child anymore
I'm not a child, oh no (I'm tall enough to reach for the stars)
I will do as I'm told (I'm old enough to love you from afar)
Even if I never hold you again (too trusting? Yes, but then women usually are)
Hold you again (hold you again)
Sleepless child
There is so little time (I will do as I am told)
Your eyes say yes, but you don't say yes
(Even if I never hold you again)
I wish that you were mine (hold you again)
I wish that you were mine (even if I never hold you again)
Well I wish that you were mine (hold you again)
Well I wish that you were mine
(I'm not a child anymore)
Beautiful child
You are a beautiful child
And I am a fool once more
You fell in love when I was only ten
The years disappeared
Much has gone by since then
I bite my lip, can you send me away?
You touch, I have no choice (ooh, ooh)
I have to stay (ooh)
Ooh, I had to stay
Ooh, I had to stay
Sleepless child
There is so little time
Your eyes say yes
But you don't say yes
Well I wish that you were mine
I wish that you were mine
You say it will be harder in the morning
I wait for you to say, just go
Your hands held mine so few hours
(I fell into love) But I'm not a child anymore
I'm not a child anymore
I'm tall enough to reach for the stars
I'm old enough to love you from afar
Too trusting? Yes
But then women usually are
I'm not a child anymore
I'm not a child, oh no (I'm tall enough to reach for the stars)
I will do as I'm told (I'm old enough to love you from afar)
Even if I never hold you again (too trusting? Yes, but then women usually are)
Hold you again (hold you again)
Sleepless child
There is so little time (I will do as I am told)
Your eyes say yes, but you don't say yes
(Even if I never hold you again)
I wish that you were mine (hold you again)
I wish that you were mine (even if I never hold you again)
Well I wish that you were mine (hold you again)
Well I wish that you were mine
(I'm not a child anymore)
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
System
Mel And Kim
Mel And Kim
Blank Space
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
This song is Swift's response to the negative reputation the media has given her.
"I can make the bad guys good for a weekend" - the bad guys are the paparazzi to Swift, but are good to the "player" since association with Swift immediately gives publicity. Any publicity is good publicity and Swift knows this.
"You can tell me when it's over" - the tabloids rumor relationships are over before the couple announces it officially.
With this song Swift is portraying the way she is portrayed by the media.
It is a sarcastic jab at how she views herself and how her "ex-lovers" only wanted to be with her to increase their fame.
I applaud the brilliance in writing about how you always write about relationships.
It is expected so Swift is giving the media what they want and profiting off the attention.
Me and Johnny
Matt Paxton
Matt Paxton
Moyet later described how her song "Goodbye 70's" had been inspired by her disillusionment with how the late-1970s punk scene had turned out, saying, "'Goodbye 70's' is about punk and not caring how you were dressed, and then I discovered that so many of my friends that I'd thought it all really meant something to just saw it as another trend... That's what 'Goodbye 70's' was all about, about how sour the whole thing became."
Alma Matters
Morrissey
Morrissey
The man has pseudo-friends who constantly criticize his actions. They moralize him, "teach" him and advise him to make a significant change in his life, because the way he is and what he does is not what they say it should be. They may find his life lame or immoral. They hold themselves up as role models. The man replies that he will make his own choices and decisions and he does not agree to unconditionally make himself under the influence of questionable quality advice. He justifies this by saying that there is always someone for whom he will be important, no matter what he does and no matter what he is. Although it is not said directly, I read it as meaning that he will always be important to himself in every way and he will always have his own support.
"Everyone is different and maybe that's a good thing, but you exceeded that mark 1000 times" - I remember very well how sad the words I once heard (from my peers and it was in negative context) at school made me feel.
Still Luv
Kennedy Rd.
Kennedy Rd.
This standout song off her eponymously named album was produced by AVB & Itsashleetho and released on December 28, 2020.
somethingelsereviews.com/2013/05/20/it-affected-me-very-much-stevie-nicks-outlines-the-beatles-connection-in-fleetwood-macs-beautiful-child/