There's a line on her jeans that a ball-point made
From a careless mistake that she can't wash away
And there's a heart on her sleeve from a spill of red wine
There's a piece of green in the blue of her eyes
She named it after me
There's a stray dog she feeds that she found in the street
And he loves her to hold him, but he won't let her keep him
And he claws at the door to be let out at night
And she makes do without him, and she worries about him
She named him after me
So if you ever decide that you have to escape
And travel the world, and you can't find a place
Well, you could wind up believing
That paradise is nothing more than a feeling
That goes on in your mind
So if ever find out what that is
There's something you could do
'Cause if I ever hold that golden dream again
I want to tell you
I'm gonna name it after you
About a girl who loved him, and was ready for commitment, but he wasn't. The first half, her perspective, seems to be all metaphor - a broken relationship that she can't forget - he's the stray dog. The second half is more literal - his perspective at the time that he knew her. He ultimately realizes that what he wanted to go off and search for is really what he had with her... but its too late to mend broken hearts.
There's a line on her jeans that a ballpoint made From a careless mistake that she can't wash away
And there's a heart on her sleeve from the spill of red wine There's a piece of green in the blue of her eyes
She named it after me...
(these are all physical symbols that would be visible to others) (note: red, green, and blue (RGB) are the only colors that a tv uses to build a complete picture) (she was a bit immature too, when she got drunk and wrote a letter that frightened him away hence dropping the ballpoint pen and spilling the wine) (but there's more blue sadness/regret than green inexperience) (she identifies the green with him not the blue, thinking that maybe he doesn't have the same regret)
There's a stray dog she feeds that she found in the street And he loves her to hold him But he won't let her keep him
He claws at the door to be let out at night And she makes due without him and she worries about him
She named him after me She named him after me She named him af-ter me ...after me...
(the dog and he were both free/stray before they met her - and they still are) (she learned from her mistake and lets the dog out when he he needs his space but she worries that one day he won't come back) (the only things mentioned outside of her house are the street and the night - gray and black)
So if you ever decide that you have to escape and you travel the world but you can't find a place Well, you could wind up believing that Paradise is nothing more than a feeling that goes on in your mind
So if you ever find out what that is You know there's something you can do 'Cause if I ever hold that golden dream again I want to tell you I'm gonna name it after you
...after you... gonna name it after you I'm gonna name it after you...
(travelling the world is a metaphor for searching for a better/perfect relationship: Paradise) (he wonders if she believes Paradise is imaginary/impossible like he does - if she found out what "that" is) (she probably shares "that" belief, because everyone she loves wants to be stray) (there's something she can do - she can name "that" realization that Paradise is impossible after him) (now that he's experienced - no longer green - he's given up on his dream of finding Paradise) (his golden/mature dream of Paradise is what she represents to him now) (is the piece of green in her eyes because she hasn't travelled the world yet?)
I think that you have all rather missed the point. The song is written in the present tense:
While the first verse might not scan so well in the past tense, the second would so we can assume that the present tense has been deliberately used. Obviously the lyric associates the various slips, errors and the stray dog with the author, but because all of these things are in the present, not the past, the relationship itself is also being stated to be in the present.
There is clearly a wistfulness (added to beautifully by the tune) and sense of regret, but that isn't for the end of the relationship but an awareness of the author's shortcomings in not being able to give her the more conventional home-life she clearly wanted. What the song is about is an ongoing relationship in which the author is someone who has to have their own personal space, but still (like the stray dog coming back to be held - and fed, cheeky blighter!) needs to come back to this woman who provides the stability and comfort to which he can retreat. When he's not there, she makes do and she worries about him, but by keeping the relationship clearly in the present it is shown that he does come back every time.
The start of the final section ("So if you ever decide that you have to escape, etc) is a direct address to the listener. The author isn't writing about his own relationship any more, but suggesting that if the listener is also someone who decides that they have to escape and travel the world they may reach the same conclusions as he has, i.e that Paradise is a state of mind (in this case Paradise is implied to be his home life with the woman), not a place you can travel to.
The final verse, in which he notes that he will name the "golden dream" after "you" (no doubt the woman) is ambiguous. It could just be a slip in the writing - a lovely line and an emotional appeal that perhaps has been retained from earlier drafts in which the relationship was expressed to be in the past. Alternatively, perhaps it tells us that the "golden dream" of the relationship has passed, in the way that I am sure that we all know that the initial glory of romantic relationships mature. Whatever, it's sung with glorious emotional impact and depth and brings the song to a suitable climax.
It's a beautiful song, and a crying shame that it was left out of the original vinyl version of the LP, held back as a special for the CD. Unlike many of the other songs on Seasons End (fantastic tunes, but a bit hackneyed and bleedin' obvious in their lyrical themes), this one (along with The Space) does have a poetry that stands compare with the previous recordings with Fish.
Not certain, but it makes me cry. the last few lines make me think it's about lost love ?
the girl bein spoken about in this song had a love for the singer which he seriously took for granted in the time they were together. she associated him therefore with mistakes and the dog. the dog references go very well to show how the singer was after the attentions of her but never chose to hang around. well its sung from his point of view after the realisation hes lost someone that special has sunk in altho' now bein too late to fix things. therefore he repays the favour she did naming things after him by optin to name hes dreams and ambitions after her... assuming he ever finds them. very much my song. sadly from the vocalists point of view. it can be very easy to be complacent.
Forgot one thing... he seems to be saying that he finds it difficult to have that dream again - maybe having grown cynical in his travels and life experience.
Lost love for sure ... To me the lines about the dog that he won't let let her keep is about the life the girl lives now with another man, it says that she is not really happy. I think it is about second chance ...
Lost love for sure ... To me the lines about the dog that he won't let let her keep is about the life the girl lives now with another man, it says that she is not really happy. I think it is about second chance ...
Its about love, not lost but misplaced maybe.
Ever loved anyone who just wanted to be friends? SOme one who gave love of one form but refused to aknowledge it as anything else?
Ever felt as a dog begging for love and getting the scarps?
Its very teen love, and gut wrenching at it, had a similar experience and i felt completely identified, still do in fact...15 years after...