Another Satellite Lyrics
And I don't want to see your mooney mooney face
I say why on earth do you revolve around me
Aren't you aware of the gravity
Don't need another satellite
I have no wish to swim your milky milky way
I say why on earth do you send your letters 'round here
Only to gum up the atmosphere
Don't need another satellite
Two worlds that won't collide
So circling we'll orbit another year
Moon still tries to steal the tide away
Don't need another satellite
Before you glimpse I have a darker darker side
I say why in Heaven's name do you come on these trips
Only to freeze in a total eclipse
Don't need another satellite
Two worlds that won't collide
So circling we'll orbit another year
Moon still tries to steal the tide away
Don't need another satellite
Don't need another satellite
I was thinking about this song this morning, pondering its place in the Skylarking "concept" - which is basically tracing a life, from beginning to end. Following the story as told on the CD: After "Earn Enough For Us" a song about the strains and pressures of marraige and providing for a family, and "Big Day" a song about a married man giving sage advice to another man about to be married, we have "Another Satellite". At first I simply thought it was a song about an unconsummated relationship and left it at that. Now suddenly I see it as a story of infedelity. This man is married: "My heart is taken...". "Aren't you aware of the gravity", the seriousness? or the wife? The man is flirting with another woman whom is obviously smitten with him "So circling we'll orbit another year" - the situation goes on for quite some time. She continues to attempt to steal away his heart "Moon still tries to steal the tide away". And he rebuffs her, gently at first, "I'm happy standing...", and more forcefully later, "Abort you mission let's just say you tried...".
It's a song about a long time extramarital affair. (IMHO, of course)
It's actually about American fan who had fallen in love with Andy Partridge while he was married. It was a message to her that he was taken. As fate would have it, Andy's wife left him for another man, and he ended up divorcing her and marrying the American fan, and they've been together ever since.
The fan is called Erica Wexler. It's a chilling song to me as the same thing happened to me. I never play it it in front of my (new) girl. fortunately she's not an XTC fan!!
Yeah, it's a strange song for me, with a lot of loaded memories. It's a creepily accurate description of that period where you have that mutual attraction to the "other woman" but honestly don't want her attention, despite the attraction. The fact that Partridge's relationships took the route they did just makes the song more haunting.
My interpretation is a song about a relationship rebound. The emotional moon zodiac cancer could represent the all consuming female presence.