"Warm Wet Circles" as written by and Derek William/mosley Dick....
On promenades where drunks propose to lonely
arcade mannequins
Where ceremonies pause at the jeweller's shop display
Feigning casual silence in strained romantic interludes
Till they commit themselves to the muted journey home
And the pool player rests on another cue
Last nights hero picking up his dues
A honeymoon gambled on a ricochet
She's staring at the brochures at the holidays
Chalking up a name in your hometown
Standing all your mates to another round
Laughing at the world till the barman wipes away the warm wet circles
The warm wet circles
I saw teenage girls like gaudy moths
A classroom's shabby butterflies
Flirt in the glow of stranded telephone boxes
Planning white lace weddings from smeared hearts and token proclamations
Rolled from stolen lipsticks across the razored webs of glass
Sharing cigarettes with experience with her giggling jealous confidantes
She faithfully traces his name with quick bitten fingernails
Through the tears of condensation that'll cry through the night
As the glancing headlights of the last bus kiss adolescence goodbye
In a warm wet circle
Like a mothers kiss on your first broken heart, a warm wet circle
Like a bullet hole in Central Park, a warm wet circle
And I'll always surrender to the warm wet circles
She nervously undressed in the dancing beams of the Fidra lighthouse
Giving it all away before it's too late
She'll let a lovers tongue move in a warm wet circle
Giving it all away and showing no shame
She'll take a mother's kiss on her first broken heart a warm wet circle
She'll realise that she played her part in a warm wet circle
arcade mannequins
Where ceremonies pause at the jeweller's shop display
Feigning casual silence in strained romantic interludes
Till they commit themselves to the muted journey home
And the pool player rests on another cue
Last nights hero picking up his dues
A honeymoon gambled on a ricochet
She's staring at the brochures at the holidays
Chalking up a name in your hometown
Standing all your mates to another round
Laughing at the world till the barman wipes away the warm wet circles
The warm wet circles
I saw teenage girls like gaudy moths
A classroom's shabby butterflies
Flirt in the glow of stranded telephone boxes
Planning white lace weddings from smeared hearts and token proclamations
Rolled from stolen lipsticks across the razored webs of glass
Sharing cigarettes with experience with her giggling jealous confidantes
She faithfully traces his name with quick bitten fingernails
Through the tears of condensation that'll cry through the night
As the glancing headlights of the last bus kiss adolescence goodbye
In a warm wet circle
Like a mothers kiss on your first broken heart, a warm wet circle
Like a bullet hole in Central Park, a warm wet circle
And I'll always surrender to the warm wet circles
She nervously undressed in the dancing beams of the Fidra lighthouse
Giving it all away before it's too late
She'll let a lovers tongue move in a warm wet circle
Giving it all away and showing no shame
She'll take a mother's kiss on her first broken heart a warm wet circle
She'll realise that she played her part in a warm wet circle
Lyrics submitted by Idan
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Brilliant lyrics.
And finding that link between them - a warm, wet circle.
Ultimately it's about a girls first relationship with a guy where she thinks it's love and he's only after one thing.
The girl meets a cool guy, falls in love, starts planning the future and talking about him to her friends. She's happy.
Then they meet up and get down to it.
And then it's all over.
The circle reference is not just of the warm, wet types. It's a vicious circle that many young girls find themselves in. She feels rejected and will seek love even more - thus leading her to find the next guy who will inevitably end up doing the same thing.
Hence the last line "She'll realise that she played her part in a warm wet circle".
Superb imagery (I've always considered Fish more a poet than just a songwriter) and very clever songwriting.
The protaganist is in a committed relation and engaged, however he really doesnt want to get married "Where ceremonies pause at the jeweller's shop display Feigning casual silence in strained romantic interludes" eg shes picking out wedding rings etc but all hes wants to do is drink in the pub with his mates and really isnt commited to the realtionship "A Honeymoon gambled on a ricochet". He then starts having an affair with a young teenager, deflowering her in the Lighthouse.
Also the last 2 lines are missing from this song, which sort of tie up the whole thing
"It was a wedding ring destined to found in a cheap hotel, lost in a kitchen sink, or thrown in a wishing well'
The protaganist does get married in the end, but the marriage is bound to fail.
"Laughing at the world till the barman wipes away the warm wet circles". It is obvious he is referring to the circles left by a glass on a bar's table. Further than that I don't know
Having read the comments on hear theres obviously a lot more too it. Fascinating
Having read the comments on here theres obviously a lot more too it. Fascinating
Having just been married and walking through promenades, the new couple on their way home are followed by some of the drunk wedding guests (or other drunks), who tease and serenade them by proposing to mannequins. Farther along when they pass the jeweler's shop, the bride sees a ring, possibly one that her husband could not or would not buy, which puts a damper on the evening and they continue on in silence.
This may have diverted them (or maybe just him) to the local pool hall where he, feeling guilty, tries to win some extra money playing pool. Unfortunately, he loses everything saved for the honeymoon. A bender ensues where he laughs "at the world 'till the barman wipes away the warm wet circles."
During this time, wherever the bride is, she is looking at what might have been the brochures from their planned trip. Her thoughts turn to her silly and naive teen years and her courtship, with her giggling confidantes (I picture bimbo cheerleaders), flitting about like moths under a streetlight as they swoon, while she talks to her beau on the phone, tracing his name in the glass's condensation, etc.
I think one of two things happened next:
She and her new husband were forced to spend their first night together in the lighthouse instead of a hotel. This is where she loses her virginity and regret floods in. Even though she shows no shame, she still thinks of what might have been, and possibly realizes that her husband does not love her, which may or may not be her first broken heart.
I think it's also possible, since Fish uses the term "lover's tongue" that this was not her husband, and she, angry at his irresponsible behavior, wanted to give it all away before she changed her mind. This ominous event so soon after their marriage could also be her first broken heart, though I don't think that's likely.
I know other commenters have written about the protagonist being male, but this song is much more about the bride, and mostly speaks about her thoughts, desires, emotions, etc.