Ribbons

Interesting, I had always thought the song was about communism.

"She looked goon in ribbons" purportedly means cut to ribbons. If so, "tie a red red red red ribbon" suggests a rather violent scene.

I've heard it said that "lying on my back" refers to an experience at a drug or alcohol clinic, where the stars painted on the ceiling "look all too near".

"lovers queued up in the hallway" and "scratching at the door" recall references in Some Kind of Stranger (a much earlier, and perhaps less bitter song) to "footsteps in the hall outside". Hallways are mentioned also in Flood I & II ("and her hallway.. moves..") - take the Freudian interpretation if you like.

If I'm not mistaken "flowers on the razor wire" is anti-war.

I'm not sure if the song is anti-war, making fun of anti-war, or has nothing to do with war.

I really love this song. Part of me is dieing to know what it means. But another part is worried that knowing what it all means will ruin the song for me.

I've always interpreted this song to be about resting in your bed and wanting to be in a relationship with someone who's afraid to get into one right then because of the pain involved.

The first two lines are talking about lying in bed and looking at the glowinthedark stars people put on their ceiling.

"We are few and far between" is the narrator saying that not many people have a connection like the narrator and the person to whom he's talking.

The next lines are a play on "Love is a many splendoured thing." The narrator isn't BSing, he's telling her that love involves a lot of pain. But that she shouldn't be afraid and should start a relationship with him.

"Flowers on the razor wire" is referring to love. The razor wire is referring to the pain of love and flowers to the pleasure.

The next lines about her eyes and the purple light are just one more time he's convincing her to be in a relationship with him. If you've ever been to a camp where they seperate the girls and guys, oftentimes they'll tell you "No making purple" as the rule. It's the same concept, where he's saying "I see no purple light crashing out of you" It means that she's single, so jsut walk on in (to love)

The lovers queued in the hallway and such is saying that there are a lot of people who are interested in her and he's telling her about just random things so that she'll pay attention to him (as guys will do) rather than the lovers scratching at the door.

I've always taken "She looked good in ribbons" to be just a way of saying she was attractive artistically. Along the same lines as "I was thinking about her skin" mentioned earlier in the song and it being a red ribbon as red is the color of love, typically (rose colored glasses, red hearts, etc...)

to me this has always been about a girl that has tried to commit suicide and now works as a prostitute....

"flowers on the razor wire" A flower tattoo over the razor scars on her wrists.

"she looked good in ribbons" Bondage

"i tried to tell her about marx and engels, god and angels" trying several arguments to get her out of prostitution.

"her lovers cued up in the hallway i heard them scratching at the door" her other clients.

I once read in an interview that Eldritch had said that the "she looked good in ribbons" line meant actually "cut to ribbons". So there's another path for song interpretation.

It seems to me a relationship of two people who want each other, but in which the author gets disgruntled by the ignorance/lack of intellect on the partner's side, and finally decides to kill her in a most gory manner ("Incoming!" makes me think of the blade approaching quickly to my face). I tried to tell her About Marx and Engels, God and Angels I don't really know what for but she looked good in ribbons. Cut to ribbons, that is.

Persoanl experience may have some bearing on this, but I've always seen it as explaining to new love why old relationshiip failed.

"I know you're here We are few And far between" We are similar and have a connection

"I was thinking about her skin" I may not be entirely over her yet

"Love is a many splintered thing Don't be afraid now Just walk on in" but these things are always complicated and messy, so don't let that fact put you off.

"Her eyes were cobalt red Her voice was cobalt blue I see no purple light Crashing out of you So just walk on in" You're nothing like her, and that is a factor in your attractiveness

"Her lovers queued up in the hallway I heard them scratching at the door" She was unfaithful

"I tried to tell her About Marx and Engels, God and Angels I don't really know what for But she looked good in ribbons" it was physically intense but we had no real connection, we couldn't have a conversation on any interesting level.

Oh, and of course, 'she looked good in ribbons' refers to both the fact that she was beautiful, and the fact that she's beautiful and lovable even after he's upset her ('cut her up') by killing the relationship.

Someone once told me (I forget who and when) that this is a song about a soldier dying on his back in WWI. His is dying on razor wire (barb wire), looking into the sky and talking of a beautiful women he knew.

There are three parties involved in the song: I, You and Her. The speaker (I) is telling a third party (You) about her - her qualities; prostitute of beuaty, but not intellectual matters. (which presumably the speaker wanted to talk to the prostitue about for some reason (true love, need to talk?))

The speaker and the third party seem to have some past connection as well. But the speaker seems to be telling the third person to go see her.