Five Fathoms Lyrics
To me, this song is about a girl who's grown up very sheltered and protected, and now she's gone off on her own. She is both frightened of and intoxicated by her new alien surroundings and freedom.
"I want to be the things I see, give every face and place my name." -- She wants to belong here. She's trying to find comfort.
" I'm not immune---I love this tune."-- She's no different than anyone else; she craves normalcy. The tune is life-- city life, specifically.
"the people fill the city because the city fills the people"-- my favorite line :)
"the days roll by like thunder like a storm that's never breaking, all my time and space compressed in the low pressure proceedings" --
She's waiting for something extraordinary to happen, but nothing comes. She's got so much freedom, and she hasn't a clue what to do with it, so it ironically ends up constricting her.
" I'll take you home and make it easy." -- She's broken.
I especially love the "There's a river in my head" parts. The music is really pretty there. I also think that's where the title of the song came from: the river is five fathoms deep.
This song makes me think about London, and it contains an incredibly profound thought: "the people fill the city because the city fills the people, oh yeah."
I agree with anope's interpretation about finding freedom in a big city, experiencing new sights and sounds, going out clubbing, etc.. The bridge (the days roll by... I go out) has me quite perplexed. I'm not too sure what that means.
"I'll take you home, make it easy" makes me think of the scene in Trainspotting when he goes out to a club, meets this girl, and they just go back to her place.
I should note that Paul Oakenfold remixes this in his Live In China release. His version is masterful and better than the original; if you like this song, you'll love his version. It's a bit faster and harder.
i love this song and anope for his/her interpretation --
;) :)
To me, this song always reminded me of a love song to the city that she lives in, which I assume is London. Her passion for it is evident, as she immerses herself in the sights and smells that is found in her beloved hometown at night. She literally carries all those wonderful aspects with her where ever she goes, just as the city does the same when people treck its streets for action--food, shopping, nightlife.