"Hyper-Ballad" as written by and Bjork Gudmundsdottir....
We live on a mountain
Right at the top
There's a beautiful view
From the top of the mountain
Every morning I walk towards the edge
And throw little things off
Like car-parts, bottles and cutlery
Or whatever I find lying around
It's become a habit
A way to start the day
I go through all this
Before you wake up
So I can feel happier
To be safe up here with you
I go through all this
Before you wake up
So I can feel happier
To be safe up here with you
It's real early morning
No-one is awake
I'm back at my cliff
Still throwing things off
I listen to the sounds they make
On their way down
I follow with my eyes 'til they crash
Imagine what my body would sound like
Slamming against those rocks
When it lands
Will my eyes
Be closed or open?
I go through all this
Before you wake up
So I can feel happier
To be safe up here with you
I go through all this
Before you wake up
So I can feel happier
To be safe up here with you
I go through all this
Before you wake up
So I can feel happier
To be safe up here with you
Safe up (here with you)
Right at the top
There's a beautiful view
From the top of the mountain
Every morning I walk towards the edge
And throw little things off
Like car-parts, bottles and cutlery
Or whatever I find lying around
It's become a habit
A way to start the day
I go through all this
Before you wake up
So I can feel happier
To be safe up here with you
I go through all this
Before you wake up
So I can feel happier
To be safe up here with you
It's real early morning
No-one is awake
I'm back at my cliff
Still throwing things off
I listen to the sounds they make
On their way down
I follow with my eyes 'til they crash
Imagine what my body would sound like
Slamming against those rocks
When it lands
Will my eyes
Be closed or open?
I go through all this
Before you wake up
So I can feel happier
To be safe up here with you
I go through all this
Before you wake up
So I can feel happier
To be safe up here with you
I go through all this
Before you wake up
So I can feel happier
To be safe up here with you
Safe up (here with you)
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I've always related to "Hyper-Ballad" from the perspective of a kind of wild, sometimes destructive person who's found love...which is this very fragile thing. You're almost a *danger* to it in your wildness. The morning ritual described in the song is a way to act out and still be in touch with your anger, your destructiveness...and makes you *okay* to return to the stability, sweetness or gentleness of the relationship.
Disatisfied with the boring(?) life on top of the mountain with him, she drops objects over the edge. She doesn't do this in anger, but more to test what it's like falling from the life at the top to a life below. This symbolises her thinking about leaving. She wonders whether she would be happier living her life without him or if she would 'die' in the process. This is probably an emotional 'death' (as in losing her true love) but it could also have a physical aspect (as in losing money/belongings/kids in a messy break up or divorce). If she didn't test it she might throw herself off without thinking and then what would happen? She is so deeply in love/committed that the drop from where she is now to being alone is immense in comparison to leaving a new/undeveloped relationship. she feels too far up to leave without severely harming/killing herself.
She throws things off in privacy as she does in fact love him so she doesn't want him to be hurt by the fact that she even thinks about leaving, nor does she want to fight (thus no anger). In the end she forces herself to be content in staying with him, as she feels safe from the rocks below, but she never stops thinking about crashing onto them and just what would happen if she ever decided to make that move.
It could also be her thinking what would happen if HE left, and what would become of her. However the song does make us feel that she is somewhat in control of whether she falls or not so I doubt this is the case.
She begins with beautiful imagery describing where her and her love lives. This almost sounds as if it is read out of a story book which can be describing how wonderful this love is... perfect! However, because of how isolated she is with him and how disconnected she is with the rest of the world, she does these little rituals to imagine what it is like to be down there. Although a bit gruesome, imagining falling off the cliff allows her to have the option of being able to leave her perfect mountain. I don't think she really wants to, she just enjoys entertaining the thought. She is a wild creature and has since established a more stable life that she enjoys but still needs that feeling of freedom.
I actually recently moved away from my family and friends to live with my husband in NYC (the mountain top). And although the marriage could not be more satisfying, I still need that feeling of freedom. I too, practice rituals that keep me feeling free though still devoted to my husband.
Beautiful Song about the beauty of a wild soul in love.