Svetlana sucks lemons across from me
And I am progressing abominably
And I do not know my own way to the sea
But the saltiest sea knows its own way to me

And the city that turns, turns protracted and slow
And I find myself toeing th'Embarcadero
And I find myself knowing
The things that I knew
Which is all that you can know
On this side of the blue

And Jaime has eyes
Black and shiny as boots
And they march at you two-by-two
(Re-loo re-loo);
When she looks at you
You know she's nowhere near through:
It's the kindest heart beating
This side of the blue

And the signifieds butt heads
With the signifiers
And we all fall down slack-jawed
To marvel at words!
When across the sky sheet
The Impossible birds
In a steady illiterate movement homewards

And Gabriel stands beneath forest and moon
See them rattle & boo
See them shake and see them loom
See him fashion a cap from a page of Camus;
See him navigate deftly this side of the blue

And the rest of our lives
Will the moments accrue
When the shape of their goneness
Will flare up anew
Then we do what we have to do
(Re-loo re-loo)
Which is all that you can do
On this side of the blue

Oh it's all that you can do
On this side of the blue


Lyrics submitted by Mopnugget

This Side of the Blue Lyrics as written by Joanna Newsom

Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING

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This Side of the Blue song meanings
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    General Comment

    I've always seen this as a song about sea travel, and it conjures up an image (for me, at least) of a lone woman sailing the coasts of the world in a sailboat just big enough for herself. It kind of brings to mind a feeling of intellectual malaise and a bit of self-loathing; the narrator has all this education, but she's finding that the rest of the world doesn't require it, so she can't find anywhere to apply it. It feels like a lofty intellectual's search for common sense.

    bodishmoshersonon August 08, 2007   Link

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