1
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
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
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First of all, I do love Joanna Newsom. But sometimes I think she lacks clarity. Songs like En gallop and Peach, plum, pear are difficult to grasp the meaning but in the end they are beautifully written ideas. But I'm not sure it applies to all her songs. I've googled a lot on "Bridges and balloons" and apart from compliments to her impressive vocabulary, I haven't found good analyses on what she meant. It's like people are stunned by her skills with words, and they take the meaning for granted as if it was a sin to question what the hell she meant. I see people commenting on this song, but no one can really point out what she is specifically talking about. Alright, it is a critics on semiotics, there are references about existentialism, and so what? Perhaps I lack the culture to understand what she is saying, but then, can anybody explain me? When I have to spend hours to understand a song meaning I always remember this Nietzsche's quote: "Those who know that they are profound strive for clarity. Those who would like to seem profound strive for obscurity" (The Gay Science, sec. 173) Maybe one should value her words as beautiful indeed, but just as part of the song, with no further meaning (only for her, I guess).
I also ponder clear vs. obscure lyrics, which is ultimately better... Clear words probably wins, because beautiful/obscure words are too private and selfish on the artist's end. Here's another quote:<br /> "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." -Albert Einstein
@nbrii I take the title to be a metaphor for life before death or existence in an infinite universe, basically the same thing.