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Bridge of Sighs Lyrics
The sun don't shine
The moon don't move the tides,
to wash me clean
Sun don't shine
The moon don't move the tides,
to wash me clean
Why so unforgiving and why so cold
Been a long time crossing Bridge of Sighs
Cold wind blows
The Gods look down in anger,
on this poor child
Cold wind blows
And Gods look down in anger,
on this poor child
Why so unforgiving and why so cold
Been a long time crossing Bridge of Sighs
The moon don't move the tides,
to wash me clean
Sun don't shine
The moon don't move the tides,
to wash me clean
Why so unforgiving and why so cold
Been a long time crossing Bridge of Sighs
Cold wind blows
The Gods look down in anger,
on this poor child
Cold wind blows
And Gods look down in anger,
on this poor child
Why so unforgiving and why so cold
Been a long time crossing Bridge of Sighs
Song Info
Submitted by
addo On Oct 20, 2004
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The 'Bridge of Sighs' is a bridge in Venice spanning the Rio di Palazzo. It historically connected the jail to the courtroom and those who crossed it were being jailed and would thus 'sigh'. This song is a fairly direct refernce to the actual bridge.
exactly correct
exactly correct
@AndyWatt83 Sorry but you are too literal. Neelo's analysis below makes more sense... still, you got it it 50%
@AndyWatt83 Sorry but you are too literal. Neelo's analysis below makes more sense... still, you got it it 50%
The song refers to an actual bridge that condemned criminals would cross on the way to the gallows in the city of Venice. This might be intended as a metaphor for the state of human affairs. The actual bridge may be out of use these days, but the same sort of cold indifference to the struggles of our fellow man still exists, and I believe he is pointing out that we are still crossing the bridge of sighs whether we realize it or not. The word Bridge has classically been used as a metaphor for moving on or for finding yourself in a new place, but the irony of the bridge of sighs is that its a bridge that leads to nowhere. Maybe he is reminding us that we should be crossing the bridge to enlightenment, but instead we find ourselves still crossing the bridge of sighs.
I really like your thoughts on the metaphorical idea of the song. Thanks Neelo
I really like your thoughts on the metaphorical idea of the song. Thanks Neelo
@Neelo "Maybe he is reminding us that we should be crossing the bridge to enlightenment, but instead we find ourselves still crossing the bridge of sighs."
@Neelo "Maybe he is reminding us that we should be crossing the bridge to enlightenment, but instead we find ourselves still crossing the bridge of sighs."
Well I think that if it's not discernible what he's actually intending to say, he's done a poor job of communicating. This song, like so many others, is vague and is just meant to be a song.
Well I think that if it's not discernible what he's actually intending to say, he's done a poor job of communicating. This song, like so many others, is vague and is just meant to be a song.
@Neelo it does, but the title comes from a race horse named for said bridge Trower read about in the newspaper
@Neelo it does, but the title comes from a race horse named for said bridge Trower read about in the newspaper
You got to beg, barrow or buy this album “bridge of sighs" it has to be the best. Every song on the album is a gem.
@S3v3ns Totally agree. It improves with age, like many of the finer things in life.
@S3v3ns Totally agree. It improves with age, like many of the finer things in life.
If you did not know better you could mistake Trower for Hendrix at times- some of the guitar work is very similar and I guess that's why Trower is ranked so highly as one of the worlds great players.
@Addo - Trower is ranked so highly because he's great. Much more melodic and talented than Hendrix.
@Addo - Trower is ranked so highly because he's great. Much more melodic and talented than Hendrix.
You guys all need to read the actual quote of Robin Trower about the title for this song (or listen to him repeat it at most of his small shows):\n\n"I had the first line to “Bridge of Sighs” for a long time, but I couldn’t come up with a title to hang it on. Then one day, I was reading the sports pages and came across a racehorse named Bridge of Sighs and thought, What a great title!"
I have always heard the lyrics as "The Guards Look Down in Anger" as in prison guards who have been escorting prisoners.
I have always heard the lyrics as "The Guards Look Down in Anger" as in prison guards who have been escorting prisoners.
Can S O M E O N E tell me what is on the Album cover !
@BrowneyedGurl7
@BrowneyedGurl7
From the album cover's artist:
From the album cover's artist:
Robin's second album, and I think, his best album of the period. A real rock classic. It's also the best image I've ever created because it is a 2-D rendering of the three dimensional expression of the uniquely 2-D/3-D mobius, which is an elegant mathematical and physical concept. I simply wondered what a 3-dimensional mobius would look like, so I took some modelling clay ("plasticine" in England) and modeled the form, then painted what I made in clay! If you don't know what a mobius is, take a 1" wide piece of paper...
Robin's second album, and I think, his best album of the period. A real rock classic. It's also the best image I've ever created because it is a 2-D rendering of the three dimensional expression of the uniquely 2-D/3-D mobius, which is an elegant mathematical and physical concept. I simply wondered what a 3-dimensional mobius would look like, so I took some modelling clay ("plasticine" in England) and modeled the form, then painted what I made in clay! If you don't know what a mobius is, take a 1" wide piece of paper 10" long and make a loop out of it, like you are making a daisy chain...but just before you paste or tape the ends together, give one of them a 180 degree half twist and then paste the ends together. You now have a mobius, and if you run a continuous pencil line along the length of the strip, you will soon come back to your starting point, having just done the impossible: drawing a continuous line on both sides of a 2-dimensional surface!
The mobius has all sorts of wonderful ramifications in trying to come to grips with space-time. I made three attempts at this 36" square painting, because I had to do it all in one go as there are no "hard" lines I could paint to...it all had to be blended into itself, and the oils wouldn't stay fluid long enough through the constant blending, which mixed air into the paint, thickening it up before I could finish. Adding medium and linseed oil was only partially effective. I stayed up 42 hours straight to finally complete it before the paint started setting. I remember taking a break at 5am and going into the back garden to sit and clear my head, watch the sun come up, and maybe see my two wild rabbits who lived in a burrough in the middle of the lawn. I saw 6 baby ones peer out of the burrough I never even knew were there! The garden flat was at 18 Elm Grove Road, Barnes, and has been reconverted into a house. I had a wonderful time there during a fantastic period to be living in England.