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My Medea Lyrics
Inside the labyrinth walls
There lies a tiny child who sleeps alone
And as the daylight falls
The wind becomes so wild across the stone
For I have made her prison be
Her every step away from me
And this child I would destroy
If you tried to set her free
So come to me my love
I'll tap into your strength and drain it dry
Can never have enough
For you I'd burn the length and breadth of sky
For it's my thoughts that bind me here
It's this love that I most fear
And this child I would destroy
For I hold her pain most dear
No haven for this heart
No shelter for this child in mazes lost
Heaven keep us apart
A curse for every mile of ocean crossed
For I must die for what I've done
A twist of fate a desert sun
For I see what I destroy
Sweet reflection knife into me
For I see what I destroy
I can see what I've begun
There lies a tiny child who sleeps alone
And as the daylight falls
The wind becomes so wild across the stone
Her every step away from me
And this child I would destroy
If you tried to set her free
I'll tap into your strength and drain it dry
Can never have enough
For you I'd burn the length and breadth of sky
It's this love that I most fear
And this child I would destroy
For I hold her pain most dear
No shelter for this child in mazes lost
Heaven keep us apart
A curse for every mile of ocean crossed
A twist of fate a desert sun
For I see what I destroy
Sweet reflection knife into me
For I see what I destroy
I can see what I've begun
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Sorry to bust the bubble, but the song is not about abortion. At least, not to its author. Vienna herself gave a partial explanation in a live performance in 2003 ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSQbDdQbUWg ).
Vienna Teng sees Medea as a "person that lives in her head", and she wrong the song from Medea's point of view as a way of dealing with this person. She describes Medea as "not very friendly, and does not have my best interests in mind."
Accepting the author at her word, there are some aspects of the song that are open to interpretation - such as "who is the child", and "what does xxxxxxx symbolize?" Personally, I feel that the child is Vienna herself, because of how threatened she feels by Medea. At the end of the song, Medea says "Sweet reflection, knife into me." I think by saying this, Vienna is trying to kill Medea, in a manner of speaking.
Watch the performance.
In Greek legend, Medea was a sorceress who helped Jason obtain the Golden Fleece. The pair settle down and have two children, but Jason betrays Medea by marrying Glauce, the daughter of King Creon. Medea seeks her revenge by killing Glauce, Creon and her own children.
Don't know what Vienna's reason was in writing this song, but there's a definate angry tone to it. The music sounds like a web being spun. This is one pissed off woman, and a dangerous one. Oddly enough, she seems to get caught in her own web. She's so hurt and afraid of anyone touching he "inner child", she's set up a maze of walls to suck that person dry and destroy them before they even get in.
I think the abortion connection is a bit of a stretch, but Medea is definitely symbolic of destroying some sort of child, be it literal or symbolic. I'm more inclined to say it's about an inner child or muse.
I don't really like the idea of it being about abortion. But it got me thinking... what if the child is her? Though I may not be able to make a lot of connections, but the reflection bit fits. Plus for this part "And this child I would destroy, if you tried to set her free" it could be that if you try to reach out to her she will pull away more...
I saw Vienna perform, and she said that this song was about her years working with Software because they were a hard time in her life when she felt like she was undermining her own life and working against herself and her own beliefs. She drew a parallel between those feelings and the story of Medea.
Great song, no matter how you interpret it.
My mind actually built a small story around the lyrics during a road trip. It reminds me of someone with a very overprotective mother who has forced her child into a symbiotic relationship. Here's my play by play:
My mind actually built a small story around the lyrics during a road trip. It reminds me of someone with a very overprotective mother who has forced her child into a symbiotic relationship. Here's my play by play:
Inside the labyrinth walls There lies a tiny child who sleeps alone <-- Simply introducing the child, and implying that she is hidden away somewhere. There must be some reason for this.
Inside the labyrinth walls There lies a tiny child who sleeps alone <-- Simply introducing the child, and implying that she is hidden away somewhere. There must be some reason for this.
And as the daylight falls The wind becomes so wild across the stone <-- This seems to imply that as she is getting older, she is wanting more and more...
And as the daylight falls The wind becomes so wild across the stone <-- This seems to imply that as she is getting older, she is wanting more and more independence--the "wild" lyric For I have made her prison be Her every step away from me <-- She has forced her child to become dependent upon her And this child I would destroy If you tried to set her free <-- Said to anyone who would dare "take her away", warning them not to expose to the girl that her mother has such a tight hold on her.
So come to me my love I'll tap into your strength and drain it dry <-- The speaker is unloading all of her own emotional baggage on the girl, tiring out the girl while the speaker gains resolve Can never have enough <-- No matter how often she does this, though, it never gets rid of her underlying sadness For you I'd burn the length and breadth of sky <-- Said, I think, to the girl. Part of what is drawing her into this relationship with her mother is the illusion of love when her mother tells her what she'd do for her.
For it's my thoughts that bind me here <-- It seems the speaker has some heavy emotional baggage which tie her to her home, where she feels the need to have the company of the child It's this love that I most fear <-- Perhaps the girl has noticed a man or something like that and is starting to understand that she's been basically imprisoned in her own home And this child I would destroy For I hold her pain most dear <-- Perhaps the girl is now sad because she cannot be with him, but the speaker would kill her before letting her leave, which would make her happy.
No haven for this heart No shelter for this child in mazes lost Heaven keep us apart <-- Here it seems to me like the speaker switches to the child, who has perhaps run away and is praying that her mother does not find her A curse for every mile of ocean crossed <-- In my mind the mother is now trying desperately to stop her from leaving, cursing her as she realizes she's gone. The story plays out a little bit like a fairytale.
For I must die for what I've done A twist of fate a desert sun For I see what I destroy Sweet reflection knife into me For I see what I destroy I can see what I've begun <-- It seems like the mother is now realizing what she's done to this child was wrong and that she's not going to be able to take care of herself in the normal world. Perhaps she feels she's emotionally handicapped her and the guilt of that is driving her to madness.
Just my interpretation. I've heard Vienna's explanation, but it's pretty vague, so I just made this little story to go with it. It reminds me of a fairytale.
This song can seem like so many things thanks to the beautiful imagery coursing through it, and I too have my own interpretation. It may sound odd but I think this is a battle within a person, in this case a woman. I think she's facing a time in her life where she feels like she must grow up and hide away the inner child that everyone has within them. To me at least I think this is something she's doing to the wrong extent, almost as if as she grows up she buries those childish feelings thinking that they are wrong, even though that may not be the case. The 'labyrinth walls' are where she's trapped the 'child' within herself, and when she mentions setting her free, it's about any potential lovers who may try to bring out that more childish side that she's buried inside herself. Towards the end of the song, the main character seems to regret suppressing her inner child and seems to lose a piece of herself, mentioning 'for I see what I destroy'. She finally sees that all along she has been hurting herself emotionally, as she says 'sweet reflection knife into me' she sees what she's done and how she can't reverse her actions - she can't regain her inner child.
wow this song takes my breath away. Her voice and the accompanying piano is so powerful. I think Arbiter has the meaning right on.
or perhaps the song is from Jason's point of view?
That almost makes sense.
Well, if you search for her on You Tube, you get the actual story. Apparently, this is about a problematic voice in her head, and she wrote it for her.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=DSQbDdQbUWg
I think That I would like to stress the line, "I can see what i destroy, sweet reflection knife into me" which if taken seperatly says i've seen what i've done and i am stabbing myself over it, but more poetically she is seeing what see destroys, in her reflection, herself.