Pre-Present

In the shower this morning, thinking about this song, I had a sudden thought about relationships; moving out of the past to see the "present" in your lap, and struggling with whether to give your present-self again to someone new. Dealing with insecurity and lingering hopes about one's past relationships and wondering if your "present" is still worthy of giving, or if it is somehow spoiled since it has already been gifted in the past.

We hope that when we open up our present-self to someone else, that what we find will be something magical, and there will be so much of this magical gift that everyone around us will benefit from that radiant, wondrous glory.

Love is something that can so easily be given! Like a penny, you lose virtually nothing by giving it away. But in the act of giving, something magnificent happens. It's not just about this mundane piece of metal anymore; somehow, we create something that is quite wondrous.

This is the true power of love: in giving and sharing love with those around us, we create a very real magic in the world that has the potential to cascade like a life-giving waterfall that everyone can enjoy. Alas... we are weak and foolish, and we often succumb to our insecurities and doubts, and so we take our pennies and spend them on ourselves (even though you likely can't buy anything satisfying with only pennies)... and we hide away our gifts and keep them to ourselves.

This song isn't just about romance... it's about love in its purest, highest form. This is a truly wondrous thing, the stuff that the great poets have written about through all the ages; it is the sort of love which deeply wishes to mature and transform into something magical, the kind of love that we all hunger for ravenously in the deepest levels of our subconscious; but it is elusive, and will only take shape when we learn to open up our present-self without worry or hesitation, to let go of our doubts, and to give with a heart that is free and unburdened... then we become as angels, light as a feather and shining with a radiant light.

This entire CD is incredible. I'm not normally a fan of puns, but the double-meaning of the word "present" in this song is brilliant. On one hand, it can literally mean a gift that one is about to open. But I think the deeper and more meaningful interpretation is of the "present" as an experience or moment in time in the life of someone.

So he says that this "present," or experience, has already been unwrapped and used. In other words, the experience that the narrator many other people have already had. He then speculates about what this means.

Does the fact that other people have had this same experience worry you that it has gone bad? Is the experience less meaningful because so many others have had the same experience?

Or does the relatively commonplace nature of the experience make it better and more valuable("filled with magic pennies"). Because other people share this experience with you, you can all talk about it, relate to others about it, and enhance your life by doing so. ("They will Roll all over the floor and past your feet and give themselves away to everyone they meet!")

In the end, it seems the narrator decides that it is better to keep the experience to yourself and that there is greater pleasure to be had that way than to share the experience with others. ("Grab the pennies off the floor...buy everything you could afford and don't tell anyone.")

I made an account just for this song. After looking at the lyrics for a while, it hit me like a hammer: It's about an STD. Definitely.

"The present in your lap has already been unwrapped Already given and already used, many times before you" The girl he's going to get horizontal with isn't exactly sparkling new, if you know what he means. Wink wink.

"That knowing where it's been makes you worry that within It's been tampered with, has it gone bad? Open it and see" He's not sure she's clean, but hey, the heat of the moment and all, right?

" Maybe it's filled to the brim with magic pennies! Each time the present is received there are more! And they will roll all over the floor and past your feet And give themselves away out on the street to everyone they meet!" Ooooh there we go, the symptoms are showing! And it's contagious, too.

" Grab the pennies off the floor Take the pennies to a store Buy everything you could afford And don't tell anyone" Yes, if I were you I'd go see the doctor too. Shame, shame.

...Am I entirely wrong for thinking this? It just makes SO MUCH SENSE!