Ne Me Quitte Pas

I hate simplifying songs into "bite sized" bits of meaning, (which is why I usually don't post comments here) but this song deserves better than what it has received in terms of interpretation. In light of that, I'll try to dissect this as best I can. If I had to oversimplify it though, I would say that it is her love song to New York City.

The song presents a picture of people from four places. Each place gets a verse. The people from each place all seem to want one thing, which is illustrated by the "if you are..." line.

The first verse is about the Bowery. I believe that she is making a statement about the pretension and shallow nature of people there; an act that they drop after the light goes away. The "artsy" people here are all searching for meaning, and "If you are a deity of any sort" is in reference to that.

The second verse is about Lexington, and how the aging district, like the people, seem to wish to be young again. "If you are the ghost of Christmas past" seems to be in reference to this.

The third verse is about the Bronx. It is about how children are filled with warmth about Christmas so much that they aren't bothered at all by the cold weather. The line "if you are a friend of any sort..." seems to be about childish innocence and how they just want a friend.

(So far people seem to have picked up on these things, but here is what I'm contributing to the discussion.)

The fourth verse is about a place outside of NYC. I don't know if she is referring to Paris, New York or Paris, France. Either way, she is very contradictory about what people in this place are like. Unlike the previous places, there isn't a clear sense of identity. I don't know if this identity is lacking in the place itself or in her perception of it (she doesn't know who they are).

I believe the final lines "If you are the ghost of New York City, won't you stick around" has a more personal meaning to Regina herself. Instead of saying that this is what the people of Paris want, this is what Regina wants. She doesn't know who these people are, and she seems confused about who she is when she is here. Keeping with the Ironic sentiment, even though she loves this place, she wants to be back in dark New York City because it's hers and she knows it and loves it despite its flaws.

The theme of Christmas appears in a few places in the song, and suspect that this has to do with Christmas being a time of warmth despite being the coldest time of year. I think it is this ironic sentiment that Regina is trying to express; despite the darkness and coldness of New York City, she feels a bright warmth about it.

What do you think?