Pissing in a River Lyrics
Tattoo fingers shy away from me
Voices voices mesmerize
Voices voices beckoning sea
Come back come back come back
Mouth of a cave, I'm a slave I'm free.
When are you coming? Hope you come soon
Fingers, fingers encircling thee
Come come come come come come for me oh
What more can I give you? Baby I don't know
What more can I give you to make this thing grow?
Don't turn your back now, I'm talking to you
Should I crawl defeated and gifted ?
Should I go the length of a river
[The royal, the throne, the cry me a river]
Oh I give my life for you.
Every move I made I move to you,
And I came like a magnet for you now.
What about it, you don't need me,
What about it, I can't live without you,
What about it, I never doubted you
What about it? What about it?
Should I crawl defeated and gifted?
Should I go the length of a river,
[The royal, the throne, the cry me a river]
Oh, I'm pissing in a river.
i don't even think it's necessarily about being rejected cruelly - just kind of left behind, and the person doesn't even notice. which may or may not be even more hurtful, in the end.
well that's great and all about the song. You know I feel horrible for her. But what does pissing in a river mean... why not pissing on my soul or in my soup or my face? What is the meaning in pissing in a river...
well that's great and all about the song. You know I feel horrible for her. But what does pissing in a river mean... why not pissing on my soul or in my soup or my face? What is the meaning in pissing in a river...
the song is about patti smith's lover. he went crazy and moved into the woods/mountains in colorado for 20+ years without telling anyone beforehand. he just packed up and left. it naturally drove patti smith insane
wow, I've never heard about it. Where is this infomation taken from?
wow, I've never heard about it. Where is this infomation taken from?
i love this song. its like so sad.
what does pissing in a river mean...
I think pissing in a river is symbolic of doing something that is ineffective. The amount of piss she can produce is nothing against the torrent of the river, just as her impassioned pleas are doing nothing to prevent her lovers from leaving.
I think pissing in a river is symbolic of doing something that is ineffective. The amount of piss she can produce is nothing against the torrent of the river, just as her impassioned pleas are doing nothing to prevent her lovers from leaving.
@pissinginariver69 to me, it's an expression of embodiment of the anguish of uncertainty
@pissinginariver69 to me, it's an expression of embodiment of the anguish of uncertainty
Pissing in a river means whatever the hell you want it to mean... Patti Smith is more influenced by poetry than most artists. "Pissing in a river, watching it rise/ Tattoo fingers shy away from me." To me, it means something foul done and quickly washed/carried away. A similar line to this interpretation would be: "My bowels are empty, excreting your soul." Another way to read it could be it's just a more punk way of saying "cry me a river," in that so much proverbial piss has happened in the relationship that's its drowned them.
"Pissing In A River" means that you're not making any difference. Conflict uses the term "pissing in an ocean" over and over again to describe how the Sex Pistols and the Clash never change anything through all of their success.
"When are you coming? Hope you come soon Fingers, fingers encircling thee Come come come come come come Come come come come come come for me oh"
I can't help but read this as sexual. "Fingers, fingers encircling thee," in all seriousness, seems like she's about to stick her finger in his ass and give him a prostate massage.
They are very open-ended lyrics but to me the song is about the contrast between doing something and doing nothing. You can either "piss in the river" or answer the call of the "beckoning sea" as the song mentions. Or you can "turn your back" and "keep pissing on the river".
They are very open-ended lyrics, and like the best poetry can hope to be lends itselft to multiple interpretations, but to me the song is about the contrast between doing something and doing nothing. You can either "piss in the river" or answer the call of the "beckoning sea" as the song mentions. Or you can "turn your back" and "keep pissing on the river". Looking at the other songs, in this album, I think that this is something that Patti Smith does a lot (ie: beckoning the listener to transcend, while mixing the mysticism that she is known for; hearing this album for the first time in my life, I have to say, I like it and I like her approach).
I'm...PISSING IN A RIVER WOOT!