Sympathize

This song is not about the Bilble, nor is it about 2 different women. It is in facts depicts and honors the revolutionary artistry, of Edouard Manet (a cowboy artist) who flew by instict, and his favorite model Victorine Meurent. As a part time professor of art history, I am floored at the elegant simplicity in Mr. Lee understated expression which showcase's the artists mind, capturing the mood of the era and in modern times.

" The sharks in the tank Oh, the man in the bank he wants my money to loan I can't understand What the hell is his plan? he ain't even got a home Ain't got a home": Well connected from birth, Manet was considered an aristocratic painter. He had private income. He was able to indulge in leisure and recreational activities that other artists could only dream of. This could be the reason he was able to buck the academic system of the time which put value in photographic painting. He is said to have been the man responsible for the transition between Realism and the more instictual, emotive Impressionsm Movement.

Refusing to take a regular job as his parents wished, he pursued what was important to him. The above verse is Manet's feelings of isolation. It seemed he was alone at times with his understanding of the brevity of life. The impact of his onfusion at white collar pursuits, and the general population's emphasis on money, instead of examining life.

"Girl on the street with holes in her feet looks through the eyes of a clown She don't look a mad She's feeling kinda sad so i just walk around": Introducing Manet's favorite model, Victorine Meurent. Young and poor with parents who are artists. They say Manet met he on the street, while she was carrying her guitar. She inspired the great work of art titled: Street Singer. "Holes in her feet" or "Holes in her shoes" says Manet thought she was looking for wealth. An embarrassingly male way of thinking about women which leads us to harbor resentment, toward independent women, (which Victorine was) "She just wants my money." Victorine is said to have dispised this depiction of her and stopped talking to Manet because of it. Ms. Meurent was said to have to endure more than Manet's perception - that she was an actual prostitute.

"I reassess She's down on her luck She's reading a book of lies": Manet HAD to reassess because Victorine was admitted into the salon with her own paintings. She was poor, but not following well known artists around because she wanted their money. Even Manet fell victim to "common" thoughts about the female sex. "She's reading a book of lies" refers to her attraction to realism and academic painting at the admonishment of Manet. The salon refused Manet certain years, while hanging her work instead.

" I don't know when I'll be coming home baby but I sure sympathize Can sympathize Can sympathize" Manet was married with a son. His artistic indulgences and leisure activities kept him away from home. He is known for not recognizing his son, painting him, but never really seeing him.

"Angels spread the wings on all the dirty things that you do" Angels, goddesses and muses are often interchanged in poetry, art and song. Such as in Paul Cezzanne's (Kiss of the Muse / Dream of the Poet) as well as Goethe's poem: "Muse's Mirror".

"She drops to the floor Her heads by the door Her bible is by her side Heaven is calling The new world is falling and she ain't got a single person left to confide No one to confide No one to confide Ah, to confide" Victorine died of natural causes in a house that she shared with a friend. She was also a model for Degas and other well known, male artists of the time. She had a front row seat and clear view of popular male behavior. She is said to have reached financial independence as an artist, and never lived with a man to support her, thus the Bible by her side, or the story of life. Manet was known for being supportive with her artistic pursuits, even helping her with her career - they are said that their conversations led to 2 of Manet's most famous paintings: Olympia and Luncheon on the Grass. Artists being Victorine's confidants - they died before her. With so few like minds - she was bound to a life of solitude - "No one to confide" Manet could sympathize. He couldn't have a conversation with his parents, his own family, the salon and most of the world's population.

I sympathize

Can sympathize

It ain't no jive I was burnin' alive (Manet died at 51 in 1883 from complications relating to syphilis, then incurable) whenever you walk in the room It happened so quickly I was feelin' so sickly like a lover who lost his muse

Hats off again and again to the masterful Amos Lee for bringing the folk back home to our artistic roots.

I think this is about a woman and a man split up by war. And he is sympathizing's with their situation.

"It ain't no jive, I was burning alive Whenever you walk in the room" he is saying that he had a genuine connection with his wife, he really loved her. but in the next two lines, "It happened so quickly I was feeling so sickly Like a lover who lost his muse" All the sudden he has to go to war. It makes him sad/sick, he is a lover whose lost his love.

Then later in the song it says, "I don't know when I'll be coming home baby But I shall sympathize"

So he is waiting to find out when he can go home (waiting is common in the American military)

And then at the end : "She drops to the floor Her head's by the door Her bible is by her side Heaven is calling The new world is falling And she ain't got a single person left " she is devastated because her lover has died at war. She spent all her time waiting for him to come home and now he never was going to... she feels alone in the world without him.

and of course, amos sympathizes :)

rhea9914 is clearly biased against the Bible. Forget the many references to angels and heaven (images found in the Bible, but not limited to, of course) that are deemed "real" in the song. A "book of lies" can be anything. It can be a fashion magazine, a newfangled philosophy or tract. Furthermore, there's no evidence that the two women are at all connected, let alone the same person! Simply Because they are both...female and have a book of sorts? Not nearly enough to make them the same person. I see the first woman as being a young street kid and the second being a much older lady, who died in her own home ("her head is by the door"). Amos Lee seems to be scanning the societal spectrum and his associations with humanity. Going from his personal life/relationship, to a business relationship with the banker, to having a superficial relationship (just through observation) with a street girl he barely knows, and one he seems to have never seen (the death of the older lady, perhaps which he read in a newspaper, as the whole scene sounds like something out of a film). He is descending in levels of intimacy, from the most personal relationship to the most distant. However, he continues to observe and think about humanity ("I don't know when I'll be coming home"), and imparts that all have impacted him equally ("I sympathize").

I can't believe no-one's commented on this song....it's so gorgeous...I can't work out what its about entirely but IMO the narrator is observing people in tragic situations or generally depressed, and he can sympathise. It's like lots of different scenarios, each verse deals with one person's tragedy. Like a window into the lives of a collection of people.

I think he is singing through the eyes of a person who's down on his luck (The sharks in the tank Oh, the man in the bank he wants my money to loan I can't understand What the hell is his plan? I ain't even got a home) He's lamenting on how depressing his life is then he sees a woman who's situation seems to be even worse than his. She seems to believe that the bible (She's reading a book of lies) will give her the answers, but it doesn't help her because she eventually dies? along with her book of lies (the Bible) without a solution to her problems (She drops to the floor Her heads by the door Her bible is by her side Heaven is calling The new world is falling and she ain't got a single person left to confide).

Amos sympathizes with her because she never had anyone to go to. At least he has someone waiting for him at home.