Rosie's Lullaby

"Rosie's Lullaby" by Norah Jones is a poignant and evocative song that seems to capture the essence of yearning and introspection. The lyrics depict a scene by the ocean, where the protagonist, Rosie, waits for a star to "carry her away." This imagery suggests a deep longing for escape or salvation, highlighting a sense of dissatisfaction with her current state.

The song paints a picture of Rosie feeling small and insignificant, "at the bottom of the world," gazing up in a plea for divine guidance. The mention of her struggling to take deep breaths as she tries to connect with the peaceful yet overwhelming presence of the sea further underscores her inner turmoil. The sea's strong pull symbolizes a compelling desire to be swept away, to escape the loneliness as "no one is around" to witness her struggle except the moon, which silently observes and beckons.

The chorus of the song, with Rosie being invited to close her eyes and dream, suggests a longing for peace and perhaps an end to her emotional pain. The imagery of the "big ships rolling" and lighting up the night, yet ignoring her calls, reinforces her isolation. Despite the crashing waves, the lack of sound conveys a profound silence in her world, emphasizing her disconnection from her surroundings.

The musical arrangement of the song, with its melancholic chords, complements the lyrical content beautifully, enhancing the overall theme of longing and the ephemeral nature of human connections and experiences. Rosie's journey through the song is a metaphorical reflection on the human condition, capturing the bittersweet reality of seeking solace in a world that often feels vast and indifferent.

[Edit: Added spacing between paragraphs for ease of reading.]

This song reminds me very much of Kate Chopin's "The Awakening;" if you haven't read it, the main character (Edna) is haunted by a romantic attraction she had at the beach. She leaves her family and returns to the beach-the book ends with her swimming out to sea until she presumably drowns.

I envision Rosie swimming out to sea, until she closes her eyes and dreams...

This is an old thread... but I have a lighter take.

I think its about a woman fantasizing... she's taking a walk on the beach, no one is around, she lets her senses free, closes her eyes and dreams... Ocean saying Rosie, cum with me.

I enjoyed reading all the comments/ideas about the possible meanings of this song. As a songwriter myself, I the beauty of certain songs in particular is it allows the listener to easily identify with the words of the song and kind of make their own interpretation of what the song means to them. Quite often that's exactly what the songwriting artist was hoping for. I happened to hear a clip of Norah talking about how she got the idea for this song. She said her and a good friend of hers used to go to an ocean beach and Norah would look over at her friend and notice the way she would gaze out at the sea and and up at the stars. She would look at them as if they were so beautiful and peaceful that she wished she could just leave this tiny world and fly up to the heavens and become a star herself, overlooking the ocean, leaving behind the burden of all the problems and complications one can acquire from living in a beautiful but sometimes extremely complicated world. Then I believe she simply elaborates further about what she may be thinking and what other people (listeners) might also think about what its like to feel small and insignificant in this big dog-eat-dog world we live in. eg: Rosie calls out put the big ships but they just pass her by. I believe there's an underlying message in this song from Norah to not ever give up. Don't get discouraged! Keep pursuing your dreams that will one day make you happy no matter what! Believe in yourself and your good qualities and they will one day be significantly recognized. eg: The moon's looking down sayin' Rosie, come with me, close your eyes and dream! The moon is Rosie's strength and encouragement to keep at it and not give up. Oh, I don't believe Rosie is Norah's real friend's name...it's just made up for the song.

I can't imagine this song is about anything but suicide. The persona walk by the ocean....alone...this is the key component. There is something about being existentially alone that will make anyone question anything. And in this case, it's too ease. The sea is hypnotic, along with the moon above... a perfect scene. It could be passive too, a moonlight swim in the ocean, and it's calling her. The big waves crashing without making a sound: this makes sense only if she's already deep underwater, with them just mouthing along their hypnotic lullaby. She's meant to go to sleep. She's meant to die in the ocean's embrace. As sad and inconsolable as she is, she finds comfort in a quiet depth, drowning surrounding by the ocean she loves so much.

This song is beautifully sung and played, although seems a little out of place on the album. I think the meaning behind the song is relatively straightforward. It's about a woman named Rosie, but I'm not sure if the name has a significance. Rosie is standing on the shore wanting something to pull her away from the life she has, so she has to "close her eyes and dream" of somewhere, something else. The moon has a hypnotic quality to it, associated with the night, when all living things sleep, and is therefore used in the song as a symbol for dreaming and associated with drifting off to sleep. I think the big ships in this case aren't necessarily actually boats but the things she wants and she keeps calling out to them and they are in sight, but she can't seem to catch up to them, and that big ocean is the obstacle she has to surpass to get there. The moon is tempting her to just close her eyes and keep dreaming, but she's standing at the edge of the water just wanting to make her way to the ship, but the dangers of the water are trying to lure her in so she can't get to the ships and is stuck watching from so far away.

Just my two cents, anyway.

My friend brought up the idea of how this song reminds her of the Titanic. At first I was like "what? no!" but it really makes alot of sense. Especially this part:

"The big ships are rollin', And lightin' up the night, And she calls out, but they just her pass by."

Like when Rose is calling out to the other boats to save her. Plus Rose, Rosie?! There's got to be some connection there. Either this song was inspired by the movie or something.

I think this song is about suicide.

In this narrative, Rosie is depressed and lonely (why the hell else would you walk by the shore all alone???), and essentially wishes she was someone else.

The moon is hanging over the ocean, and has a luring, hypnotic quality associated with it (like Mrs Chainsaw said), but the sleep it's calling her to is death.

And it would be so easy, because the water pull is strong...

Eli Bedlam your right...shes drowing...she calls out to the ships for help...but nothing... so the sea and the moon are calling out to her...the moon maybe the last thing she see's ... hence The lullaby ...x