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Satellite Lyrics
she looked like she learned to dance
from a series of still pictures
she's madly excited now, she throws her hands up like a tulip
she looks like an illustration of a cocktail party
where cartoon bubbles burst in the air,
champagne rolls off her tongue
like a second language
and it should have been her biggest night
the satellite looks down on her as she begins to cry
all over the world at the very same time
people sharing the same sorrow
as the satellite looks down her darkest hour
is somebody's bright tomorrow
he pulled on a cigarette, in the crook of his first finger
felt the static electric charge of her perfect
hour-glass figure
as he undressed her with his eyes
her weakness was his talent
how could she know as she stepped through the lights,
that her dress would become transparent
and with his face pressed to the screen,
he muttered words he'd never dare to say
if she could see him
all over the world at the very same time
people sharing the same cheap sensation
the thrill of watching somebody watching those forbidden things we never mention
the satellite looks down right now and forever
what it has pulled apart let no man
tether his own body to his dream,
his dream to someone else
oh no, oh no
she went back to a pitiful compromise
he'd go back to his family
but for the matter of a thousand miles
that separated them entirely
in the hot unloving spotlight,
with secrets it arouses
now they both know what it's like inside a pornographer's trousers
and in a funny way it's anonymous
the satellite it blesses us and makes these dreams come true
all over the world
(chorus)
his own
from a series of still pictures
she's madly excited now, she throws her hands up like a tulip
where cartoon bubbles burst in the air,
champagne rolls off her tongue
like a second language
and it should have been her biggest night
the satellite looks down on her as she begins to cry
people sharing the same sorrow
as the satellite looks down her darkest hour
is somebody's bright tomorrow
felt the static electric charge of her perfect
hour-glass figure
as he undressed her with his eyes
her weakness was his talent
how could she know as she stepped through the lights,
that her dress would become transparent
and with his face pressed to the screen,
he muttered words he'd never dare to say
if she could see him
people sharing the same cheap sensation
the thrill of watching somebody watching those forbidden things we never mention
what it has pulled apart let no man
tether his own body to his dream,
his dream to someone else
oh no, oh no
he'd go back to his family
but for the matter of a thousand miles
that separated them entirely
in the hot unloving spotlight,
with secrets it arouses
now they both know what it's like inside a pornographer's trousers
and in a funny way it's anonymous
the satellite it blesses us and makes these dreams come true
all over the world
his own
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While there is definitely a pornographic element to the song, it seems like there is more to it than just that. I've listened to this song for years, but can't quite figure out all the metaphors.
Anyone?
Specifically, it seems to be about a cam-girl, perhaps her first night online, and a particular member of her audience. More generally, Elvis addresses the alienation from love and sexuality that results from the absurd, false intimacy of internet chat rooms, et cetera. I have wondered from time to time if Elvis, alone in hotel rooms as he toured as a headliner, has occasionally plumbed those depths as a consumer. Have there been "...times when he was so lonely he took some comfort there"? I don\'t think Elvis is venting a \'screed\' against pornography. The song is nuanced in the lyrics, and the melody has a wistful quality that seems to express empathy rather than judgement and anger.
@Phostructor that's not possible, since "Spike" was released 7 years before the first camgirl went online.
@Phostructor that's not possible, since "Spike" was released 7 years before the first camgirl went online.
I figure Elvis probably saw something like this happen and wrote a song about it... I imagine the girl being on a New Year's Eve broadcast. Just an audience member, really. Drinking, dancing, with the camera lighting on her. Without warning, she bursts into tears. And as she walks through the spotlight, the dress becomes see-through without her being aware.
Elvis shines his own spotlight on the anonymous viewers: Empathizing with her sadness in verse one, being titillated by her transparent dress in verse two.
She goes back to her 'pitiful compromise'... probably the bad relationship that made her burst into tears. The TV audience return to their real lives. And the satellite, an unblinking eye that brings these secret lives into homes around the world, "blesses" us by keeping us untethered from the images we see.
Elvis's screed against pornography.