Vertebrae By Vertebrae

I am a firm believer that the best songs are the ones that you don't always like at first. Once I got to listening to this one though, the intensity with which she sings it made me love it.

It seems to me like an emotional cataclysm leading to the revelations in "pneumonia." I think it's about a woman (possibly autobiographical) who, filled with emotions and turmoil, has gone to a place where she can be alone (to me, it seems to suggest some kind of mountain or cliff) and try to release these feelings which have snowballed inside her and built up like steam in a tea pot. Perhaps the "beast" alluded to is her inner chaos which is trying to get out. "vertebrae by vertebrae" seems to make sense with the song because it frequently refers to standing tall to look forward (perhaps metaphorically, attempting to see how there can be a future with all of these feelings exerting so much pressure on her). Notice how the song has no lyrical or musical resolution in the end. I think that that fact, the rain beginning on track 6, and the similar instrumentation insinuates that this song and pneumonia were meant to be taken as a set. Perhaps pneumonia was meant to be advice for the character in "Vertebrae by Vertebrae." That seems plausible, at least to me.

I love the drama of the music in this.

a werewolf!

i don't think it could be about pregnancy... it sounds too dramatic and kind of scary. if bjork were to make a song about pregnancy i would imagine it as peaceful and beautiful and calming : )

I think this song is about releasing built up emotions and reverting back to a wild state. Becoming wild. It could be about how humans try to act as if they are separate from the animal kingdom and the song could be about re-joining with nature and following our natural instincts. Being animals. Letting out our frustration and anger. There is a very primal feel to the album which is why I think this meaning makes sense. "Release this pressure of me" could refer to the pressure humans put on eachother to be seen as civilised. Maybe we need to reconnect with nature and be primal.

I love the drama of the music in this.

It reminds me of the music on DR9 for some reason...

Oh, how that pressure kills the soul! There is nothing gentle or sweet As the kindled flame Swiftly swept by winds unseen Buffeted and battered As one seeks higher ground.

The 'please release' is both the most truthful and heartfelt part of the song. There is a tremendous paradox in wishing to be less seen. Can there be another way? Possibly.

...some sort of transformation. Took a bit for this music to grow on me. It...is...awesome... I think at the beginning its describing her form as human. We're all up-on-the-toe, head-wise. And looking forward too. She's angry (I think) in this song and has been building up steam for a long time and is wanting sooo badly to release it. This song needs more comments, I swear...

When I first heard the song, especially the line "set my clock to the moon", I immediately started thinking about her being pregnant. Thoughts?