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Ottoman couch, how handsome your furniture
Lovelier now, but dressed for a funeral
Begging you to sit for a portrait on the wall
To hang in the dark of some parliamentary hall
Elegant clothes, you want to be seen with her
Under your tweeds you sweat like a teenager
Begging you to sit for a portrait on the wall
To hang in the dark of some parliamentary hall
Today is for you
They laid it out for you, for you
There will be six bells a-ringing and white women singing for you
But this feels so unnatural, Peter Gabriel, too
All of the costs and all of the time it took
Soon it's all lines of red in a leather book
Begging you to wait for a minute by the door
Your creeping feet where they've never been before
Today is for you
They laid it out for you, for you
There will be six bells a-ringing and white women singing for you
But this feels so unnatural, Peter Gabriel, too
Lovelier now, but dressed for a funeral
Begging you to sit for a portrait on the wall
To hang in the dark of some parliamentary hall
Elegant clothes, you want to be seen with her
Under your tweeds you sweat like a teenager
Begging you to sit for a portrait on the wall
To hang in the dark of some parliamentary hall
Today is for you
They laid it out for you, for you
There will be six bells a-ringing and white women singing for you
But this feels so unnatural, Peter Gabriel, too
All of the costs and all of the time it took
Soon it's all lines of red in a leather book
Begging you to wait for a minute by the door
Your creeping feet where they've never been before
Today is for you
They laid it out for you, for you
There will be six bells a-ringing and white women singing for you
But this feels so unnatural, Peter Gabriel, too
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Don't be so obtuse. The theme is obvious.
"a portrait on the wall" reflects that the pending marriage will affix their lives permanently (i.e. paintings don’t change their depictions)
In the phrase "they laid it out for you", the key word is "they". This marriage is arranged or heavily promoted. The union is not the choice of those to be married.
The "soon it's all lines of red in a leather book" phrase implies when the event is over. All the family that pushed the marriage are gone, attentions turned elsewhere, these kids are on their own, left only with the registry of guest - which is conveniently in red like blood from a crime. This hints at the criminality of pushing one's children to make life decisions based on parental desires.
"how handsome your furniture" and "portrait on the wall" both imply that these kids are being treated like objects - not people. There is an obvious motif of objectification. The freaking name of the song is an object that can be "arranged" — come on man, who names a song after furniture? The meaning is obvious from the name alone.
This song is chuck-full of sarcastic praise "white women singing". Funny stuff.