This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Have you ever fed a lover with just your hands?
Close your eyes and trust it, just trust it
Have you ever thrown a fist full of glitter in the air?
Have you ever looked fear in the face
And said I just don't care?
And it's only half past the point of no return
The tip of the iceberg
The sun before the burn
The thunder before the lightning
Breath before the phrase
Have you ever felt this way?
Have you ever hated yourself for staring at the phone?
You're whole life waiting on the ring to prove you're not alone
Have you ever been touched so gently you had to cry?
Have you ever invited a stranger to come inside?
It's only half past the point of oblivion
The hourglass on the table
The walk before the run
The breath before the kiss
And the fear before the flames
Have you ever felt this way?
La la la la la la la la
There you are, sitting in the garden
Clutching my coffee
Calling me sugar
You called me sugar
Have you ever wished for an endless night?
Lassoed the moon and the stars and pulled that rope tight
Have you ever held your breath and asked yourself
Will it ever get better than tonight?
Tonight
Close your eyes and trust it, just trust it
Have you ever thrown a fist full of glitter in the air?
Have you ever looked fear in the face
And said I just don't care?
And it's only half past the point of no return
The tip of the iceberg
The sun before the burn
The thunder before the lightning
Breath before the phrase
Have you ever felt this way?
Have you ever hated yourself for staring at the phone?
You're whole life waiting on the ring to prove you're not alone
Have you ever been touched so gently you had to cry?
Have you ever invited a stranger to come inside?
It's only half past the point of oblivion
The hourglass on the table
The walk before the run
The breath before the kiss
And the fear before the flames
Have you ever felt this way?
La la la la la la la la
There you are, sitting in the garden
Clutching my coffee
Calling me sugar
You called me sugar
Have you ever wished for an endless night?
Lassoed the moon and the stars and pulled that rope tight
Have you ever held your breath and asked yourself
Will it ever get better than tonight?
Tonight
Lyrics submitted by youaintright20, edited by kgabino8
Glitter in the Air Lyrics as written by William Mann Alicia Moore
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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It's about giving your heart to someone and learning to know and love them, and not knowing if they'll do the same.
I love this song. It shows off her voice so well, and she really put her heart into it.. it's beautiful.
Also I'm pretty sure it's "the thunder before the lightning and the breath before the phrase" to fill in the question marks =)
I'd have to add that a garden in literature is often the women's "private garden". Clutching "MY" coffee refers to HER coffee, which is brown in color. This is a deeply sensual and poetically beautiful song. She also does a double meaning when she talks about waiting for the ring. The double here is the wedding ring women wait for. It is a happy song about being truly in love, very deeply in love. And it's about a woman letting someone into her heart and into her body.<br /> <br /> I always thought it was the breath before the burn. "the burn " being the heat from an orgasm. If you look again at the wetness that water represents, and watch her grammy performance, you will know that this song is about being physically vulnerable with someone you are deeply in love with. she is classy.