Her Eyes Are Underneath the Ground

Hegarty creates a spectrum of life and death, and jumps focuses on these transitions laced with empathy. The first quatrain literally speaks of death "Oh her eyes are underneath the ground" (line 1), then later juxtaposition with that of life in the second quatrain "Oh her eyes are basking in the sun" (line 5), and then later again in the third quatrain a sort of limbo is created with that of the womb "I saw six eyes glistening in my womb / I felt you calling to me in the gloom" (lines 11-12) in that he is acquainted with the darkness, yet able to see the light and have feelings. This is also the spectrum of nominalism in that we are unable to understand universal truths and find reality only in the things which we use to describe them. Limbo, the first circle of hell, is where Hegarty resides on this entire album, with the exclusion of the final song which is a sort of crossing over. The disestablishment of stages of life creates a sort of yearning for the listener, as if through music Hegarty is trying to create a time machine to relive or forgive or reassure the moments of life since passed. This is similar to that of Neutral Milk Hotel's timeless album "In an Aeroplane Over the Sea" in which he agonizingly tries to bring back to life the woman for which he has such strong affection:

"Where their bodies once moved but don't move anymore And it's so sad to see the world agree That they'd rather see their faces fill with flies All when I'd want to keep white roses in their eyes" (Lines 34-38, "Holland, 1945")

Hegarty also makes an allusion to the Christan Master narrative in that of original sin "In the garden with my mother I stole a flower / With my mother and in her power I stole a flower" (lines 10-11/17-18) in a sort of remorse for having taken the apple from the tree, and now having 'infinite knowledge' by that of knowing both good and evil.

Incorporating the biographical knowledge of Hegarty's fascination with trans-gender individuals (like that of the Bhuto dancer on the cover) further adds to the complexity of this song. As Maykasahara stated above, this song is about the relationship with his mother. As far as the flower is concerned, it may symbolize that of femininity. "In the garden with my mother I stole a flower / With my mother and in her power I stole a flower" (Lines 8-9) and then later "In the garden with my mother I stole a flower / With my mother in her power I chose a flower" (Lines 15-16) where Hegarty concludes stating that he chose the flower, which runs contrary to conventional belief that homosexuality is not a choice, but rather inborn.

In an interview, Antony said it was about his relationship with his mother. I love that song so much, the way his voice begin to sing...

Absolutely shattering in the live version he gave in Paris on April 2009. Antony surely is one of those (very rare nowadays) artists that makes you want to think that music still has something of the spiritual in it.

For me, he has personified the planet, something akin to the Greek goddess Gaia or “mother earth.” I take him literally when he says “her eyes are underneath the ground” and “basking in the sun.” She is crying because (“I have heard the crying sound) she is suffering from a cancer that pollutes her and destroys her, humanity. If any women’s love can be pure, certainly nature’s love is pure (“your love is pure”). The image of being in garden, where he “stole a flower”, reinforces the color green in my mind.

To be honest, when I first saw the title of this song, I had a mental image of a girl sticking her head into a hole in the ground I don't know how I could have thought Antony would write a like that. but now, of course, I have heard the beauty of this song. I think everyone has a good point regarding the meaning. I think "her eyes are underneath the ground" is probably referring to death. however, back to my original stupid first impression, i think it could also be about someone who is oblivious of something very obvious, maybe because she doesn't want to admit to it; this may be alluding to people's denial of human-caused environmental problems (and "basking in the sun" may mean people are enjoying the warmer global temperatures without realizing the disastrous causes and effects). it's worth noting that Antony said in an interview that "The Crying Light" album, which this song is from, is a lot about his concerns about the environment and his realization that humans are not so unique (as in the only ones with minds and souls) among animals because we are all made of the same carbon and water, so why shouldn't other animals and even other kinds of organisms think and feel as we do

"I saw six eyes glistening in my womb"

Also, it's "Ocean, swallow me now." not Oh Shame.

I know its not about this, but I feel like its about a boy and his mother. The boy's sister has just committed suicide, and no one knows why, so obviously the boy and his mother are upset. The sister is the only one who knows that the boy is transgender, and wants to be a girl, and the boy does not know if he should tell his mother, as he doesn't want her to feel like he's taking his sister's place, and stealing a flower, as in stealing her feminine identity. In the end though, he chooses the flower, as he knows that's what his sister would want.