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Erica and her Isadore
climbed aboard a balloon
I want more than this kite will soar
I've set our sights on the moon
You can't just leave, I've given everything
I can't believe you're taking everything
You're taking everything
Oh...
It's not who you were
it's who you are
and we've come this far lover
No, I won't rest
until the world
knows the name Isadore
Blinded by their unbridled height
our lovers turned dissolute
You can't just leave, I've given everything
I can't believe you're taking everything
You're taking everything
Oh...
It's not who you were
it's who you are
and we've come this far lover
No, I won't rest
until the world
knows the name Isadore
knows the name Isadore
Then with eyes wide, a splintered sight
There's just one parachute
Goodbye Erica now I see
that my worst fears were in tune
It's not who you were
it's who you are
and we've come this far lover
No, I won't rest
until the world
knows the name Isadore
knows the name Isadore
Won't rest
until the world
knows the name Isadore
climbed aboard a balloon
I want more than this kite will soar
I've set our sights on the moon
You can't just leave, I've given everything
I can't believe you're taking everything
You're taking everything
Oh...
It's not who you were
it's who you are
and we've come this far lover
No, I won't rest
until the world
knows the name Isadore
Blinded by their unbridled height
our lovers turned dissolute
You can't just leave, I've given everything
I can't believe you're taking everything
You're taking everything
Oh...
It's not who you were
it's who you are
and we've come this far lover
No, I won't rest
until the world
knows the name Isadore
knows the name Isadore
Then with eyes wide, a splintered sight
There's just one parachute
Goodbye Erica now I see
that my worst fears were in tune
It's not who you were
it's who you are
and we've come this far lover
No, I won't rest
until the world
knows the name Isadore
knows the name Isadore
Won't rest
until the world
knows the name Isadore
Lyrics submitted by BroMontana
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**THE BASIC STORY**
This song tells a story about two LOVERS (Erica and a man -- we don't get his name). Erica is pregnant with Isadore(2) -- very pregnant(1), possibly even to the point where she could conceivably give birth soon. Erica and the father-to-be decide to have sex(1). They start out slow, but they gradually take it farther and farther due to the amount of passion involved and the love they have for each other; This is instigated by the man(3). These two lovers are so involved and focused on their feelings (read: "their emotions are clouding their judgment") that they let it go too far(4), to the point where Erica is mortally wounded. Somehow, Erica is induced into labor and gives birth to Isadore before the father's eyes(5), and then she dies(6).
***IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS***
The verses of the song are narrated by the father and the storyteller, whereas the bridge ("You can't just leave...") and chorus "It's not who you were..." sections are narrated by the father only. The general story is delivered through the verses, with the bridge and chorus sections of the song providing the emotional side of the story, namely the impact the story's events have on the father(0).
(1) "Erica and her Isadore climbed aboard a balloon"
- The narrator is speaking here. "Her Isadore" = Erica's unborn child. The balloon is a TRIPLE-metaphor: 1) for Erica's womb, expanding out during pregnancy. She's late into her pregancy (due to the size of her belly), so she must be expecting Isadore relatively soon. 2) an allusion to the emotional high they're on -- think of a hot-air balloon: The sky's the limit. 3) A condom. A deflated condom resembles a deflated balloon. Erica and the child she is carrying "climb aboard"... well, you know...
(2) *See jackiechelle's previous comment about the name "Isadore" and its translation.*
(3) "I want more than this kite will soar,
Set our sights on the moon"
- The father is speaking here. He is so sucked into his passion for Erica that he can't get enough and wants to take their lovemaking as far as he possibly can.
(4) "Blinded by their unbridled height,
Our lovers turn dissolute."
- The narrator is speaking here. "Height" is referencing the sexual high they're on (IE, the height of their passion). "Unbridled" (by definition) means "not controlled or restrained". "Dissolute" (by definition) means "given to immoral or improper conduct. Synonym = "debauchery"). So, our lovers' unrestrained passion for each other turns into something morally wrong.
(5) "Then with eyes wide a splintered sight..."
- The eyes belong to Erica's lover; They're wide because what's happening is unexpected. When something is "splintered", it is broken off into 2 or more independent groups. Isadore is a part of Erica while still in the womb and exists separately from her after birth. (the proof that Erica has given birth lies in the next line...)
"there's just one parachute"
- The parachute is a metaphor for the umbilical cord, connected to Isadore. Parachutes are made to ensure a safe landing when falling from a height high enough to be fatal. Going back to the balloon metaphor from earlier, it appear the balloon that Erica and Isadore were in has "popped" (her water broke), and only Isadore is safe from the fall. A BRILLIANT metaphor.
(6) "Goodbye Erica now I see
that my worst fears were in tune"
- The father is speaking here. This "Goodbye" isn't simply a "see you later" -- It's a final farewell (*see previous line's analysis). His "worst fears" are, of course, that Erica wasn't going to make it through her childbirth alive. He's always thought of this as a possibility (*see the BRIDGE section), but now he has no choice but to accept it as inevitable.
(0) BRIDGE & CHORUS
- In the BRIDGE, the father is making an emotional plea to Erica, realizing that she's dying. He's not ready to give in to the fact that she may, in fact, die ("You can't just leave..."), having invested all of his emotions into loving her and into bringing Isadore into the world.
The CHORUS has the father making another statement -- this time, it's in remembrance of Erica ("It's not who you were, It's who you are"). Because she has died, the father now pledges to do everything in his power to raise Isadore in Erica's honor. ("I won't rest until the world knows the name Isadore")
Let me put it this way: in order to support your theory, you had to invent a narator outside of the baloon and made him have sex with Erica, all of this based on the name "Isadore" and it's ethymology. A similar approach to this would be:
"Ok, Erica in fact means 'ruler of people', so I guess the song is about this powerhungry Erica traveling over the world in a baloon with a man called Isadore, who eventually grows tired of her, although he originally had feelings for her. Therefor he jumps out of the baloon with a parachute, the parachute being a metaphor for his safe trip back into normality and to the common folk. However, before jumping out of the baloon, Isadore clearly states, that he no longer supports Erica's methods of ruling over people and tells her so ("I can't believe you're taking everything, you're taking everything ")."
Again, I do not want to flame or harp on you. But I see a lot of flaws in your analysis and frankly, it just makes a lot more sense, that this song is actually inspired by and about the book "Fear of Flying", written by a certain "Erica Jong" and about a certain "Isadora Zelda White Stollerman Wing".
Believe me, when I arrived at my interpretation of the lyrics, I wasn't completely satisfied with the results. Could Incubus really have meant all that? If my meaning was the intended one, needless to say, that's one hell of a headache if you're the one writing the poetry! Plus, how many people would you (as the artist) honestly expect to arrive at such a conclusion?? Probably not many.
In hindsight, I wish I'd have known about "Fear of Flying" before I decided to produce my take on the meaning of the lyrics -- At the very least, it would have saved me a headache or two :)
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
I believe this song is about a girl called Erica who falls in love with someone called Isadore — possibly a female performer or something elaborate, given the name. I think Isadore has had difficulty with her sexuality and and has been completely swept her off her feet by Erika and the prospect of a different way of life.
‘Erika and her Isadore’ outlines the fact that Erika was besotted with Isadore and the feelings were probably reciprocated however Isadore wasn’t completely sure that she wanted this. ‘Climbed aboard a balloon,’ they embarked on a risky adventure guided purely by lust and excitement however Erika wanted to take things much futher than Isadore was happy with — possibly wanted to marry Isadore. ‘I want more than this kite will soar I've set our sights on the moon.’ (the kite depicting the fact they are currently flying high but not high enough for Erika’s Liking)
The journey doesn’t last forever and what started out as a bit of fun has turned into so much more for Erika.
‘Blinded by their unbridled height our lovers turned dissolute’ - both of them were so wrapped up in lust that Erika didn’t stop to think that this was all new to Isadore and at any moment she could decide that this life wasn’t for her. Also Isadore neglected to realise that Erika was infact falling madly in love with her. Before they realised all this it was too late and Isadore did infact decide that being with another girl wasn’t the life for her.
Erika tries to pled with her ‘It's not who you were It's who you are’ — she tries to tell Isadore that this is who she is — she’s been lost for so long and now she’s found herself.
‘we've come this far lover
No, I won't rest
Until the world
Knows the name Isadore
Knows the name Isadore’
Erika explains to isadore that they have been on an epic journey and she declares her love for isadore. She wants the world to know that she is deeply in love with isadore — she wants to shout it from the mountain tops so to speak.
‘Then with eyes wide, a splintered sight
There's just one parachute’
Erika is heart broken shocked and mortified. She’s in shock, her eyes are wide open in disbelief and she realises that only one of them is going to survive this balloon ride they have embarked on. The parachute belongs to Isadore — she is one who’s jumping out of the balloon and she is the only one who is going to survive.
Despite the various different interpretations you can apply to this song, I guess it's what they lyrics mean to you. Beautiful song, truly beautiful.
Isadora is the main character of the novel and a key component of the storyline is that she decides to take part in a "zipless fuck", or a no strings attached sexual encounter without real emotion. (as said by Ravel)
I found that one of the most popular quotes from within the book was about this weird term, and it stated:
"The zipless fuck is absolutely pure. It is free of ulterior motives. There is no power game . The man is not "taking" and the woman is not "giving." No one is attempting to cuckold a husband or humiliate a wife. No one is trying to prove anything or get anything out of anyone."
Right before each chorus the narrator of the song is distraught saying,"You can't just leave, I've given everything. I can't believe you're taking everything" The "I've given" and "you're taking" parts of these lines are the most important, because if you look at the quote from Fear of Flying it CLEARLY states that there should be no giving or taking in a "zipless fuck" aka meaningless one night stand. EVEN The quote from THE BOOK has the two words singled out in quotations.
So this leads me to believe that the narrator took part in a one night stand like situation and became emotionally attached, and he is sad that his momentary lover was not struck by the same feelings. Notice that at the beginning he says "I set our sights on the moon"... not WE set our sights on the moon. Since "There's just one parachute" she is the only one to get away from it without pain, and his "worst fears" that came true were those of rejection and lack of mutual feelings.
I hadn't even heard of Fear of Flying until reading the above comments. Naturally, I did what everyone else does when they attempt to decipher a song's meaning: I came up with my own take on it. I'll admit, the interpretation I arrived on seemed pretty crazy at the time -- Taken with the above comment in mind, it now seems completely absurd [but, admit it: The ramblings of a college student at 2am in-between homework sessions can be quite entertaining, can't they? :) ]
But that's the beauty of songwriting/poetry, isn't it? -- The fact that you and I, both looking at the same set of words, can interpret them in entirely different ways. Fine art has that ability :)
However, I highly doubt they are as complex as most of you think. First of all, where the hell do you get the idea of erica being pregnant? Because a baloon is round? Pretty far fetched, if you ask me. Secondly, it's rather obvious who the narator is, there aren't that many options here. Just look at the first few lines:
"Erica and her Isadore
climbed aboard a balloon
I want more than this kite will soar
I've set our sights on the moon"
Obviously, the narator has to be one of the two persons travelling in the baloon. Proof: First of all, "kite" in line 3 is a reference to the baloon in line 2, why would an unnamedd narator outside of Isadore and Erica want the "kite to soar"? It's much moar plausible that "I" is simply either Isadore or Erica. Secondly, and more importantly:
"There's just one parachute
Goodbye Erica now I see
that my worst fears were in tune"
"I" = the narator uses one of the parachutes, clearly indicating that he'd have to be in the baloon in order to do so...narrowing the identity of the narator down to, again, Erica and Isadore.
Next, most of you seem to be kinda misled by the in general happy tune of the song. If you just read the lyrics without the music, one actually notices, that there's a lot of unhappiness, discontent and sadness in the lyrics. I picked some of them out for you in order to demonstrate:
"I can't believe you're taking everything"
"Blinded by their unbridled height
our lovers turned dissolute"
"There's just one parachute
Goodbye Erica now I see
that my worst fears were in tune"
I don't see a lot of "fatherly" love in those lines. Maybe an angered or broken heart, but certainly not a sad lament about the death of one's lover or something like that.
And to end my take on the lyrics:
I'm pretty sure, that AlisonFowles nailed it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/… The way I see it, the song is about what you want out of a one night stand (the "zipless fuck") and what you expect from someone. There are those, who want to "soar higher" (into a serious relationship) and who maybe are disappointed, because there goals are ultimately unachieveable and about how eventually, they come to terms with that, in the end realizing, that it would have been a bad idea to begin with ("Goodbye Erica now I see, that my worst fears were in tune").
See "theScroog" post and the replies.
Going along with the basis of that novel, this song is actually quite simple, but I don't think anyone has said it yet. There are 3 characters, Narrator, Erica & Isadore (but Isadore isn't his name). The narrator and Erica are in a relationship, and Erica leaves him for a fling/affair and non-committed sex with a man whom the narrator calls an Isadore.
The very first line shows possesion: "Erica and HER Isadore." Isadore is an object of sex.
"I want more than this kite will soar, I've set my sights on the moon" signifies that the narrator wants to have and CONTINUE the relationship that he has with Erica. The kite is a metaphor for the current level of the relationship and he wants to take it further.
The next 4 lines is the narrator's plea for Erica not to leave him, especially for her Isadore.
The chorus "It's not who you were, It's who you are, And we've come this far lover, no..." shows that despite what has gone on in the past or whatever mistakes were made, it doesn't matter since they can be together now still. This is still a plea since it's already known that Erica and her fling/affair is happening.
"I won't rest until the world knows the name Isadore" is simply the narrator's rage for the man she has gone to and left the narrator behind.
"Blinded by their unbridled height, our lovers turn dissolute" The affair is growing stronger than they ever meant it to be, being blinded by all other responsibility (including for the actual relationships that they currently have, such as Erica with the narrator).
Now for the one parachute, I believe this is where Brandon and the other writers left this one up. One of them bails since their affair has gone too far. I believe it's the Isadore that bails, and Erica keeps on sailing in the balloon since the damage from the relationship has already been done. The narrator's worst fear is realized since she isn't coming back and the relationship must come to an end.
Thoughts?