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Aubergine Lyrics
Sugar down the syrup in the Queen Anne's lace
Shining in the light of nightshade
Cultivating unsophistication in my face
Trying to think of nothing to say
Grapes gone sour and the spinach went to seed
It was spindly and sick from the outset
Waiting for the hour with a wherewithal to leave
Patient as a dog for its master
Aubergine
Labrador was locked through the promontory rock
She called down, said "time is an illusion"
An inconsequential shift as the continents drift
But my confidence was crushed and I miss you regardless
Aubergine
Aubergine
Aubergine: You can be your body but please don't mind
if I don't fancy myself mine--you at 32 still tied to your poor mother's apron strings!
Sorrel in the gravel and the saffron robe
Sleeping like a shark in the cordgrass
Now I saw how far I travelled down the solipsistic road
I climbed out to ask for directions
There was not a pond in sight, here I'm gasping like a fish
In the desert with a basket full of eggplant
Who asked about the passage from the bible on my wrists
But I couldn't catch my breath enough to answer
Shining in the light of nightshade
Cultivating unsophistication in my face
Trying to think of nothing to say
Grapes gone sour and the spinach went to seed
It was spindly and sick from the outset
Waiting for the hour with a wherewithal to leave
Patient as a dog for its master
She called down, said "time is an illusion"
An inconsequential shift as the continents drift
But my confidence was crushed and I miss you regardless
Aubergine
if I don't fancy myself mine--you at 32 still tied to your poor mother's apron strings!
Sleeping like a shark in the cordgrass
Now I saw how far I travelled down the solipsistic road
I climbed out to ask for directions
There was not a pond in sight, here I'm gasping like a fish
In the desert with a basket full of eggplant
Who asked about the passage from the bible on my wrists
But I couldn't catch my breath enough to answer
Song Info
Submitted by
elective Amnesia On May 09, 2012
More mewithoutYou
January 1979
Silencer
The Dryness and the Rain
Messes of Men
In a Sweater Poorly Knit
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
Sugar down the syrup in the Queen Anne's lace Shining in the light of nightshade Cultivating unsophistication in my face Trying to think of nothing to say Grapes gone sour and the spinach went to seed (it was spindly and sick from the outset) Waiting for the hour with a wherewithal to leave Patient as a dog for its master
Aubergine
The Labrador was locked through the promontory rock She called down, said time is an illusion An inconsequential shift as the continents drift But my confidence was crushed and I miss you regardless
Aubergine Aubergine
Aubergine: You can be your body but please don't mind if I don't fancy myself mine--you at 32 still tied to your poor mother's apron strings!
Sorrel in the gravel and the saffron robe Sleeping like a shark in the cord grass until I saw how far I traveled down the solipsistic road I climbed out to ask for directions There was not a pond in sight and here I'm gasping like a fish In the desert with a basket full of eggplants who asked about the passage of the Bible on my wrists But I couldn't catch my breath enough to answer
Superb. Thanks for your contribution. I'm glad I wasn't really far off anywhere besides the mid-section. Some great lyrics here.
Superb. Thanks for your contribution. I'm glad I wasn't really far off anywhere besides the mid-section. Some great lyrics here.
Anyone actually understand this song? Feel free to post an interpretation:)
No need to be grumpy. Just post:)
No need to be grumpy. Just post:)
Here's my very long winded interpretation...
Seeing as the song just before this one is about the Elephant during her trial and sentencing, it would make sense that this one is about the Elephant awaiting the gallows in her prison cell.
The first two lines describe the Elephant's last meal:
"Sugar down the syrup in the Queen Anne's lace Shining in the light of nightshade"
It's customary for a condemned prisoner to have a meal of their choice served to them the day of or before their execution. In some cases inmates are either too greif stricken or anxious to finish the meal once it's prepared for them. The second half of the stanza illustrates this:
"Grapes gone sour and the spinach went to seed It was spindly and sick from the outset"
The rest of the song seems to adress the Elephant's struggle to accept her fate and her "wherewithal to leave" as she awaits her execution. The Labrador tries to assure her that "time is an illusion" and not worth fretting over, but this only seems trouble the Elephant more, causing her to think of Aubergine.
Now aubergine is another word for eggplant so I'm assuming the elephant admires a particular eggplant and that's what the chorus of the song is about. Perhaps an eggplant was part of her last meal request and the "Aubergine" she's referring to is in the cell with her...or maybe she is reminded of another Eggplant named Aubergine. Animals falling in love with other species seems to be a recurring theme throughout this album so the idea that the Elephant loves an Eggplant doesn't seem too farfetched. In either case, Aubergine speaks to her:
"You can be your body but please don't mind if I don't fancy myself mine--you at 32 still tied to your poor mother's apron strings!"
Aubergine seems to be suggesting to the Elephant that one's own body is merely an illusion and their love for one another is an allegory. If an Elephant can fall in love with an Eggplant, does ones physical form really matter?
The final stanza has the Elephant waking up after traveling down a "solipsistic road" in the desert carrying a basket full of Eggplants who ask her about a bible passage on her wrists. This could either be describing an Epiphany the Elephant is having just before her execution or an actual journey through the afterlife. Solipsism is the belief that only one's own mind is certain to exist (very mewithoutYou) so perhaps the Eggplants inquiring about the scripture written on her wrists is just another illustration of how in order to truly believe that anything is real, you have to have faith.
Aaron sings about the eggplant on another album. x-reference it and you'll get another piece of the puzzle.
The reason being I mus confess, I adore her shining purple dress. As the Eggplant listened in, She wasn't offended but she wasn't impressed.
The reason being I mus confess, I adore her shining purple dress. As the Eggplant listened in, She wasn't offended but she wasn't impressed.
The poor letuce Nice and Blue Part 2 I believe
The poor letuce Nice and Blue Part 2 I believe
Bullet to Binary, pt 2
Bullet to Binary, pt 2
I think this song is about Rabbit's journey. Taking grapes and spinach along for the trip home. The Labrador trying to comfort him after the loss of his "mother" (Elephant is called Mother in February 1878), and The Labrador's teachings are contrary to Elephant's. So Rabbit is crushed, which causes more thoughts of Elephant.
As for Aubergine, I think Aubergine is Elephant's name. The line, "Be your body, please don't mind if I don't fancy myself mine" corresponds to Elephant's statements in February 1878, Grist For The Malady Mill and Elephant In The Dock.
The last verse is what caused me to think the song was about Rabbit, notably the line, "I climbed out to ask for directions" I think sorrel and saffron speak of the change to Rabbit's colour, a methaphor of overall change, since leaveing the train wreck, where he was pure white. The "sleeping like a shark" line gives me the image of a rabbit in the grass, but all you can see is ears.
Overall: I think the song is about losing faith, due to circumstance; realizing a loss of faith, and then not knowing what to do.
Aubergine means eggplant, however. I think bcmartin makes a good point earlier on that note.
Aubergine means eggplant, however. I think bcmartin makes a good point earlier on that note.
I don't know what the song means but it might help to know that "Aubergine" is another word for eggplant, and the song has a lot of vegetable/food/garden references.
I don't understand much about it, but here's what I got.
As someone already stated, an "aubergine" is another name for an eggplant. The speaker seems to be awestruck by "Aubergine" which I suppose is a woman. I think the speaker is Aaron; he mentions the Bible verse tattooed on his wrist, and Aaron Weiss has the first beatitude tattooed on his wrist in Hebrew (blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven). Maybe this song leads into the next ("Fox's Dream...") where the speaker proposes to a girl.
It's also interesting to note the parallels between the Elephant's story and the story of Jesus before his execution
Eggplants often traditionally represent the element of arrogance, self adulation, or earnings with little effort
I think it's worth mentioning that there seems to be a lot of subtle references to Martin Buber, an Austrian philosopher born on February 8th 1878. His book 'Ich und Du' (translated 'I and Thou') has solipsistic roots. Also, his writing style was in line with much of what we know Aaron reads.
You could at least try to disguise your writing by not including such big words as "solipsistic" (which I'm guessin' has nothing to do with a Slavic lollipop) and avoiding a reference to a philosopher only you would know off the top of your handsome little head. Geesh. Oh, and toss in your song choice and I'm guessin' you REALLY think I'm a true blonde :)
You could at least try to disguise your writing by not including such big words as "solipsistic" (which I'm guessin' has nothing to do with a Slavic lollipop) and avoiding a reference to a philosopher only you would know off the top of your handsome little head. Geesh. Oh, and toss in your song choice and I'm guessin' you REALLY think I'm a true blonde :)
My apologies. I didn't mean to sound pretentious. I was referring to a line in the last verse, "Now I saw how far I travelled down the solipsistic road." Solipsism is the philosophy that all that one can know for sure is the existence of the mind. Nothing outside this can be known for sure (think Descartes). As I continue to contemplate this song along with the rest of the album, I finally feel that I am beginning to understand, although this particular song really only made sense to me in the context of 'February,...
My apologies. I didn't mean to sound pretentious. I was referring to a line in the last verse, "Now I saw how far I travelled down the solipsistic road." Solipsism is the philosophy that all that one can know for sure is the existence of the mind. Nothing outside this can be known for sure (think Descartes). As I continue to contemplate this song along with the rest of the album, I finally feel that I am beginning to understand, although this particular song really only made sense to me in the context of 'February, 1878' and 'Elephant in the Dock.'
In 'February 1878' the elephant confesses that it has "neither friend nor enemy," this along with it's admission of old age leads me to believe that its family has already passed on. Immediately after this line, the elephant also says that it is missing, "that phantom 'self-identity.'" The elephant almost seems to be surrendering right here, making no attempt to survive.
This inward retreat and journey down the road of solipsism continues in 'Elephant in the Dock' with the following statement by the elephant:
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Elephant refused to swear the oath, Elephant: "I don't know anything about truth, but I know falsehood when I see it, and it looks like this whole world you've madeThis is (at least to me) a clear continuation down the same road mentioned here in 'Aubergine' as the elephant rejects the material world of man. This inward journey reaches true solipsism in the last verse of 'Elephant in the Dock' as the elephant refers to itself as a "ghost" simply watching the spectacle of the world of "falsehood."
Taking the above context into consideration, I think we can clearly see this song as the elephant's time in jail, awaiting it's hanging. It has nearly completely retreated inside it's own mind, so the first verse is her letting the already bad food further rot as she awaits her fate.
This is followed by a call out to Aubergine, who I choose to interpret as the elephant's mate, who has already died, but I'll explain that thought a bit later.
Admitedly, the presence of a labrador is a bit confusing, however I think it's one of the escaped animals calling into the dungeon from outside. Presuming the dungeon is below ground, calling down through a window, the dog would seem to be perched on the equivalent of a promontory. The dog seems to share the view of the elephant that not only the perceived world, but also time, cannot be known and is therefore some sort of illusion. Despite this, there is still a longing for accompaniment, so the elephant has not completely rejected this world or it's own body.
Two more calls out to the lost mate, followed finally by a reply:
When Aubergine speaks, presumably from the dead, he lets our elephant friend know that it can hold onto it's worldly body, but that he doesn't miss his own. Being within that body is tying her to the worldly self that her mother bore. I think the point here being that true freedom and independance cannot be achieved until we have left the flesh that came from our parents.
We conclude with a reslessness that seems almost overwhelming. Sorrel, a plant with deep roots, would not be at all comfortable in gravel, nor would a shark sleep comfortably in marshy, shoreline cord grass. At this point the elephant realizes how far it has come. The basket of eggplant, would be a symbol for all of the other friends that have passed that the elephant carries with herself. As described very well above, aubergine is another word for eggplant. Within our story, Aubergine would be the name of one dead friend, presumably a mate. The rest, still together in death, are still in a way with our elephant friend. Presumably it is these friends who ask about the passage on the wrist. I did not know that Aaron Weiss had the first Beatitude on his wrist, so cbay, I thank you for that assistance. The poor in spirit will behold the kingdom of heaven, perhaps a thought so astounding, that to the elephant, on 'death row,' the sudden realization that heaven is approaching is a thought almost too great to bear.
By all means, please disagree with me and let me know what you all think. And Jeff, don't be so self impressed by how well you can put yourself down ;)