Dorian

Well I really loved this song without even knowing what it's bout! It has got such a soft melody and Agnes' voice is so soothing and lovely. Without having a clear understanding of the idea of song, it always caused some visions of light blue and white in front of my eyes, and a feeling of floating in the air, while feeling some sort of power, seamlessly flowing in my vessels... It's hard to explain but it's so vivid I can remember it clearly anytime I think of it.

So I did some search about the song. Agnes talked about it in an interview:

"Best Fit: Who or what is ‘Dorian’ about?

Agnes Obel: ‘Dorian’ is about the inter-relational thing between two people, that you can’t put words on but you know is there. And when you reach the point of no return, and you are sort of swaying, or are suspended, into this weird space of nothingness, and you are still longing for all the good stuff that you had before. ‘Dorian’ is sort of my construction of that state of mind. Nobody outside this bubble of these two people can see it, [They won't know who we are, So we both can pretend] so it looks really pretty and great but then if you step into this ring, you see that it’s all sort of falling apart and rotting [And the pieces broke and the people wanted more]."

And in some other interview:

"I really wanted to paint a picture of something that from outside is beautiful and from inside rots [The inside out on the open, with the straightest face]."

And even more:

"It is a song that expresses a lot of yearning [Swaying like the children, singled out for praise], for something beautiful that two people once had but that is now coming apart."

An somewhere else, about if this song's related to Dorian Grey:

"I knew about Dorian Gray but it was not deliberate or about that character. I am sure it coloured it but it wasn’t about it."

So, I guess that's all... and oops, I didn't expect it to be this long! Anyway it's a beautiful song that can also cause other interpretations for every individual, beside the main meaning which it's written to express. :)

The song definitely fits the "fine on the outside, struggling on the inside" couple theme.

The couple seems to have slide in some spoken premonition: "As the devil spoke we spilled out on the floor" and "As the sad-eyed woman spoke we missed our chance". The devil did not speak - it was their own thought about the relationship, their worst fear about them. The sad eyed woman did not speak. It was them, trying to reconcile their loving past with their rotting present.

They feel they have a choice to make - and they steer toward pretending: "They won't know who we are so we both can pretend". After all "It's written on the mountains, a line that never ends" - everybody does it. But then again they can't always hide the true failure of their relationship. They feel singled out sometimes with their whole fiasco highlighted to the crowds: "The inside out on the open - with the straightest face".

And then there's Dorian. Dorian is not part of the couple. She is a third person, trying to peek in their relationship. She wants to see how it's all going to end, but the couple is just feeling miserable about what she gets to see, so they want to send her away: "Dorian, carry on". Just go ahead, Dorian, don't stay anymore. Or "will you come along to the end?" - will you follow us until we wholly break apart? Then they even get defensive: "Will you ever let us carry on?" - our problem is not yours, Dorian, just let us be. And the obvious final: "Dorian, will you follow us down?". Will you stay with us until it's all over?

This song has a personal meaning dor me:

I was in relationship a lot like this. To me, Dorian is a feeling vs a person. I loved this guy with every bell in my body but bit didn't work out, he moved on to someone else. And just like love, i felt the loss in every cell of my body. It was the worst emotional pain I've ever experienced. I was dreaming my dreams with this guy. And when he left without a trace or closure, I had this unbearable pain for a while.

I tried to get back out there in the dating life but i physically couldn't. I had no interest in love anymore and for a while, I thought I was asexual. I couldn't move on. Dorian wouldn't let me. When I started dating again, Dorian would show up and remind me of what I lost. She always had perfect timing. She wouldn't let me carry on. my thoughts:

"dorian, please go away"

"dorian please dont haunt me, please let me move on"

"will you haunt me forever? will i ever get peace?"

"will i ever love again and will you actually let me?"

It's a heartbreaking song. Whenever I hear it I start crying. Can't help it.