It was late one fall night at a fairground near town
When Esther first saw the Armenian man
Who groveled toward her and stood by her side
With a bucket that swung in his hand
His grin stretched the folds of his pasty white cheeks
And his lips hurled a dollop of murk on the curb
And the lights from the rides showed a mischievous sparkle
That flashed in his hollow eyed stare
He said "Little girl, you can chop off my legs
And then peel off my socks if you want to.
But I'd rather you took this old puppet from me
That I hold in my pail as we speak."
And he stood looking down at the innocent girl
And she stared at the bucket bewildered
Til he lifted the doll for the young girl to see
And a giant smile grew on his face
She saw the doll's eyes and she couldn't resist
And she thanked the man quickly and ran to the church
And she burst through the door with puppet held high
And a hush filled the chapel, and the people looked mean
Esther tried in vain to pacify the mob
Quibble grew to spat, to wrangle, then to brawl
The frenzied congregation struggled desperately to fetch
The pretty puppet snugly nestled deep in Esther's leather sack
Through the window of the church a storm began to rage
And Esther knew the time had come to flee
She scurried down the aisle toward the doorway in the distance
And out into the rainstorm where she felt she would be free
But the wind was blowing harder
And her skirt began to billow
Until finally her feet began to lift
And she rose above the people and the houses and the chimneys
And Esther and the doll were set adrift
Floating higher over the hills,
and the valleys and treetops they'd flutter and glide
Soaring and turning suspended on air
With the earth far below them they'd tumble
And dive through the clouds
And she began to plummet earthward till she landed in the nasty part of town
She glanced about the village sure to find the evil men
Who rob and pillage in the darkest hour of night
Nervously she fumbled for the pouch that held the
Puppet on her rump.
Feeling quite outnumbered Esther hid behind
A nearby pile of lumber, where she waited till the dawn
Cause it would have been a blunder to
Succumb to a hoodlum on the prowl
When the morning came, she wandered through the streets
Along the chilly lake that lay beside the town
At last a peaceful moment, but she thought she heard a sound
It was an angry mob of joggers coming up to knock her down
As Esther stood and shook her head the joggers were approaching
And she knew she had no choice left but to swim
As the frosty water sank its bitter teeth into her hide
She tried to slide the heavy clothing from her skin
Naked now she made her way toward the shore
When suddenly she felt a tiny tugging at her toe.
And the puppet she'd forgotten wrapped its tiny
Little arms around her ankle and wouldn't let her go.
The waves seemed to open and swallow her whole
As the doll pulled her down through the eerie green deep
And the sound of the laughing old man filled her ears
As she drifted away to a tranquil and motionless sleep...
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She's dead people. She died.
Phish...aw...
I don't see the puppet as being evil. I don't think it was trying to drown her, it was vulnerable and scared too, and was just trying to hang on.
I was listening to this in the car today, and as she got airborne, I was thinking drugs. Addictive drugs, guys. She is confused, she takes them from the man, the normal people disapprove, she runs away and gets high (flying!) and then she comes back down "in the nasty part of town," where she is chased down by joggers (if you're seeing it from my point of view yet, any help with "joggers?" I'm drawing a blank, i never understand that part). So she has to run from these people, and she jumps into the water. The water's painful, so she strips down, but that doll just can't let her go.
Eventually it kills her.
Thoughts/input?
See, I think it's more likely it's pregnancy. Drugs works too, but pregnancy, because:
See, I think it's more likely it's pregnancy. Drugs works too, but pregnancy, because:
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i can see where you're coming from and if you listen to the jam between her floating off and her landing in the "nasty part of town", the music quickly goes from cheerful to dark, like she is coming down or something, either way great song, the first phish song i ever heard
i can see where you're coming from and if you listen to the jam between her floating off and her landing in the "nasty part of town", the music quickly goes from cheerful to dark, like she is coming down or something, either way great song, the first phish song i ever heard
I don't think of Ester's death as a literal death. I think of it as the death of her innocence. I believe that the doll may (from the writer's perspective) represent a number of things that may bring about such a proverbial death.
Most people have suggested drugs and prostitution. I think one may add to this list of possibilities pregnancy at a young age, as possibly represented by the doll.
The churchgoers' response to her doll is equally plausible (and understandable from a reactionary point of view) if one thinks of the doll as an unplanned child. Through this interpretation, Ester's childhood is summarily (and prematurely) brought to an end when faced with the responsibility of caring for her own child in the face of being shunned by the people around her. Hawthorne would be proud.
Cast of characters:
• Esther – A young girl (Our tragic heroine)
• Armenian Man – ‘Bad boy’ (Stranger to Esther’s family) • The Bucket – His ‘vessel’ containing a ‘Gift’ for Esther
• The Puppet – His ‘gift’/The baby
• The Church/Congregation – Esther’s traditional family/community • “The puppet held high” – Visibly pregnant & unashamed • Storm – untenable situation (within the family)/the world apart from her loving family • “Her feet began to lift” – Turns to drugs (She gets high) • (Instrumental interlude) – Time spent escaping through drugs • “Tumble earthward” – comes down to reality (now destitute) • Evil Men – Evil People (truly wicked or maybe she’s paranoid. Either way, no one to turn to) • Morning – Cleared Mind • “Wandered through the streets” – debates which way to go (back home?) • Chilly Lake – Hard feelings/Cold treatment/Judgment • The Town – Home/Family • Joggers – “The Healthy” (family, faculty, medical or social workers) who ‘know better’ • “To Swim” – To face (and try to accept) the cold judgment of others
With all the metaphors introduced, the tragic conclusion of this tale comes into painful focus in the last two stanzas as Esther decides to rid herself of the child at the will of her family, only to be faced with feelings of guilt small at first, nagging, relentless, and ultimately inescapable.
The stigma attached to her from those on the outside combined with inner thoughts about the child (she would never come to know) prove to be more than Esther can bear. Somewhere out there is a man who shamelessly ruined a girl. Pitiable Esther takes her own life.
its a like a girl in a crazy dream who can fly
i think its about a girl who is at a carnaval and this man gives her a puppet, an evil puppet. its bad karma. it gives her bad luck and ends up killing her hehe...phish is awesome
i totally agree with Amsie...this song and it's lyrics are cool and crazy shit.
For some reason I remember reading a similar story as a folktale. It was perhaps based in Eastern Europe or possibly somewhere in the Caucasus. Someone please let me know via e-mail if he or she knows anything more about this Esther-folktale idea. Thanks.
TRIPPY!!!!