My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue
An everlasting vision of the ever-changing view
A wondrous woven magic in bits of blue and gold
A tapestry to feel and see, impossible to hold

Once, amid the soft, silver sadness in the sky
There came a man of fortune, a drifter passing by
He wore a torn and tattered cloth around his leathered hide
And a coat of many colors, yellow, green on either side

He moved with some uncertainty, as if he didn't know
Just what he was there for, or where he ought to go
Once he reached for something golden hanging from a tree
And his hand came down empty

Soon within my tapestry, along the rutted road
He sat down on a river rock and turned into a toad
It seemed that he had fallen into someone's wicked spell
And I wept to see him suffer, though I didn't know him well

As I watched in sorrow, there suddenly appeared
A figure, gray and ghostly, beneath a flowing beard
In times of deepest darkness, I've seen him dressed in black
Now my tapestry's unraveling, he's come to take me back
He's come to take me back


Lyrics submitted by cailin

Tapestry Lyrics as written by Carole King

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Tapestry song meanings
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    My Interpretation

    Sounds like a young girl's first experience to me, with someone she barely knew before he left. And yet she holds that memory with fondness. Well, that's at least PART of this song, as it's also definitely about her life as well. These lines always really struck me emotionally:

    he moved with some uncertainty as if he didn't know just what he was there for or where he ought to go once, he reached for something old and hanging from a tree and his hand came down empty

    The man she was with was just as inexperienced as she was, and they both left with nothing but the memory of their affair. Beautiful, beautiful song.

    Goatllamaon April 10, 2011   Link

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