A Distance There Is Lyrics
this song is basically about a female in a relationship thats not going well. ''Come in out of the rain thou sayest- But thou ne'er step'st aside, '' - her male lover is asking her to return to him,but he still does not want to change his ways. the same ways that made her leave in the first place
''And i'm trapp'd, A distance there is '' - she is so confused,trapped,becus they r stil apart
''None, save me and the bodkin, Pitter patter on the roof. Behold! 'tis not the rain; Thence me it has to be. '' - i am alone, i have to fend for myself. i come knocking at ur door
''I will not drink thy vintage wine, my dear. Thou hast heed'd that I am of innocence, Yet thou let'st thy lass into peril. Thou let'st me be parched. '' - she expresses that he sees her weakness, and he exploits it. yet he claims he loves her
''My heart is of frailty, my pale skin is hued damask''
- frailty - moral weakness
''When thou thy tears hast hidden, Come back!" thou sayest, " - she thinks to herself that after he realizes the pain he put her thru ( he sheds tears ), he calls her back
"There I soon am to be, But how am I to run when my bones, my heart. Thou hast me bereaft, But run thou sayest, I run. " - she thinks ''how am i supposed to come back to u, when u have left me unhappy. but al the same i return to u becus i love u
"And there and then i behold that a time will come when I again dead will be. Thou tell'st me to leave without delay. I leave with my bodkin and my tears in my hands; Lo! the shadows, the sky descending; So by a dint of smite I gait ere I run and melt together with dusk. " - she knows she will still be unhappy becus he wil never change his ways. she will leave him crying yet again. ' so by a dint of smite i gait' (meaning - by the force of being attacked i run)gives the imression that he abuses her.
"In my mind in which is this event, but it seems as if naught is to change anyway? " - all this is being played out in her thoughts, in her mind. but in reality, she cannot pluck up courage to leave him
"After all these years thou left'st me down in the emotional depths. The sombre soaked velvet-drape is hung upon me. Turning my feelings away from our so ingorant world, All the beautiful moments shared, deliberately push'd aside. A distance there is. "
- in reality, she is miserable. she lays there reminising on their past, the good times they shared, and how they have been thrown away. they are together in person but spiritually apart. a distance there is.
When she says "bodkin" she means "needles", and it's metaphor of rain: The raindrops (the "needles") make a "pitter-patter" sound on the roof (like tapping).
Now, I don't know if this is right, but I think the decissive verse is the "sombre, soaked velvet drape" which hungs upon her, I mean, if it's soaked, is she outside in the rain? I kinda thought the "drape" thing was a black umbrella ("velvet" and "sombre") and she's like in the rooftop thinking what'd be like to be brave and tell him all the crap he's been doing, but she later decides it'd be the same (he'd ask her forgiveness and she'd comply 'cause she loves him)... or, maybe she guess that if she tells him, he'll finally end up killing her somehow. "By a dint of smite I gait, before I run and melt (al)together, with dusk", implying she was hit violently, what she's probably walking away of, to finally fall and lay there "melting and running with dusk".
And, saying other thing, she actually says "...I gait BEFORE I run and melt together...". The only difference though, is only phonologycal, 'cause "ere" means "before" anyways.
a distance there is between an unreqiuted lover and her object of desire
Oh... I like this song so much but I can't really understand what it says (Old English... am I wrong?)
guys, can someone explain to me why the song mentions a 'bodkin'. does it mean a weapon or something else? does it have to do with something particular in the song context? i just still can't make it out
Meh the song is superb its about a women who is having relation ship problems as you can tell that part where she says im "Pitter patter on the roof. Behold! 'tis not the rain;" i think she's talking about her tears oh well thats my opinion XD
I will refer to the narrator as the "Lass" and the other character as the "authority".
The first stanza: The lass is in the rain and despite the authority telling her to come in, their actions do not match their words and so she is stuck in the rain. While this could be literal, it is likely a metaphor within the song's story. The metaphor could indicate that the Lass is in a bad situation and the authority is not helping the lass and only pretending to care.
Second Stanza: Bodkin could have many meanings, but appears to be a metaphor for rain. It's only the lass and the rain pitter pattering on the roof. Lass concludes it's not the rain that is making the pitter patter, but only herself. This implies it is her tears making the sounds on the roof.
Third Stanza: Lass states she will not drink the vintage wine. VIntage wine has more value than typical wine so it can be assumed that the authority wants to entice the lass with the vintage wine. The authority knows she is not old enough to partake in the wine and having her drink the wine would be "perilous". "Thou lettest me be parched" implies the authority offers no other beverage.
Fourth Stanza: Lass states her heart "is of frailty". In this context, it likely not a comment on her physical health, but that she lacks the ability to stand up for herself. “My pale skin is hued damask”. Damask is described as a vintage dusty rose color. Her skin goes from pale to being hued damask. This implies that the lass ended up drinking the wine and likely became intoxicated.
Fifth Stanza: "When thou thy tears hast hidden, come back," (why is lass crying?*). Authority tells lass to come back when she stops crying and the lass confirms that she comes quickly when commanded. How can the lass run when her bones and her heart have left her? She lacks the spine and willpower to “run”. Yet the tells her to “run”. Perhaps in a mocking way as if he knows she is too weak-willed to run away and rely upon herself.**
Sixth Stanza: She runs
Seventh Stanza: Lass says that a time will again come when she will be dead “again”. It is unclear why the authority is now telling the lass to leave* Her “bodkin” and her tears are in her hands as she leaves. Creates an image of lass running and crying with her hands covering her face. Bodkin originally was a metaphor for rain, but now its "her bodkin"** This stanza seems to contrast with 5th stanza.
Eighth Stanza: Night falls. A dint in old english is a stroke of a weapon. Could also mean a small impression. “Gait” is old english for a going or walking, departure, journey,". Can also be "way, road, path" Smite is a heavy blow. Could also be used as a strong attraction like “smitten”. Altogether could mean “Lass departs, driven with some sort of attraction/pull” as the day turns to dusk.
Ninth Stanza: “In my minds in which...” Her escape is only a figment of her imagination and desire to escape. Nothing will change anyways.
Tenth Stanza: “After all these years...” Indicates that there might have been a time without the abuse, but now she is in a metaphorical pit of sadness “sombre” can be sad solemn or grave in mood. Velvet is a material that is luxurious and soft. Perhaps means that the lass' abusive treatment has become some sort of dysfunctional comfort for her. Perhaps like stockholm syndrome? Perhaps like "its better to be mistreated than to be ignored" type of thinking? Lass is stating the sombre soaked velvet is turning her feelings away which results in all the beautiful memories being pushed aside.
Eleventh Stanza: It is almost exactly like the last stanza, but now says instead "Turning my feelings away from our so ignorant world" and ends with "a distance there is". I believe this is meant to contrast the tenth stanza where the tenth is devaluing the shared memories together, but the eleventh implies the ignorant world wouldn't understand their precious memories together. And so while it was originally implied there was a distance between the Lass and the Authority, it now seems that the Lass is stating there is a distance between herself and the authority with the entire (ignorant) world.
- While there is no definite evidence, the fact that the Lass was pressured to drink wine despite her age, became (possibly) intoxicated, then ultimately crying and being sent away, it may imply the authority took advantage of the Lass
** Authority could be taunting Lass telling her to run away if her treatment is so horrible, but knowing she wont. Lass questions how she could run when she lacks the willpower to leave.
*** Unclear why she is being told to leave, but appears to be in a different context. Lass states there will be a time where she is dead again. Could be as simple as she acknowledges her eventual death, but more likely is that she will be dead to the authority (temporarily) as in "you are dead to me". It could be further evidence this master/subordinate relationship is illicit. Lass being sent away may be hurtful to her as it is perceived as rejection.
*** Unclear what her* bodkin means in this case. Could be a hair pin or could be redundant, but I do not think it is crucial for understanding the song.
Conclusion: The writers may have had this kind of story in mind. A young (servant?) girl under an abusive authority figure who is likely a man. She is akin to a beaten and abused dog who remains loyal to her master. He treats her well when convenient and tosses her away when she's inconvenient. Deep down, she knows this isn't okay, but its all she has and so she cherishes it.
well i think tis song is about a girl whoz bin betrayed in some way by sum bloke,well i cant fukin belive dat im the 2nd person to write sumfin bout it...anyway TOT r wicked
THIS BAND IS SO BAD, SO WHY IS THIS SONG SO GOOD?
but archaic language is so unnecessary and stupid.