Black Milk

Goddamn, I don't even care what it means, I just love this song to pieces.

I think the last line is my favorite, like she's only capable of loving, and that's why she's hurting so much.

I think this song is about being in a destructive marriage, and the loss of your own identity. Sacrificing yourself for someone who sucks the life out of you, eating you piece by piece until there is nothing left.

For me, the meaning of "love you for God, love you for the mother" is that she is not loving him for any other reason than it's what she is supposed to do. For the institution of marriage, ordained by God.

this song, i think, is about someone "eating" metaphorically her ego, and taking atvantage of her. someone she loves deeply enough to sacrifice for. they put her down and make them more confident about themselves. When she's making references to God, she's talking about sacrifices made at an alter. Mother is a little bit tougher. I think she's talking about some symbol of maturnity, and Mother fountain, is like the pool that one drinks from to replinish or rejuvinate their self. Like a fountain of love. Or mother could be like the catholic symbol of Mother Mary. I'm not sure really.

Here's an interesting poem that mentions the term "black milk": http://www.certando.net/celan.html

"death fugue"

Haven't figured out what the poem means though.

I think there's a clear link between this song and Paul Celan's poem, Deathfugue. Originally written in German, the first words of any translation come out as "black milk". The general tone of the song is incredibly dark though the lyrics don't necessarily reflect that as much as the way she sings and the title.

Deathfugue on wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todesfuge

Here's the actual lyrics according to more reliable sources, though I'm not certain of these either. We would have to hear them from Elizabeth Frazer herself to understand fully her lyrics:

You're not my eater I'm not your food

Love you for God Love you for the Mother

Eat me in the space Within my heart

Love you for God I love you for the Mother

Mother fountain Or live or not at all

The most level Sunken chapel

Love you for God Oh, love you for the Mother

All's there to love Only love

Notice how like in Paul Celan's poem, she makes use of constant repetition, both in the lyrical structure, as well as with the background vocals often echoing the previous line in a slurred almost unrecognizable way.

I believe this effect relates to the dizzying delirium of Celan's poem, repeating "we drink" constantly at the beginning of every stanza.

I don't believe there's a narrative in the lyrics. I believe she's using her voice and the lyrics more as an instrument than to be taken as literally connotating anything. The ideas that it's about polyamory or a relationship are way too literal. The lyrics are more poem than story telling. That said let's take a look into the content of Frazer's poem.

The most important part to look at is the repeated phrase "Love you for God, love you for the mother"

This certainly does not mean: "I love you because god tells me, I love you because my mom tells me" That's a comically literal reading. If you have any doubt it's not suppose to be taken so literally, you must listen to the song and hear her voice and the effects they use on it. The creators of the song didn't intend you to hear perfectly every syllable of every word.

I think the closest is that this is to be heard as the dizzy, delirious rambling of someone on opium (black milk). The euphoria of opium here is represented by the mentions of love. The other effects of opium are easily heard in the timbre on her voice - again she's using her voice as an instrument, and that representation in itself is as important as the lyrical content.

The beginning verse also references opium.

"You're not my eater, I'm not your food"

Lotus eaters is what they used to call people who used opium. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus-eaters Moloko, another trip hop group, used this term as the name of one their songs three years earlier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OMOykadBDA

So the repeated chorus of "love you for god, love you for the mother" as well as the opening line make reference to opum, or really any narcotic, maybe even marijuana. Again, I don't think there's a literal interpretation possible here. But we will use opium to refer to the substance. Now let's look at the lyrics without the chorus:

You're not my eater I'm not your food

Eat me in the space Within my heart

Mother fountain Or live or not at all

The most level Sunken chapel

All's there to love Only love

With the chorus out of the way, it becomes a little clearer what Frazer was intending to convey.

The first two verses appear to contradict one another. First there's statement you're not my eater. At first there's a very tepid denial, and almost immediately, they're allowing the black milk to consume them. space within my heart is a pretty key phrase here; drug addicts almost universally describe falling prey to a drug's addictive allure as filling something that was missing. She's describing the original denial that one is falling victim, and then the fall, as she allows it to consume her "in the space within [her] heart"

The last verses are not as clear to me. Debussy has a prelude named "The Sunken Cathedral" about a Briton myth from ages ago, but doesn't seem to quite fit here. I'm also uncertain the lyrics are totally correct or even intelligble in many of the last verses/phrases.

The last phrase does seem to imply a complete dissolution of self - All's there to love, and then "only love". There's a notion of complete loss of self. This is backed up by the reference in the very first lines of being consumed. If the black milk has completely consumed her, then there's nothing, only "love". replace the word with euphoria, and you get a picture of a poem about someone who lets an opium habit become and addiction and ultimately consume them completely.

It's about unconditional love. Loving someone that is unavailable and broken because it was simply decided for you by something greater. So, although she always has, and always will remain aware of her inability to heal this person ..she has no choice its all she can feel in her heart, an overwhelming empathy about the reality of their pain and loving them because she just does..So, since it is her predestined assignment on earth, she will continue to carry the weight of her mates heaviness in her own heart, not as if it could relieve anything at all, but just because there is no place else she belongs, and even if the sadness and pain are all they will know together, it will be out of her unconditional love. Side note: This is not an abusive relationship. She doesn't want to leave them because of this love she has no control over. It is a part of her DNA, it's a part of learning the human condition.

[Edit: I misspelled some things.]

@vitalic - had to think of this poem too. it's about the mass murder of the jews in auschwitz in WW2. black milk might be a symbol of hopelessness and despair.

To listen to this song is almost the same as having unselfish sex. Seduction dominates throughout - as if someone is looking at you while they are pleasing you. Rhythm, yall!

The lyrics are "Our blood, your food" not "I’m not your food" if you listen to it closely

I’m guessing this song is about polygamy, the person singing is going through an arranged marriage, but to stay true to God and to the Mother (her religion so to speak) or her family, she goes through with it, she has too. First she says:

<i>You're not my eater Our blood, your food Love you for God Love you for the Mother</i>

I’m guessing that she's already married to him, and tells him straight that, "you're not my eater" you wont eat me like you eat them, as she sees the other zombie-trophy-child-bearing wives and how they are willing to share him and praise him like God himself, she doesn't see what they see. My religion made me love you. I love you, for God and for the Mother etc. With "OUR blood, your food" she plays the role of women in the relationship whether they can see it or not, they're blood is treated like his food. This probably relates to his control over them.

<i>Eat me In the space Within my heart Love you for God Love you for the Mother</i>

By this stage she has learned to love him, herself becoming a good obeying wife. Or perhaps she truly loves him now, because of the fact that she is willing to accept his eating of her. <i>Eat me </i>. Eating of the heart probably relates to the pain she experiences when she has to share him. Love you for God and for the Mother.

<i>Mother fountain Or live or not at all</i>

I think this imagery relates to sex, I dunno why but I can see that she has to bare children for this family, or she has to die. Mother fountain = mother who gives births constantly. Imagine children gushing out of her like water.

<i>The most level Sunken chapel Love you for God Love you for the Mother</i>

I think this relates to a new girl to be married, to become his next wife. She probably feels for the girl but doesn’t really care. The chapel is sunken because it is like a grave. She feels dead by this stage, everyone is dead and robotic. She has probably lost her passion for anything else other than her religion and this family. “Love you for God, Love you for the Mother” repeats it again, this message is engraved in her soul. It reinforces the love that she has to feel, to keep herself in tune with the others in the family. That we all must love this man, he is our support, so we must love him. * I'm not really sure how polygamous marriages work or the background info for it, so I apologise if I offended anyone.

<i>All's there to love Only love</i>

Love. Only for love. She tells herself this, and also tells everyone inc. that new girl this.

shit i have no idea what this song means, its just a good song