I actually used this song in a short drama piece for my A-levels. The interpretation I used worked very well.
The piece was a little abstract, and it was about a mother who lost her child, although the child was present in the piece...lol, I'm babbling, my drama isn't relevant.
The child was kidnapped and murdered, very sinisterly. The song told the story...
I sang the 1st verse at the beginning of the piece:
Inside her tower she feels free from harm,
I'll lock her up inside safe and warm,
She'll sleep for winter she'll sleep for years,
The garden's overgrown over her tears.
The twisted perverted view of the kidnapper. 'She feels safe and warm' - quite a few kidnappers/murderers of the demented variety believe the victim enjoys being in their company or that they have abducted them for their own good. 'I'll lock her up' - quite straightforward. 'She'll sleep for winter, she'll sleep for years' - planning to kill the child, again from a mentally unstable view. 'The garden's overgrown over her tears' - no-one will find her or hear her crying.
Verse two was sung at the end of the piece:
Grow the garden year after year,
The roots dug deep she won't be found down here,
Brambles thorns will keep the boys away hey hey,
She needs her sleep she won't play today.
The plants growing over where the child has been buried, decreasing the chances of her being discovered. The 'boys' possibly the police, seeing as they're sometimes known as 'the boys in blue'. 'She needs her sleep, she won't play today' - these lyrics are suddenly beginning to sound a lot more sinister and disturbing...
The third verse wasnt featured in my drama, but it can still be interpreted on the same theme very easily:
I'll keep her heart I'll keep it in one piece,
I'll be with her through years and years of sleep,
I'll make this moment last I'll beat time,
I'll be with her forever make her mine.
The murderer wants the child all to themself, they believe they can be together forever if the girl 'sleeps'. I'll leave it up to you whether or not to take the line 'I'll keep her heart, I'll keep it in one piece' literally or not. Perhaps the killer commits suicide after the murder 'I'll be with her through years and years of sleep', in order to be with their victim forever?
This song does have fairytale links, which is why it worked extremely well telling the story of a child's murder. It added a very disturbing ironic edge. I know this is a very morbid interpretation, but whether it's 'right' or not, for the purpose it was used this interpretation worked really really well
I actually used this song in a short drama piece for my A-levels. The interpretation I used worked very well. The piece was a little abstract, and it was about a mother who lost her child, although the child was present in the piece...lol, I'm babbling, my drama isn't relevant. The child was kidnapped and murdered, very sinisterly. The song told the story... I sang the 1st verse at the beginning of the piece:
Inside her tower she feels free from harm, I'll lock her up inside safe and warm, She'll sleep for winter she'll sleep for years, The garden's overgrown over her tears.
The twisted perverted view of the kidnapper. 'She feels safe and warm' - quite a few kidnappers/murderers of the demented variety believe the victim enjoys being in their company or that they have abducted them for their own good. 'I'll lock her up' - quite straightforward. 'She'll sleep for winter, she'll sleep for years' - planning to kill the child, again from a mentally unstable view. 'The garden's overgrown over her tears' - no-one will find her or hear her crying.
Verse two was sung at the end of the piece:
Grow the garden year after year, The roots dug deep she won't be found down here, Brambles thorns will keep the boys away hey hey, She needs her sleep she won't play today.
The plants growing over where the child has been buried, decreasing the chances of her being discovered. The 'boys' possibly the police, seeing as they're sometimes known as 'the boys in blue'. 'She needs her sleep, she won't play today' - these lyrics are suddenly beginning to sound a lot more sinister and disturbing...
The third verse wasnt featured in my drama, but it can still be interpreted on the same theme very easily:
I'll keep her heart I'll keep it in one piece, I'll be with her through years and years of sleep, I'll make this moment last I'll beat time, I'll be with her forever make her mine.
The murderer wants the child all to themself, they believe they can be together forever if the girl 'sleeps'. I'll leave it up to you whether or not to take the line 'I'll keep her heart, I'll keep it in one piece' literally or not. Perhaps the killer commits suicide after the murder 'I'll be with her through years and years of sleep', in order to be with their victim forever?
This song does have fairytale links, which is why it worked extremely well telling the story of a child's murder. It added a very disturbing ironic edge. I know this is a very morbid interpretation, but whether it's 'right' or not, for the purpose it was used this interpretation worked really really well