I have to say, this is by far my favorite Tonic song. I almost cried the first time I heard it (and a few times since for that matter), and I can tell you exactly what it means in my head, which is what matters really ;p
This is a being sung by a man to his younger sister. They've both grown up, moved out, gone on with their lives, and then one day he realizes that all the crap from when they were young is still there. The relationship between his sister and his dad is still not right. She keeps wanting something, affection maybe, or just for him to say 'I'm proud of who you've become', and he's not giving it. Maybe he's oblivious, maybe he's just cruel. I don't think either of them know.
I love a couple of the lines; "You can bend/But you can't break." I get this picture of a palm tree, standing alone, completely unshielded from the winds off the water. And yet it stays standing, stays rooted in the ground, because instead of fighting the wind it's trunk bends, so low sometimes that it touches the sand, but it always stands up again when the wind stops blowing.
I had a friend tell me it's all about sexual abuse, but I don't get that from this song at all. I think he thought so because of the 'sun shin[ing] though her dress' bit. To me that's just this beautiful image, carried by the brother, of a time when they were kids and they'd play in the fields and she'd pretend to be a ballerina, dancing around in her sundress. It's a plea to not lose that completely, even though it was that innocence that allowed her to be hurt in the first place.
See, now I'm getting all teary again. Maybe I need to stop drawing parallels between song lyrics and my life. Or maybe that's the mark of a good song.
@falln_angel - your analysis is absolutely chilling. I could not agree more. This is also my favorite Tonic song for similar reasons. I think the story is of a brother's perspective of his sister's relationship and the abuse his sister sustained from their father. This is all he can do to try and give her the support she never received from the most important male figure in her life, coming from the 2nd most important male figure, to try and compensate for the love she didn't receive. Your analogy of the palm trees is beautiful and spot on. I hope...
@falln_angel - your analysis is absolutely chilling. I could not agree more. This is also my favorite Tonic song for similar reasons. I think the story is of a brother's perspective of his sister's relationship and the abuse his sister sustained from their father. This is all he can do to try and give her the support she never received from the most important male figure in her life, coming from the 2nd most important male figure, to try and compensate for the love she didn't receive. Your analogy of the palm trees is beautiful and spot on. I hope you do not suffer from the same lack of support. Hugs to you when this song makes you cry.
I have to say, this is by far my favorite Tonic song. I almost cried the first time I heard it (and a few times since for that matter), and I can tell you exactly what it means in my head, which is what matters really ;p
This is a being sung by a man to his younger sister. They've both grown up, moved out, gone on with their lives, and then one day he realizes that all the crap from when they were young is still there. The relationship between his sister and his dad is still not right. She keeps wanting something, affection maybe, or just for him to say 'I'm proud of who you've become', and he's not giving it. Maybe he's oblivious, maybe he's just cruel. I don't think either of them know.
I love a couple of the lines; "You can bend/But you can't break." I get this picture of a palm tree, standing alone, completely unshielded from the winds off the water. And yet it stays standing, stays rooted in the ground, because instead of fighting the wind it's trunk bends, so low sometimes that it touches the sand, but it always stands up again when the wind stops blowing.
I had a friend tell me it's all about sexual abuse, but I don't get that from this song at all. I think he thought so because of the 'sun shin[ing] though her dress' bit. To me that's just this beautiful image, carried by the brother, of a time when they were kids and they'd play in the fields and she'd pretend to be a ballerina, dancing around in her sundress. It's a plea to not lose that completely, even though it was that innocence that allowed her to be hurt in the first place.
See, now I'm getting all teary again. Maybe I need to stop drawing parallels between song lyrics and my life. Or maybe that's the mark of a good song.
@falln_angel - your analysis is absolutely chilling. I could not agree more. This is also my favorite Tonic song for similar reasons. I think the story is of a brother's perspective of his sister's relationship and the abuse his sister sustained from their father. This is all he can do to try and give her the support she never received from the most important male figure in her life, coming from the 2nd most important male figure, to try and compensate for the love she didn't receive. Your analogy of the palm trees is beautiful and spot on. I hope...
@falln_angel - your analysis is absolutely chilling. I could not agree more. This is also my favorite Tonic song for similar reasons. I think the story is of a brother's perspective of his sister's relationship and the abuse his sister sustained from their father. This is all he can do to try and give her the support she never received from the most important male figure in her life, coming from the 2nd most important male figure, to try and compensate for the love she didn't receive. Your analogy of the palm trees is beautiful and spot on. I hope you do not suffer from the same lack of support. Hugs to you when this song makes you cry.