This song's been a favourite of mine for years, however it's meaning I've always found elusive - until today! A lightbulb suddenly switched on in my head and suddenly I realised:
THE CHILDREN ARE GHOSTS!
That explains why their parents can't hear them until the "seance" where the children make noises "for a lark". The mother can't accept their loss so continues to "play piano" and "paint pictures" for them. The chorus of the song is a reassurance to the children not to feel to bad about frightening their mother during the seance as "she's old enough to know better" - presumably, to know better than to dabble in such practices. The final "can you take me back" could either be the children's desire to return to the land of the living, or the mother's desire to turn back the clock.
This song's been a favourite of mine for years, however it's meaning I've always found elusive - until today! A lightbulb suddenly switched on in my head and suddenly I realised:
THE CHILDREN ARE GHOSTS!
That explains why their parents can't hear them until the "seance" where the children make noises "for a lark". The mother can't accept their loss so continues to "play piano" and "paint pictures" for them. The chorus of the song is a reassurance to the children not to feel to bad about frightening their mother during the seance as "she's old enough to know better" - presumably, to know better than to dabble in such practices. The final "can you take me back" could either be the children's desire to return to the land of the living, or the mother's desire to turn back the clock.