This song is mind-blowing, emotionally and technically. I think it has to do with coming out, but I could be wrong. At any rate, it's about choosing between family and all of it's baggage (good and bad) and making your own way in life. The "language" represents the familial bond while "the kiss" is choosing the passion of life, and the two seem to be mutually exclusive. Each choice has its rewards and consequences: "It was a calling that said if joy, then pain".
I love all the imagery about language, especially "trying to read the Greek upon the stars, the alphabet of feeling". And then the last verse, when she has chosen "the kiss", she is trying to create a new language of her own.
God, Emily Saliers is a brilliant writer.
This song is mind-blowing, emotionally and technically. I think it has to do with coming out, but I could be wrong. At any rate, it's about choosing between family and all of it's baggage (good and bad) and making your own way in life. The "language" represents the familial bond while "the kiss" is choosing the passion of life, and the two seem to be mutually exclusive. Each choice has its rewards and consequences: "It was a calling that said if joy, then pain". I love all the imagery about language, especially "trying to read the Greek upon the stars, the alphabet of feeling". And then the last verse, when she has chosen "the kiss", she is trying to create a new language of her own. God, Emily Saliers is a brilliant writer.