This entire CD is incredible. I'm not normally a fan of puns, but the double-meaning of the word "present" in this song is brilliant. On one hand, it can literally mean a gift that one is about to open. But I think the deeper and more meaningful interpretation is of the "present" as an experience or moment in time in the life of someone.
So he says that this "present," or experience, has already been unwrapped and used. In other words, the experience that the narrator many other people have already had. He then speculates about what this means.
Does the fact that other people have had this same experience worry you that it has gone bad? Is the experience less meaningful because so many others have had the same experience?
Or does the relatively commonplace nature of the experience make it better and more valuable("filled with magic pennies"). Because other people share this experience with you, you can all talk about it, relate to others about it, and enhance your life by doing so. ("They will Roll all over the floor and past your feet and give themselves away to everyone they meet!")
In the end, it seems the narrator decides that it is better to keep the experience to yourself and that there is greater pleasure to be had that way than to share the experience with others. ("Grab the pennies off the floor...buy everything you could afford and don't tell anyone.")
This entire CD is incredible. I'm not normally a fan of puns, but the double-meaning of the word "present" in this song is brilliant. On one hand, it can literally mean a gift that one is about to open. But I think the deeper and more meaningful interpretation is of the "present" as an experience or moment in time in the life of someone.
So he says that this "present," or experience, has already been unwrapped and used. In other words, the experience that the narrator many other people have already had. He then speculates about what this means.
Does the fact that other people have had this same experience worry you that it has gone bad? Is the experience less meaningful because so many others have had the same experience?
Or does the relatively commonplace nature of the experience make it better and more valuable("filled with magic pennies"). Because other people share this experience with you, you can all talk about it, relate to others about it, and enhance your life by doing so. ("They will Roll all over the floor and past your feet and give themselves away to everyone they meet!")
In the end, it seems the narrator decides that it is better to keep the experience to yourself and that there is greater pleasure to be had that way than to share the experience with others. ("Grab the pennies off the floor...buy everything you could afford and don't tell anyone.")
Spot on interpretation... same meaning I took from the song.
Spot on interpretation... same meaning I took from the song.
Anyone else have a different take?
Anyone else have a different take?