Scattered Pearls

This is such a beautiful song. It's really meaningful even when taken literally, but some of the images are especially powerful as metaphors. The "older men" come close to injuring themselves, because of the indiscretion of a silly girl. That's almost a warning that guys can't afford to mess around with younger girls. It's stretching a bit, but it's worth thinking about. Then there's the great contrast between the speaker wishing that none of the night had ever happened and her acting like it's not a big deal when she's responding to her mother. I feel like she wasn't trying to be glib so much as she didn't want to admit that she was upset. Think of all the things we lose and can never get back - like great ideas that are never recorded, or lost little charms that meant a lot to us, or our "lost" virginity. The problem here is that the mother presumably cares a lot about the pearls, too. The necklace is an heirloom - a symbol of family ties, ancientness, and, in a sense, innocence. People tend to idealize the past and think of older generations as really sheltered and sterile. Obviously we don't see our grandparents as sexual beings. But even pearls were historically used to signify "feminine wisdom". Pearls also symbolize propriety and dignity, and the loss of the pearls is probably one of a few bad decisions made that night. The girl can't retrieve all of the pearls, and she also can't undo the smoking, drinking, and partying. She seems to wish that she could, but doesn't want her mother to know that she sees that she messed up.