The narrator/subject is an accomplished musician by trade, and also has a romantic interest. He runs into the conflict of being pulled in two directions, not enough time to keep his relationship steady while devoting the necessary passion for his work.
Eventually, his opinion of music in particular starts to get a little warped. On one hand, it's the reason things aren't working out with his other great love. On the other, while relationships are unsteady and hard to control, he is the God and master of his craft. In that realm, at least, he can do anything he wants. He can "change one note and make you cry." Even still, he doesn't love it anymore, as both facets of his life are collapsing around him, so all he has left is that twisted sense of control.
As a side note, the studio version has a single, completely flubbed low note right after "Or a Gravenimage of me?" before the actual melody picks up again. It really stands out, and I think it's there to illustrate what I just said, the lost passion but the warped attachment to the sense of control. "I can change one note and make you cry," indeed.
I conclude with this:
"If I found the hidden fountain,
Drank the wisdom from its deep,
Would I have the time to save me?
Would I have them both to keep?"
If I could somehow magically obtain [either infinite wisdom or infinite time, as in the fountain of youth,] would I be able to hold on to both music and the person, not be torn until I end up losing both?
I thought basically the same thing, but in my opinion, I think the romantic interest made him choose between music or their relationship, and he chose music. The line "I play a note, but hear no sound" is saying that he has lost his passion for music since he had to give her up for it. Yet he continues to play, since, to him, "silence is a crime" (Meaning he doesn't want to waste his talent). the last verse:
I thought basically the same thing, but in my opinion, I think the romantic interest made him choose between music or their relationship, and he chose music. The line "I play a note, but hear no sound" is saying that he has lost his passion for music since he had to give her up for it. Yet he continues to play, since, to him, "silence is a crime" (Meaning he doesn't want to waste his talent). the last verse:
"If I found the hidden fountain,
Drank the wisdom from its deep,
Would I have the time to save...
"If I found the hidden fountain,
Drank the wisdom from its deep,
Would I have the time to save me?
Would I have them both to keep?"
This is saying if he had more wisdom/time (I am also confused on which one he would want, maybe both) would he be able to keep them?
So, basically the same thing, only a slightly different perspective.
I gather something like this:
The narrator/subject is an accomplished musician by trade, and also has a romantic interest. He runs into the conflict of being pulled in two directions, not enough time to keep his relationship steady while devoting the necessary passion for his work.
Eventually, his opinion of music in particular starts to get a little warped. On one hand, it's the reason things aren't working out with his other great love. On the other, while relationships are unsteady and hard to control, he is the God and master of his craft. In that realm, at least, he can do anything he wants. He can "change one note and make you cry." Even still, he doesn't love it anymore, as both facets of his life are collapsing around him, so all he has left is that twisted sense of control.
As a side note, the studio version has a single, completely flubbed low note right after "Or a Gravenimage of me?" before the actual melody picks up again. It really stands out, and I think it's there to illustrate what I just said, the lost passion but the warped attachment to the sense of control. "I can change one note and make you cry," indeed.
I conclude with this:
"If I found the hidden fountain, Drank the wisdom from its deep, Would I have the time to save me? Would I have them both to keep?"
If I could somehow magically obtain [either infinite wisdom or infinite time, as in the fountain of youth,] would I be able to hold on to both music and the person, not be torn until I end up losing both?
I thought basically the same thing, but in my opinion, I think the romantic interest made him choose between music or their relationship, and he chose music. The line "I play a note, but hear no sound" is saying that he has lost his passion for music since he had to give her up for it. Yet he continues to play, since, to him, "silence is a crime" (Meaning he doesn't want to waste his talent). the last verse:
I thought basically the same thing, but in my opinion, I think the romantic interest made him choose between music or their relationship, and he chose music. The line "I play a note, but hear no sound" is saying that he has lost his passion for music since he had to give her up for it. Yet he continues to play, since, to him, "silence is a crime" (Meaning he doesn't want to waste his talent). the last verse:
"If I found the hidden fountain, Drank the wisdom from its deep, Would I have the time to save...
"If I found the hidden fountain, Drank the wisdom from its deep, Would I have the time to save me? Would I have them both to keep?"
This is saying if he had more wisdom/time (I am also confused on which one he would want, maybe both) would he be able to keep them?
So, basically the same thing, only a slightly different perspective.