Isobel Campbell always has a way of making the corniest and over-used themes sound so poetic and pretty. I'm sure her cotton-candy voice only helps her in that area. ;-)
This song might be about 'inner beauty'. I imagine a timid, and cute-yet-slightly bookish girl thinking about this as she looks at her schoolgirl crush from across the room. He is, of course oblivious. lol...
She wonders, "Do you like pretty things?"
Of course, we all do. But then she questions the listeners about the true value of beauty: as corny as it is, true beauty comes from within. A heartfelt and sincere SMILE can make almost ANYONE look beautiful. Superficial, cosmetic beauty, in contrast, rarely lasts a long time:
"And time did you know - pretty things always go? A smile can never go away."
"Castles melt in the sand" also alludes to ephemeral beauty that doesn't really last.
I've personally known girls who I've had an inexplicable attraction to - their faces weren't those of models or conventionally "hot" girls. But now that I've gotten a few years older and can appreciate the human qualities of people a bit more, I realize that it truly WAS their inner beauty peeking out through their SMILES. They were okay with who they were. Comfortable with themselves, and it showed in the way they carried themselves. That is true beauty that lasts a lifetime.
Maybe this is Ms. Campbell's commentary about what true beauty is. Maybe it's a message to her female fans out there who struggle with themselves. She believes that there is beauty inside all of you. ;-)
Isobel Campbell always has a way of making the corniest and over-used themes sound so poetic and pretty. I'm sure her cotton-candy voice only helps her in that area. ;-)
This song might be about 'inner beauty'. I imagine a timid, and cute-yet-slightly bookish girl thinking about this as she looks at her schoolgirl crush from across the room. He is, of course oblivious. lol...
She wonders, "Do you like pretty things?"
Of course, we all do. But then she questions the listeners about the true value of beauty: as corny as it is, true beauty comes from within. A heartfelt and sincere SMILE can make almost ANYONE look beautiful. Superficial, cosmetic beauty, in contrast, rarely lasts a long time:
"And time did you know - pretty things always go? A smile can never go away."
"Castles melt in the sand" also alludes to ephemeral beauty that doesn't really last.
I've personally known girls who I've had an inexplicable attraction to - their faces weren't those of models or conventionally "hot" girls. But now that I've gotten a few years older and can appreciate the human qualities of people a bit more, I realize that it truly WAS their inner beauty peeking out through their SMILES. They were okay with who they were. Comfortable with themselves, and it showed in the way they carried themselves. That is true beauty that lasts a lifetime.
Maybe this is Ms. Campbell's commentary about what true beauty is. Maybe it's a message to her female fans out there who struggle with themselves. She believes that there is beauty inside all of you. ;-)