I really like Jag’s interpretation and description; I do think there are some things he discusses in the underlying theme of this song. However, I believe The Sas Man has a better grasp on the true content here.
(And, as much as we like to try to interpret songs, we could always be way off. Take the Beatles for example: They were high, not deep in thought! So, I’m just throwing in my two cents.)
Anyway…
What a poignant and tragic song. The Sas Man picks out the most important line and states what it all really comes down to: “Something is guiding him in this song - if not God - what?” That is exactly where the focus lies.
The song is so poignant because for those of us who have separated ourselves from the many beliefs of the world to look at life beyond the concepts formed by religion, the conveyance of emptiness, a melancholic bitterness, and the overwhelming sense of solitude are made tangible (not quite the word I’m looking for, but it’ll have to suffice for now). Only a truly creative and talented artist could portray/ effectively communicate such profound, emotional reflections. There is no question of there being substance in these lyrics.
The song is so tragic because it is “the truth [that’s] loading” (from his “Disappearing World”…hang in there with me) for him, the realization that we really have no great figure beyond our world that is generating love and guidance towards us. Maybe there is a god out there (this is more me, not David Gray), but if there is, it sure seems to have left us on our own.
So what keeps driving us? What keeps us trudging through all of this heartache and pain? What is the purpose to this existence of ours? And, is it really possible to come to the conclusion that we really aren’t as special or significant as we thought we were? We want to believe that there is a purpose. We want to believe that there is always something “out there,” watching over and caring for us when nothing else in this world seems to. We want to believe that this whole thing called life, existence, the universe, and whatnot, wasn’t just some big accident. And, how could it be? How could this amazing and beautiful life all just be chance?
Then my mind wanders in the direction of…Is this really as great as this life gets, with no greater thing beyond us to look forward to? Is it really possible that there could be some greater thing out there just observing us, without wanting to interact with us?
One of the most depressing parts of the song – I think – is:
“Some days I'm bursting at the seams
With all my half remembered dreams
And then it shoots me down again
I feel the dampness as it creeps
I hear you coughing in your sleep
Beneath a broken window pane
Tomorrow girl I'll buy you chips
A lollipop to stain your lips
And it’ll all be right as rain.”
This portion of the song shows how life just seems a process we all experience and try to struggle through together. We cling on to one another because we are all we have got; we’re each other’s heroes. We try to make the experience of living as wonderful as possible, try to discover and create things that make it seem worth our while.
For some reason, the broken window pane seems to me a representation of how we build things to protect ourselves and keep us going. But, just as the window pain is broken and lets the cold and dampness in, allowing the opportunity for one to become ill, so are so many aspects of this beautiful yet sad world imperfect and flawed. The chips and lollipop are the little simple pleasures we get out of life that make it seem not so bad, but the fact that the half-remembered dreams, coughing, and broken window pane are still there is unavoidable/inescapable.
Might seem like a simple song, but the gravity of its message is unmistakable.
Yes, David Gray’s depictions of life are most unique; so glad I’ve discovered them.
I really like Jag’s interpretation and description; I do think there are some things he discusses in the underlying theme of this song. However, I believe The Sas Man has a better grasp on the true content here.
(And, as much as we like to try to interpret songs, we could always be way off. Take the Beatles for example: They were high, not deep in thought! So, I’m just throwing in my two cents.)
Anyway…
What a poignant and tragic song. The Sas Man picks out the most important line and states what it all really comes down to: “Something is guiding him in this song - if not God - what?” That is exactly where the focus lies.
The song is so poignant because for those of us who have separated ourselves from the many beliefs of the world to look at life beyond the concepts formed by religion, the conveyance of emptiness, a melancholic bitterness, and the overwhelming sense of solitude are made tangible (not quite the word I’m looking for, but it’ll have to suffice for now). Only a truly creative and talented artist could portray/ effectively communicate such profound, emotional reflections. There is no question of there being substance in these lyrics.
The song is so tragic because it is “the truth [that’s] loading” (from his “Disappearing World”…hang in there with me) for him, the realization that we really have no great figure beyond our world that is generating love and guidance towards us. Maybe there is a god out there (this is more me, not David Gray), but if there is, it sure seems to have left us on our own.
So what keeps driving us? What keeps us trudging through all of this heartache and pain? What is the purpose to this existence of ours? And, is it really possible to come to the conclusion that we really aren’t as special or significant as we thought we were? We want to believe that there is a purpose. We want to believe that there is always something “out there,” watching over and caring for us when nothing else in this world seems to. We want to believe that this whole thing called life, existence, the universe, and whatnot, wasn’t just some big accident. And, how could it be? How could this amazing and beautiful life all just be chance?
Then my mind wanders in the direction of…Is this really as great as this life gets, with no greater thing beyond us to look forward to? Is it really possible that there could be some greater thing out there just observing us, without wanting to interact with us?
One of the most depressing parts of the song – I think – is:
“Some days I'm bursting at the seams With all my half remembered dreams And then it shoots me down again I feel the dampness as it creeps I hear you coughing in your sleep Beneath a broken window pane Tomorrow girl I'll buy you chips A lollipop to stain your lips And it’ll all be right as rain.”
This portion of the song shows how life just seems a process we all experience and try to struggle through together. We cling on to one another because we are all we have got; we’re each other’s heroes. We try to make the experience of living as wonderful as possible, try to discover and create things that make it seem worth our while.
For some reason, the broken window pane seems to me a representation of how we build things to protect ourselves and keep us going. But, just as the window pain is broken and lets the cold and dampness in, allowing the opportunity for one to become ill, so are so many aspects of this beautiful yet sad world imperfect and flawed. The chips and lollipop are the little simple pleasures we get out of life that make it seem not so bad, but the fact that the half-remembered dreams, coughing, and broken window pane are still there is unavoidable/inescapable.
Might seem like a simple song, but the gravity of its message is unmistakable.
Yes, David Gray’s depictions of life are most unique; so glad I’ve discovered them.