What if it's from the perspective of a gay guy who is talking to his ex-lover who has left him for a woman--the heads that turn are people staring at a gay couple. He's still in love with the guy who left him and is sort of dismissing his new hetero relationship with the "I'm sure in her you'll find sanctuary" line. Otherwise, who's the "you" in the song?
I've heard this idea before and initially shrugged it off, but now I really think this might be the best interpretation. Exactly as MikeBC says, otherwise who is the "you" in the song? "You" is apparently both the one who "keeps me alive" and is the one who will "find sanctuary" in "her." Just look at the lines in that form the middle of the song:
I've heard this idea before and initially shrugged it off, but now I really think this might be the best interpretation. Exactly as MikeBC says, otherwise who is the "you" in the song? "You" is apparently both the one who "keeps me alive" and is the one who will "find sanctuary" in "her." Just look at the lines in that form the middle of the song:
The fire in your eyes keeps me alive
The fire in your eyes keeps me alive
I'm sure in her you'll find the sanctuary
I'm sure in...
The fire in your eyes keeps me alive
The fire in your eyes keeps me alive
I'm sure in her you'll find the sanctuary
I'm sure in her you'll find the sanctuary
@MikeBC Aaaahh, thank you so much for commenting this! I heard this song at age 16 when it first came out & fell in love w/ it immediately (like most everyone else lol). Of course, it was the sound that first grabbed me. But I was also so intrigued by not only the slightly mysterious lyrics, but also the emotional resonance coming from the singer. There is a sense of urgency, unease and sadness there - which was very fascinating when coupled with the word "sanctuary" in the title. But hold up: the sanctuary isn't being GIVEN, it's being SOLD....
@MikeBC Aaaahh, thank you so much for commenting this! I heard this song at age 16 when it first came out & fell in love w/ it immediately (like most everyone else lol). Of course, it was the sound that first grabbed me. But I was also so intrigued by not only the slightly mysterious lyrics, but also the emotional resonance coming from the singer. There is a sense of urgency, unease and sadness there - which was very fascinating when coupled with the word "sanctuary" in the title. But hold up: the sanctuary isn't being GIVEN, it's being SOLD. Here is another clue that all is not well.
After I had listened to the song just a few more times, the same interpretation that you've given here is what became crystal clear to me as well. For me, that just made me like it more - it gave the song even more boldness and depth, and an element of danger. You have to remember, this was the 80s. Being gay in general still wasn't accepted by society AND this was during the AIDS crisis. All of my gay friends were forced to lie to almost everyone they knew and live their lives very under cover (even though most of us were able to put 2 + 2 together at the time, many of them didn't feel comfortable coming out even to their friends until a few years later in the 90s, when we were all a bit older and things were changing a little). A gay man falling in love with another man who he either had a down low affair with, OR the other man may have exhibited some same feelings but was too scared to follow thru - and that other man later starts a hetero relationship with a woman with a lot of PDA and declaration to not only keep anyone from guessing about his sexuality but also to distance himself from any of his own queerness is EXACTLY the kind of thing that commonly happened back then.
Cut to years later, on the Internet, where you can more easily find people discussing music, and I was just floored by how I only ever saw people saying the lyrics were simply about a man comforted by the woman he loves. Like..??? 😵💫 And not ONCE have I seen anyone else with the gay interpretation. I mean lyrically, I think it's the only thing that fits perfectly. Every other interpretation is left with holes in it. Of course, there's the "you" vs "her" which you pointed out. I've heard people say that's the man just trying to convince us of how wonderful she is (HUH?? LOL). AND I've even seen people completely change that lyric to make it fit (even though you can literally find the correct lyrics online!). And again, as you mentioned, the heads that turn line fits best with this too. As I mentioned, it also makes the most sense with the sound of the song too. The tone and overall vibe of this song is NOT a comforting one, but a driving, insistent one, with vocals that sounds more ill at ease and heart broken than soothed, relaxed or uplifted - which is what you would expect from (and usually get) from a song about a man praising his woman and grateful that her love is his "sanctuary." Which leads me back to the title - again, HOW does anyone ignore that?? "She SELLS Sanctuary." He's phrasing it like this because the other man is shunning being gay - because he can't handle the mockery, the societal pressure, and the danger - and he's BUYING into the normalcy of a hetero relationship. A literal packaged and pre-approved sanctuary he can easily slip into. And what's really sad, I feel like there's even a little resigned understanding in that slightly mocking chorus.
Clearly this all has been on my mind for DECADES whenever I hear this song so I had to get it off my chest lmao! Thanks again for y'all's comments, I feel vindicated! 😂
What if it's from the perspective of a gay guy who is talking to his ex-lover who has left him for a woman--the heads that turn are people staring at a gay couple. He's still in love with the guy who left him and is sort of dismissing his new hetero relationship with the "I'm sure in her you'll find sanctuary" line. Otherwise, who's the "you" in the song?
I've heard this idea before and initially shrugged it off, but now I really think this might be the best interpretation. Exactly as MikeBC says, otherwise who is the "you" in the song? "You" is apparently both the one who "keeps me alive" and is the one who will "find sanctuary" in "her." Just look at the lines in that form the middle of the song:
I've heard this idea before and initially shrugged it off, but now I really think this might be the best interpretation. Exactly as MikeBC says, otherwise who is the "you" in the song? "You" is apparently both the one who "keeps me alive" and is the one who will "find sanctuary" in "her." Just look at the lines in that form the middle of the song:
The fire in your eyes keeps me alive The fire in your eyes keeps me alive I'm sure in her you'll find the sanctuary I'm sure in...
The fire in your eyes keeps me alive The fire in your eyes keeps me alive I'm sure in her you'll find the sanctuary I'm sure in her you'll find the sanctuary
@MikeBC 100% Exactly what I thought....
@MikeBC 100% Exactly what I thought....
@MikeBC Aaaahh, thank you so much for commenting this! I heard this song at age 16 when it first came out & fell in love w/ it immediately (like most everyone else lol). Of course, it was the sound that first grabbed me. But I was also so intrigued by not only the slightly mysterious lyrics, but also the emotional resonance coming from the singer. There is a sense of urgency, unease and sadness there - which was very fascinating when coupled with the word "sanctuary" in the title. But hold up: the sanctuary isn't being GIVEN, it's being SOLD....
@MikeBC Aaaahh, thank you so much for commenting this! I heard this song at age 16 when it first came out & fell in love w/ it immediately (like most everyone else lol). Of course, it was the sound that first grabbed me. But I was also so intrigued by not only the slightly mysterious lyrics, but also the emotional resonance coming from the singer. There is a sense of urgency, unease and sadness there - which was very fascinating when coupled with the word "sanctuary" in the title. But hold up: the sanctuary isn't being GIVEN, it's being SOLD. Here is another clue that all is not well.
After I had listened to the song just a few more times, the same interpretation that you've given here is what became crystal clear to me as well. For me, that just made me like it more - it gave the song even more boldness and depth, and an element of danger. You have to remember, this was the 80s. Being gay in general still wasn't accepted by society AND this was during the AIDS crisis. All of my gay friends were forced to lie to almost everyone they knew and live their lives very under cover (even though most of us were able to put 2 + 2 together at the time, many of them didn't feel comfortable coming out even to their friends until a few years later in the 90s, when we were all a bit older and things were changing a little). A gay man falling in love with another man who he either had a down low affair with, OR the other man may have exhibited some same feelings but was too scared to follow thru - and that other man later starts a hetero relationship with a woman with a lot of PDA and declaration to not only keep anyone from guessing about his sexuality but also to distance himself from any of his own queerness is EXACTLY the kind of thing that commonly happened back then.
Cut to years later, on the Internet, where you can more easily find people discussing music, and I was just floored by how I only ever saw people saying the lyrics were simply about a man comforted by the woman he loves. Like..??? 😵💫 And not ONCE have I seen anyone else with the gay interpretation. I mean lyrically, I think it's the only thing that fits perfectly. Every other interpretation is left with holes in it. Of course, there's the "you" vs "her" which you pointed out. I've heard people say that's the man just trying to convince us of how wonderful she is (HUH?? LOL). AND I've even seen people completely change that lyric to make it fit (even though you can literally find the correct lyrics online!). And again, as you mentioned, the heads that turn line fits best with this too. As I mentioned, it also makes the most sense with the sound of the song too. The tone and overall vibe of this song is NOT a comforting one, but a driving, insistent one, with vocals that sounds more ill at ease and heart broken than soothed, relaxed or uplifted - which is what you would expect from (and usually get) from a song about a man praising his woman and grateful that her love is his "sanctuary." Which leads me back to the title - again, HOW does anyone ignore that?? "She SELLS Sanctuary." He's phrasing it like this because the other man is shunning being gay - because he can't handle the mockery, the societal pressure, and the danger - and he's BUYING into the normalcy of a hetero relationship. A literal packaged and pre-approved sanctuary he can easily slip into. And what's really sad, I feel like there's even a little resigned understanding in that slightly mocking chorus.
Clearly this all has been on my mind for DECADES whenever I hear this song so I had to get it off my chest lmao! Thanks again for y'all's comments, I feel vindicated! 😂