I think to me, it's clear that his lover is committing suicide and he is witnessing it, and at the same time, being baited or tempted into joining them. They don't want to deal with life after their lover is dead, so the whole song he is considering drowning himself as well, so they can be together.
"Kiss me goodbye
Pushing out before I sleep"
Is the narrator telling his lover he wants a kiss goodbye before he goes, but he can't pull himself a way really cause he knows she's going to drown herself.
"Kiss me goodbye
Bow your head and join with me"
And face pushed deep
Reflections meet
The strangest twist upon your lips
And disappear
The ripples clear
And laughing
Break against your feet
And laughing
Break the mirror sweet
"So we shall be together"
In this verse, the lines with quotes around them, is his lover baiting him to bow his head (under the water = And face pushed deep) and kiss her so their reflections can meet.
The strangest twist upon your lips, has to be her disappointment that he isn't as willing to join her in this suicide kiss, for she is so willing and so ready.
(And laughing
Break the mirror sweet )Is him actually pulling away from her in the middle of the kiss cause she is trying to hold him down in the water with her, against his will. (Their reflections no longer meeting = break the mirror sweet). You see he's wresting with his conscience here for he had promised her he'd commit suicide right along with her, to prove his integrity & everlasting love for her and he now realizes he can't do it (Can't you see I try
Swimming the same deep water as you is hard)
Living up to the idea of suicide to prove is everlasting love & commitment to her is becoming a harder pill for him to swallow then he thought, so to speak. He feels he is in over his head in terms of what he has promised. But is really contemplating doing it anyways cause she keeps baiting him with ( "So we shall be together... ").
"Kiss me goodbye"
Pushing out before I sleep
It's lower now and slower now
The strangest twist upon your lips
The "kiss me goodbye" in this verse is in quotations, unlike the kiss me goodbye in verse one. Which means the narrator is quoting someone other than himself, so this is his lover asking him to kiss her goodbye. It's lower now and slower now (Is her with her lips pouted ready for the kiss goodbye so she can again try and pull him under with her, and she is slower in her descent back down unto the water, cause is holding out hope he will go through with their agreement and join her finally for the final descent. The strangest twist upon your lips, is her expression of disarray when she realized he isn't going to go through with it & she is alone in this final descent out of this world. It's finally sinking in, the idea that she must go it alone.
But I don't see
And I don't feel
But tightly hold up silently
My hands before my fading eyes.
This is a great verse, that tell so much.
Her he is saying I don't see and I don't feel, he can no longer see the disapproval in her expression (the strangest twist upon her lips) or feel her cause she has drowned deep in the water.
But tightly hold up silently
My hands before my fading eyes
And in my eyes
Your smile
The very last thing before I go
Even though he can't see her, he still has the memory of her drowning herself,and holds up his hands before his eyes cause at this point he has begun crying and then pictures her smile, that's the last thing about her he wants to remember
(The very last thing before I go). The memory of her beautiful smile reflecting in the water, as it seems to provide some kind of solace for him during this extremely sad moment.
I will kiss you I will kiss you
I will kiss you forever on nights like this
I will kiss you I will kiss you
And we shall be together...
Picturing the smile, remembering their last kiss, makes him in his minds eye, picture kissing her forever...for she is dead now and during this verse he is holding her lifeless body and kissing her, despite the fact that she's dead, she is almost even more hauntingly beautiful to him in death and that's why he says I will kiss you forever on nights like this.
I think to me, it's clear that his lover is committing suicide and he is witnessing it, and at the same time, being baited or tempted into joining them. They don't want to deal with life after their lover is dead, so the whole song he is considering drowning himself as well, so they can be together. "Kiss me goodbye Pushing out before I sleep" Is the narrator telling his lover he wants a kiss goodbye before he goes, but he can't pull himself a way really cause he knows she's going to drown herself. "Kiss me goodbye Bow your head and join with me" And face pushed deep Reflections meet The strangest twist upon your lips And disappear The ripples clear And laughing Break against your feet And laughing Break the mirror sweet "So we shall be together" In this verse, the lines with quotes around them, is his lover baiting him to bow his head (under the water = And face pushed deep) and kiss her so their reflections can meet. The strangest twist upon your lips, has to be her disappointment that he isn't as willing to join her in this suicide kiss, for she is so willing and so ready. (And laughing Break the mirror sweet )Is him actually pulling away from her in the middle of the kiss cause she is trying to hold him down in the water with her, against his will. (Their reflections no longer meeting = break the mirror sweet). You see he's wresting with his conscience here for he had promised her he'd commit suicide right along with her, to prove his integrity & everlasting love for her and he now realizes he can't do it (Can't you see I try Swimming the same deep water as you is hard) Living up to the idea of suicide to prove is everlasting love & commitment to her is becoming a harder pill for him to swallow then he thought, so to speak. He feels he is in over his head in terms of what he has promised. But is really contemplating doing it anyways cause she keeps baiting him with ( "So we shall be together... "). "Kiss me goodbye" Pushing out before I sleep It's lower now and slower now The strangest twist upon your lips The "kiss me goodbye" in this verse is in quotations, unlike the kiss me goodbye in verse one. Which means the narrator is quoting someone other than himself, so this is his lover asking him to kiss her goodbye. It's lower now and slower now (Is her with her lips pouted ready for the kiss goodbye so she can again try and pull him under with her, and she is slower in her descent back down unto the water, cause is holding out hope he will go through with their agreement and join her finally for the final descent. The strangest twist upon your lips, is her expression of disarray when she realized he isn't going to go through with it & she is alone in this final descent out of this world. It's finally sinking in, the idea that she must go it alone.
But I don't see And I don't feel But tightly hold up silently My hands before my fading eyes. This is a great verse, that tell so much. Her he is saying I don't see and I don't feel, he can no longer see the disapproval in her expression (the strangest twist upon her lips) or feel her cause she has drowned deep in the water. But tightly hold up silently My hands before my fading eyes And in my eyes Your smile The very last thing before I go Even though he can't see her, he still has the memory of her drowning herself,and holds up his hands before his eyes cause at this point he has begun crying and then pictures her smile, that's the last thing about her he wants to remember (The very last thing before I go). The memory of her beautiful smile reflecting in the water, as it seems to provide some kind of solace for him during this extremely sad moment. I will kiss you I will kiss you I will kiss you forever on nights like this I will kiss you I will kiss you And we shall be together... Picturing the smile, remembering their last kiss, makes him in his minds eye, picture kissing her forever...for she is dead now and during this verse he is holding her lifeless body and kissing her, despite the fact that she's dead, she is almost even more hauntingly beautiful to him in death and that's why he says I will kiss you forever on nights like this.