i'm a filipino and in context with my culture, for me, Merman is a song about gays..
well, it's like this. Here, a common slang for an effeminate gay guy is 'sirena' or in English, mermaid. Well, merman could be related to this.
"go to bed
the priests are dead
now no one can call you bad"
For me, it means that the merman must not worry any longer about being stigmatized or ridiculed about his sexuality (which still happens a lot here). Priests could refer to the alleged biblical doctrine that homosexuality is a sin so by the priests drying, it means that there are no longer oppressors.
"he's a merman
he doesn't need your voice to cross his lands of ice"
gays could stand out alone even without the need of the people around them, fighting for equal rights. Lands of ice could refer to the 'coldness' and apathy of homophobics.
"who could ever say you're not simply wonderful
who could ever harm you
sleep now"
For me it means that gays must now be more comforted and at ease because we're living in a more tolerant society. It also says that even being gay is a wonderful thing as all humans are..
^^ This is one of my most favorite Tori Amos song. The intentional interpretation of tori may be different from mine but this is just my personal opinion, how this song spoke to me since I'm gay too ^^ go Tori!!!
i'm a filipino and in context with my culture, for me, Merman is a song about gays..
well, it's like this. Here, a common slang for an effeminate gay guy is 'sirena' or in English, mermaid. Well, merman could be related to this.
"go to bed the priests are dead now no one can call you bad"
For me, it means that the merman must not worry any longer about being stigmatized or ridiculed about his sexuality (which still happens a lot here). Priests could refer to the alleged biblical doctrine that homosexuality is a sin so by the priests drying, it means that there are no longer oppressors.
"he's a merman he doesn't need your voice to cross his lands of ice"
gays could stand out alone even without the need of the people around them, fighting for equal rights. Lands of ice could refer to the 'coldness' and apathy of homophobics.
"who could ever say you're not simply wonderful who could ever harm you sleep now"
For me it means that gays must now be more comforted and at ease because we're living in a more tolerant society. It also says that even being gay is a wonderful thing as all humans are..
^^ This is one of my most favorite Tori Amos song. The intentional interpretation of tori may be different from mine but this is just my personal opinion, how this song spoke to me since I'm gay too ^^ go Tori!!!