I vaguely remember Joss talking about the song at a convention. He said that each refrain represents a different aspect of Buffy's past, and it's sort of a way to bring the audience around to the present of Conversations with Dead People.
The Night falls/I fall/And where were you?/And here were you?
Represents Buffy's general life, Night comes, she goes to fight, someday she'll fall, it's inevitable, and she'll be alone, as always.
Warm skin/Wolf grin/And where were you?
I think it's supposed to represent her brief-but-lasting love with Angel, and how she'll always remember how he made her feel human and warm and safe, and even their passionate night together, and his wolfishly-charming grin, but in the end, even he can't be with her. She was and will be alone when it comes to him.
I fell into the moon/And it covered you in blue
Her descent into darkness around the fourth season, realizing that she will be alone and it's impact on her relationship with Riley, how it made him sad that she separated herself from him, distanced herself.
Can I make it right?/Can I spend the night?
How she tried to solve the problems by opening her body and soul to him, but in the end, even her physical closeness couldn't solve the emotional distance. Riley leaves.
High tide/Inside/The air is dew/And where were you?
Her "relationship" with Spike, which Anya would probably have called an "orgasm" relationship. I'm guessing the air is dew is some reference to sweaty skin and probably also the tension between them and Spike's sadness (hanging in the air between them like dew) as he could not breach the distance that Buffy kept between them.
Wild eyed/I died/And where were you?
Her death, her sacrifice, and probably the last image before she jumped of Dawn, looking shocked and confused that Buffy was taking her place. Maybe the "and where were you?" is even a reference to her mother. Maybe she never found Joyce in whatever heavenly dimension she ended up in. But in general, she's beginning to realize that she will ALWAYS be alone at the end.
I crawled out of the world/When you said I shouldn't stay
Directed at Willow, mostly but also her Xander, Anya and Tara. Literally she crawls out of the dirt. But I also think she means it metaphorically too. They brought her back, but she still rolled in the "dirt" of the world because she hated the fact that her peaceful afterlife, her "gift" was taken away. Until the end of S6, she finally began to "crawl out of world" when they insisted that she needed to get on with living.
I crawled out of the world/Can I make it right?
I think this is about her not only wanting to fix what is wrong within herself, but fix what is wrong with her friends and with Dawn. In general, she's realizing that the people she fought so hard for, fell apart in her absence, and in order to gain her own sense of stability again, she needs to fix the holes. I also think this represents when she "crawled out of the world" and out of the "dirt" (the dirt being Spike, and her moving on from their abusive-cycle of violent sex) she also wanted to make it somewhat right with him.
Can I spend the night/Alone
The ultimate question that Buffy now faces in CWDP. She's done everything she can do up until that point to bring her normal life back around. Willow is home and on the mend, Xander and Anya are figuring their crap out, and Dawn is almost normal and not a total thief and whiny-child anymore... Buffy's life is finally coming back together, and she is piecing herself back together... Now she is wondering if she can stay that way. Can she spend her nights alone? Can she grow accustomed to knowing that she will, despite the people she loves, always die alone?
Which, really, is what her Conversation With Dead Person was about. Her inferiority complex about her superiority complex and her realization that, in the end, all the men will leave, she'll never allow her loved ones to die next to her, so she will be alone.
This song is brilliant, and an excellent way to open up that scene with NO real dialogue. :D JW is SO brilliant in this episode of BtVS!
I vaguely remember Joss talking about the song at a convention. He said that each refrain represents a different aspect of Buffy's past, and it's sort of a way to bring the audience around to the present of Conversations with Dead People.
The Night falls/I fall/And where were you?/And here were you? Represents Buffy's general life, Night comes, she goes to fight, someday she'll fall, it's inevitable, and she'll be alone, as always.
Warm skin/Wolf grin/And where were you? I think it's supposed to represent her brief-but-lasting love with Angel, and how she'll always remember how he made her feel human and warm and safe, and even their passionate night together, and his wolfishly-charming grin, but in the end, even he can't be with her. She was and will be alone when it comes to him.
I fell into the moon/And it covered you in blue Her descent into darkness around the fourth season, realizing that she will be alone and it's impact on her relationship with Riley, how it made him sad that she separated herself from him, distanced herself.
Can I make it right?/Can I spend the night? How she tried to solve the problems by opening her body and soul to him, but in the end, even her physical closeness couldn't solve the emotional distance. Riley leaves.
High tide/Inside/The air is dew/And where were you? Her "relationship" with Spike, which Anya would probably have called an "orgasm" relationship. I'm guessing the air is dew is some reference to sweaty skin and probably also the tension between them and Spike's sadness (hanging in the air between them like dew) as he could not breach the distance that Buffy kept between them.
Wild eyed/I died/And where were you? Her death, her sacrifice, and probably the last image before she jumped of Dawn, looking shocked and confused that Buffy was taking her place. Maybe the "and where were you?" is even a reference to her mother. Maybe she never found Joyce in whatever heavenly dimension she ended up in. But in general, she's beginning to realize that she will ALWAYS be alone at the end.
I crawled out of the world/When you said I shouldn't stay Directed at Willow, mostly but also her Xander, Anya and Tara. Literally she crawls out of the dirt. But I also think she means it metaphorically too. They brought her back, but she still rolled in the "dirt" of the world because she hated the fact that her peaceful afterlife, her "gift" was taken away. Until the end of S6, she finally began to "crawl out of world" when they insisted that she needed to get on with living.
I crawled out of the world/Can I make it right? I think this is about her not only wanting to fix what is wrong within herself, but fix what is wrong with her friends and with Dawn. In general, she's realizing that the people she fought so hard for, fell apart in her absence, and in order to gain her own sense of stability again, she needs to fix the holes. I also think this represents when she "crawled out of the world" and out of the "dirt" (the dirt being Spike, and her moving on from their abusive-cycle of violent sex) she also wanted to make it somewhat right with him.
Can I spend the night/Alone The ultimate question that Buffy now faces in CWDP. She's done everything she can do up until that point to bring her normal life back around. Willow is home and on the mend, Xander and Anya are figuring their crap out, and Dawn is almost normal and not a total thief and whiny-child anymore... Buffy's life is finally coming back together, and she is piecing herself back together... Now she is wondering if she can stay that way. Can she spend her nights alone? Can she grow accustomed to knowing that she will, despite the people she loves, always die alone?
Which, really, is what her Conversation With Dead Person was about. Her inferiority complex about her superiority complex and her realization that, in the end, all the men will leave, she'll never allow her loved ones to die next to her, so she will be alone.
This song is brilliant, and an excellent way to open up that scene with NO real dialogue. :D JW is SO brilliant in this episode of BtVS!
@sparklingdark Bingo.
@sparklingdark Bingo.