First thing: The girl in the final verse is not a prostitute.
Why is it that people instantly think "prostitue" when the word "corner" is mentioned?
A cornerstone is generaly the plaque in a building that states when the building was built and who officialy opened it etc. Nothing to do with corners or prostitutes! But that is not the meaning of the word "cornerstone" in these lyrics...
S: (n) basis, base, foundation, fundament, groundwork, cornerstone (the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained) "the whole argument rested on a basis of conjecture" (Retrieved from Princeton University WordNet Search, wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn).
So basically, in the line "I saw your sister in the cornerstone", the songwriter as saying that as soon as he sees the sister he gets the assumption that he's found his answer. He may even be dreaming while his mind is getting ahead of him before he has even talked to the girl.
Now before I continue I must say that I believe the girl he is looking for in everyone else hes passed away. I don't see how his obsession could have reached its current point unless she was dead. Also the girls ghost is mentioned early in the song. This would also explain the remainder of my analysis for the final verse.
So the girl is dead, the songwriter and the girls sister meet. Both thier lives aren't going very well at the time. We know the guy has been looking for the girl in everyone else and the sister is "on her own" and in a dead-end job ("on the phone to the middle-man"). "She was close, you couldn't get much closer", obviously, because genetically she is the sister of the girl.
So to wrap up the final verse, the guy sees the sister, sees that shes having a hard time following the lost of her sibling. His mind starts to go wild and at this point he may very well have already fallen in love with the sister. While he is not in a stable state of mind he goes over to the sister and asks her outright. She is so down and lonely that she needs him just as much as he needs her and they ultimatly fall in love.
Well thats my analysis of the song anyway. I think the most importent thing is that everyone draws thier own meanings from the song - or any song for that matter. But I'd love to know what you think of my explaination so please comment on it.
i'd agree, except for the part in the final verse where he states she was on the phone to the 'middleman' which to me is an obvious reference to a pimp
i'd agree, except for the part in the final verse where he states she was on the phone to the 'middleman' which to me is an obvious reference to a pimp
I really want to believe the girl in the final verse is not a prostitute... But the term "sister" could mean someone who ressembled the loved one the most.
"You can call me everything you want" plants the doubt because that's common streetwalker slang....
I really want to believe the girl in the final verse is not a prostitute... But the term "sister" could mean someone who ressembled the loved one the most.
"You can call me everything you want" plants the doubt because that's common streetwalker slang....
Your explaination for the song was great but I have a diffrent thought about some of it. In my opinion the girl that he imagined everywhere was only his imagination. "I'm beginning to think I imagined you all along" he might of came to his senses at that moment. And when he sees her sister he doesn't think that she is the "girl" even though she most likely looked a lot alike her. So maybe all he wanted was his imaginary girlfriend and the girl he found was close enough to what he imagined that she is like the sister...
Your explaination for the song was great but I have a diffrent thought about some of it. In my opinion the girl that he imagined everywhere was only his imagination. "I'm beginning to think I imagined you all along" he might of came to his senses at that moment. And when he sees her sister he doesn't think that she is the "girl" even though she most likely looked a lot alike her. So maybe all he wanted was his imaginary girlfriend and the girl he found was close enough to what he imagined that she is like the sister of the perfect girl.
@sneakydust
Pretty much agree with this, except I'd considered the 'middleman' to be a vicar or priest - the middleman between earth and heaven. Her sister was on the phone arranging her sisters funeral, thus tying in the fact they girl is no longer alive.
@sneakydust
Pretty much agree with this, except I'd considered the 'middleman' to be a vicar or priest - the middleman between earth and heaven. Her sister was on the phone arranging her sisters funeral, thus tying in the fact they girl is no longer alive.
I'm probably way off the mark, but just what run through my head when I hear this tune.
I'm probably way off the mark, but just what run through my head when I hear this tune.
First thing: The girl in the final verse is not a prostitute. Why is it that people instantly think "prostitue" when the word "corner" is mentioned? A cornerstone is generaly the plaque in a building that states when the building was built and who officialy opened it etc. Nothing to do with corners or prostitutes! But that is not the meaning of the word "cornerstone" in these lyrics...
S: (n) basis, base, foundation, fundament, groundwork, cornerstone (the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained) "the whole argument rested on a basis of conjecture" (Retrieved from Princeton University WordNet Search, wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn).
So basically, in the line "I saw your sister in the cornerstone", the songwriter as saying that as soon as he sees the sister he gets the assumption that he's found his answer. He may even be dreaming while his mind is getting ahead of him before he has even talked to the girl.
Now before I continue I must say that I believe the girl he is looking for in everyone else hes passed away. I don't see how his obsession could have reached its current point unless she was dead. Also the girls ghost is mentioned early in the song. This would also explain the remainder of my analysis for the final verse.
So the girl is dead, the songwriter and the girls sister meet. Both thier lives aren't going very well at the time. We know the guy has been looking for the girl in everyone else and the sister is "on her own" and in a dead-end job ("on the phone to the middle-man"). "She was close, you couldn't get much closer", obviously, because genetically she is the sister of the girl.
So to wrap up the final verse, the guy sees the sister, sees that shes having a hard time following the lost of her sibling. His mind starts to go wild and at this point he may very well have already fallen in love with the sister. While he is not in a stable state of mind he goes over to the sister and asks her outright. She is so down and lonely that she needs him just as much as he needs her and they ultimatly fall in love.
Well thats my analysis of the song anyway. I think the most importent thing is that everyone draws thier own meanings from the song - or any song for that matter. But I'd love to know what you think of my explaination so please comment on it.
Cheers guys! sneakydust
i'd agree, except for the part in the final verse where he states she was on the phone to the 'middleman' which to me is an obvious reference to a pimp
i'd agree, except for the part in the final verse where he states she was on the phone to the 'middleman' which to me is an obvious reference to a pimp
I really want to believe the girl in the final verse is not a prostitute... But the term "sister" could mean someone who ressembled the loved one the most. "You can call me everything you want" plants the doubt because that's common streetwalker slang....
I really want to believe the girl in the final verse is not a prostitute... But the term "sister" could mean someone who ressembled the loved one the most. "You can call me everything you want" plants the doubt because that's common streetwalker slang....
Your explaination for the song was great but I have a diffrent thought about some of it. In my opinion the girl that he imagined everywhere was only his imagination. "I'm beginning to think I imagined you all along" he might of came to his senses at that moment. And when he sees her sister he doesn't think that she is the "girl" even though she most likely looked a lot alike her. So maybe all he wanted was his imaginary girlfriend and the girl he found was close enough to what he imagined that she is like the sister...
Your explaination for the song was great but I have a diffrent thought about some of it. In my opinion the girl that he imagined everywhere was only his imagination. "I'm beginning to think I imagined you all along" he might of came to his senses at that moment. And when he sees her sister he doesn't think that she is the "girl" even though she most likely looked a lot alike her. So maybe all he wanted was his imaginary girlfriend and the girl he found was close enough to what he imagined that she is like the sister of the perfect girl.
@sneakydust Pretty much agree with this, except I'd considered the 'middleman' to be a vicar or priest - the middleman between earth and heaven. Her sister was on the phone arranging her sisters funeral, thus tying in the fact they girl is no longer alive.
@sneakydust Pretty much agree with this, except I'd considered the 'middleman' to be a vicar or priest - the middleman between earth and heaven. Her sister was on the phone arranging her sisters funeral, thus tying in the fact they girl is no longer alive.
I'm probably way off the mark, but just what run through my head when I hear this tune.
I'm probably way off the mark, but just what run through my head when I hear this tune.
@sneakydust Middleman is such a loose term, could be her boyfriend. She could be so depressed that she says, "You can call me anything you want."
@sneakydust Middleman is such a loose term, could be her boyfriend. She could be so depressed that she says, "You can call me anything you want."