I believe this song is about a one-sided relationship. Honestly, describing its meaning in some ways feels to me like taking away from the song itself because it's so beautiful, it should be left alone, but I can't so that and I've concluded the meaning to be rather simple.
I find it to be about a relationship in which one person loves tremendously and the other cares very little. The "easy" I believe is more a plea than anything. The narrator (Joanna, presumably) is trying so very hard to convince her "man" that it will be easy, she is easy, she doesn't need much. However, directly after proclaiming "Honey, you please me, even in your sleep," she admits she wants to carry, hold, and listen. Her fields of green (where she possessively plucks every last daisy, not leaving any for any other admirers to wonder whether he ("[her] man" mind you) loves them or not) turn to a foggy river, cold with metaphorical snow. She finally bursts into an angry and crazed plea, turning childish taunts into a sad statement of, "Who died and made you in charge of who loves who?" and asking, pleading, "Let me love you. How about it?" and then wondering, "How am I gonna stay here without you?"
She eventually admits she'll be there, whenever he decides he needs her and musters up the energy to at least call for her.
There are portions of the song I'm unsure on. At one point I thought for sure there were references to pregnancy, or something of the sort. The river stuck me as a very fertile image, and lines like, "No-one knows what is coming, or who will harvest what we have sewn," and, "But One can't carry the weight..." seemed to refer to a pregnancy. When I read that Bloody Mary (the mirrored-game I've heard of, of course, but don't know much about the history or legend in detail) is sometimes known as a woman who murdered her children, or had her child murdered (or even a queen who suffered many miscarriages, possible self-induced), I was sure that I'd find connecting ideas strung throughout the whole thing. There's also the whole "life-giver" title, which could very obviously be referring to pregnancy. However, I can't seem to make the theory hold water given the entirety of the song.
I also believe she said (though I didn't read the interview) that "Does Not Suffice" was the counterpart to this song. In that song, she sings, "how easy I was not," clearly referencing this song. In that, I believe the "easy" in not entirely truthful. She knows she's not easy, can't be easy, because she's worth more than that.
But, in this song, she concedes and stays, though even the frog tries harder than her significant other, "going courting till the day he croaks."
I haven't fully delved into all the other songs, but there is another reference to a stalking and obsessive sort of love in "Soft As Chalk" and definitely other references to pregnancy, or at least impending motherhood that never happened. Even though Have One On Me is a collection of songs, less cohesive than Ys, I still get the feeling there will be common themes and I'm so excited to pick through them and make connections.
Oh, and I love the violin, flute and cello in this song. It's so beautiful, so eerie, and such a pleasure to listen to. I imagine two people on a bed in the middle of a forest or swamp (not sure where that came from) while a river of light runs alongside them. It's quite a cluster of images, but I love it.
I'm willing to stake my life on the fact that this song is actually about what I call a difficult man. (no offense) Now I grew up on a farm so, "Easy, easy" to me refers to the way that one would calm a spooked horse. This is re-enforced by the line in the last verse "you must not fear." Now of course, good poetry doesn't ever have just one meaning so I suppose that it could also refer to a state of being "easy."
I'm willing to stake my life on the fact that this song is actually about what I call a difficult man. (no offense) Now I grew up on a farm so, "Easy, easy" to me refers to the way that one would calm a spooked horse. This is re-enforced by the line in the last verse "you must not fear." Now of course, good poetry doesn't ever have just one meaning so I suppose that it could also refer to a state of being "easy."
When I say "difficult man" I most certainly mean...
When I say "difficult man" I most certainly mean one that has a hard time being in a relationship period. Not necessarily one that doesn't reciprocate the emotions of the narrator.
I agree wholeheartedly that there are images of fertility that certainly pop up, whether Miss Newsom intended or not. But I wouldn't go so far to as to say pregnancy. Bloody Mary as a historical figure was the queen preceding Queen Elizabeth I. She has been deemed such, because of the way that she persecuted English Protestants during her reign in an attempt to restore England's relations with the Catholic church, after her father King Henry VIII destroyed them and created the Church of England.
As far as the mirror legend goes, I have to say that this is the only symbol Newsom could possibly be referring to. La Llorona or the "Weeping Woman" is a Hispanic legend in which a woman kills her children and is condemned to an eternity of weeping. When she mentions this in the verse, she's probably trying to say: when you call, you'd better call as much as you can in order to reach me - considering the fact that one never actually says "bloody mary" only once in order to call up the spirit.
In short: my reading of this is that the narrator is involved with a man that doesn't know what he wants, and can't seem to come to a decision. And in addition to, has a difficult time opening his heart to the love of another. Which does not constitute a love that is not reciprocated.
I interpreted the "But One can't carry the weight..." line to almost be a weakening in her stubbornness. Throughout the song she's sending out the message that she doesn't need a lot from him and she's going to love him whether or not he likes it, but that line goes to say that it doesn't matter how much she's willing to sacrifice to love him, one person simply can't care enough to keep a relationship going.
I interpreted the "But One can't carry the weight..." line to almost be a weakening in her stubbornness. Throughout the song she's sending out the message that she doesn't need a lot from him and she's going to love him whether or not he likes it, but that line goes to say that it doesn't matter how much she's willing to sacrifice to love him, one person simply can't care enough to keep a relationship going.
mindfulexportsofvine: I'm slightly confused -- was the "no offense" directed to me? I can't figure out what I would have to be offended about. It appears we came to very similar conclusions. Maybe it wasn't that clear in my post, but I agree about the "difficult man" thing. I don't think there's too big of a difference between the person I was envisioning, who I described as caring very little, and yours, who simply has trouble in relationships. I didn't necessarily mean that the emotions weren't there, but that the person wasn't interested in (or able to be) investing that...
mindfulexportsofvine: I'm slightly confused -- was the "no offense" directed to me? I can't figure out what I would have to be offended about. It appears we came to very similar conclusions. Maybe it wasn't that clear in my post, but I agree about the "difficult man" thing. I don't think there's too big of a difference between the person I was envisioning, who I described as caring very little, and yours, who simply has trouble in relationships. I didn't necessarily mean that the emotions weren't there, but that the person wasn't interested in (or able to be) investing that much into a relationship.
I really like your thoughts on easy, and how it reminds you of calming a horse. I definitely see that. I was interpreting easy in the vein of "I am easy, easy to keep," but I see that there could be a difference in the two. I suppose I just took the clear-cut usage of easy (where it seems obvious it is used to refer to a "state of being easy") and attributed that meaning to the other usages as well, but I think that was simplification on my part.
Regarding the Bloody Mary legend, I played the "game" a lot as a child, but to get more information, consulted Wikipedia. Bloody Mary isn't always, or at least not explicitly, referencing Queen Mary I, and there are references to pregnancies/children, etc. in that. I assume, considering it's a folktale sort of thing, this varies tremendously. I'm slightly confused about what you're saying regarding the mirror legend, so I don't know exactly how to respond.
Again, I don't think the differences are vast between our interpretations. To me, someone having difficulty opening their heart is rather similar to feeling not being wholly reciprocated. After all, if the narrators heart is open wide, and the other's isn't, regardless of it's purposeful or not, there's a lack of reciprocation. That's the sort of situation I was intending to suggest, I believe.
I believe this song is about a one-sided relationship. Honestly, describing its meaning in some ways feels to me like taking away from the song itself because it's so beautiful, it should be left alone, but I can't so that and I've concluded the meaning to be rather simple.
I find it to be about a relationship in which one person loves tremendously and the other cares very little. The "easy" I believe is more a plea than anything. The narrator (Joanna, presumably) is trying so very hard to convince her "man" that it will be easy, she is easy, she doesn't need much. However, directly after proclaiming "Honey, you please me, even in your sleep," she admits she wants to carry, hold, and listen. Her fields of green (where she possessively plucks every last daisy, not leaving any for any other admirers to wonder whether he ("[her] man" mind you) loves them or not) turn to a foggy river, cold with metaphorical snow. She finally bursts into an angry and crazed plea, turning childish taunts into a sad statement of, "Who died and made you in charge of who loves who?" and asking, pleading, "Let me love you. How about it?" and then wondering, "How am I gonna stay here without you?"
She eventually admits she'll be there, whenever he decides he needs her and musters up the energy to at least call for her.
There are portions of the song I'm unsure on. At one point I thought for sure there were references to pregnancy, or something of the sort. The river stuck me as a very fertile image, and lines like, "No-one knows what is coming, or who will harvest what we have sewn," and, "But One can't carry the weight..." seemed to refer to a pregnancy. When I read that Bloody Mary (the mirrored-game I've heard of, of course, but don't know much about the history or legend in detail) is sometimes known as a woman who murdered her children, or had her child murdered (or even a queen who suffered many miscarriages, possible self-induced), I was sure that I'd find connecting ideas strung throughout the whole thing. There's also the whole "life-giver" title, which could very obviously be referring to pregnancy. However, I can't seem to make the theory hold water given the entirety of the song.
I also believe she said (though I didn't read the interview) that "Does Not Suffice" was the counterpart to this song. In that song, she sings, "how easy I was not," clearly referencing this song. In that, I believe the "easy" in not entirely truthful. She knows she's not easy, can't be easy, because she's worth more than that.
But, in this song, she concedes and stays, though even the frog tries harder than her significant other, "going courting till the day he croaks."
I haven't fully delved into all the other songs, but there is another reference to a stalking and obsessive sort of love in "Soft As Chalk" and definitely other references to pregnancy, or at least impending motherhood that never happened. Even though Have One On Me is a collection of songs, less cohesive than Ys, I still get the feeling there will be common themes and I'm so excited to pick through them and make connections.
Oh, and I love the violin, flute and cello in this song. It's so beautiful, so eerie, and such a pleasure to listen to. I imagine two people on a bed in the middle of a forest or swamp (not sure where that came from) while a river of light runs alongside them. It's quite a cluster of images, but I love it.
I'm willing to stake my life on the fact that this song is actually about what I call a difficult man. (no offense) Now I grew up on a farm so, "Easy, easy" to me refers to the way that one would calm a spooked horse. This is re-enforced by the line in the last verse "you must not fear." Now of course, good poetry doesn't ever have just one meaning so I suppose that it could also refer to a state of being "easy."
I'm willing to stake my life on the fact that this song is actually about what I call a difficult man. (no offense) Now I grew up on a farm so, "Easy, easy" to me refers to the way that one would calm a spooked horse. This is re-enforced by the line in the last verse "you must not fear." Now of course, good poetry doesn't ever have just one meaning so I suppose that it could also refer to a state of being "easy."
When I say "difficult man" I most certainly mean...
When I say "difficult man" I most certainly mean one that has a hard time being in a relationship period. Not necessarily one that doesn't reciprocate the emotions of the narrator.
I agree wholeheartedly that there are images of fertility that certainly pop up, whether Miss Newsom intended or not. But I wouldn't go so far to as to say pregnancy. Bloody Mary as a historical figure was the queen preceding Queen Elizabeth I. She has been deemed such, because of the way that she persecuted English Protestants during her reign in an attempt to restore England's relations with the Catholic church, after her father King Henry VIII destroyed them and created the Church of England.
As far as the mirror legend goes, I have to say that this is the only symbol Newsom could possibly be referring to. La Llorona or the "Weeping Woman" is a Hispanic legend in which a woman kills her children and is condemned to an eternity of weeping. When she mentions this in the verse, she's probably trying to say: when you call, you'd better call as much as you can in order to reach me - considering the fact that one never actually says "bloody mary" only once in order to call up the spirit.
In short: my reading of this is that the narrator is involved with a man that doesn't know what he wants, and can't seem to come to a decision. And in addition to, has a difficult time opening his heart to the love of another. Which does not constitute a love that is not reciprocated.
I interpreted the "But One can't carry the weight..." line to almost be a weakening in her stubbornness. Throughout the song she's sending out the message that she doesn't need a lot from him and she's going to love him whether or not he likes it, but that line goes to say that it doesn't matter how much she's willing to sacrifice to love him, one person simply can't care enough to keep a relationship going.
I interpreted the "But One can't carry the weight..." line to almost be a weakening in her stubbornness. Throughout the song she's sending out the message that she doesn't need a lot from him and she's going to love him whether or not he likes it, but that line goes to say that it doesn't matter how much she's willing to sacrifice to love him, one person simply can't care enough to keep a relationship going.
mindfulexportsofvine: I'm slightly confused -- was the "no offense" directed to me? I can't figure out what I would have to be offended about. It appears we came to very similar conclusions. Maybe it wasn't that clear in my post, but I agree about the "difficult man" thing. I don't think there's too big of a difference between the person I was envisioning, who I described as caring very little, and yours, who simply has trouble in relationships. I didn't necessarily mean that the emotions weren't there, but that the person wasn't interested in (or able to be) investing that...
mindfulexportsofvine: I'm slightly confused -- was the "no offense" directed to me? I can't figure out what I would have to be offended about. It appears we came to very similar conclusions. Maybe it wasn't that clear in my post, but I agree about the "difficult man" thing. I don't think there's too big of a difference between the person I was envisioning, who I described as caring very little, and yours, who simply has trouble in relationships. I didn't necessarily mean that the emotions weren't there, but that the person wasn't interested in (or able to be) investing that much into a relationship.
I really like your thoughts on easy, and how it reminds you of calming a horse. I definitely see that. I was interpreting easy in the vein of "I am easy, easy to keep," but I see that there could be a difference in the two. I suppose I just took the clear-cut usage of easy (where it seems obvious it is used to refer to a "state of being easy") and attributed that meaning to the other usages as well, but I think that was simplification on my part.
Regarding the Bloody Mary legend, I played the "game" a lot as a child, but to get more information, consulted Wikipedia. Bloody Mary isn't always, or at least not explicitly, referencing Queen Mary I, and there are references to pregnancies/children, etc. in that. I assume, considering it's a folktale sort of thing, this varies tremendously. I'm slightly confused about what you're saying regarding the mirror legend, so I don't know exactly how to respond.
Again, I don't think the differences are vast between our interpretations. To me, someone having difficulty opening their heart is rather similar to feeling not being wholly reciprocated. After all, if the narrators heart is open wide, and the other's isn't, regardless of it's purposeful or not, there's a lack of reciprocation. That's the sort of situation I was intending to suggest, I believe.