as jonas87 says, and from the interview with mikael, i don't think this song is about child abuse but is simply about seeing a face in a window and thinking/elaborating about that. i should explain thus:
"Blank face in the windowpane
Made clear in seconds of light
Disappears and returns again
*Counting hours, searching the night"
-simply setting the scene, he sees someone in the windowpane, looking outside, going in and out of view, presumably attending to something, take note of the last phrase which I marked with an asterisk
"Might be waiting for someone
Might be there for us to see
Might be in need of talking
Might be staring directly at me"
-lists his thoughts about the person looking from the window, again, i should mark this whole stanza with an asterisk (I will elaborate on this at the end)
"Inside plays a lullaby
Slurred voice over children cries
On the inside"
-again, this is purely description as I see it, presumably there are children inside and the person at the window is putting them to sleep with a lullaby. lullabies are usually soft and slurred, and not intense as they are a means of inducing sleep
"Haunting loneliness in the eye
Skin covering a secret scar
His hand is waving a goodbye
*There's no response or action returned"
-i think the "skin covering..." line is meant to be taken metaphorically, as the "scar" is not physical but mental, it is under the skin, not discernible by looking at the person physically, but from the previous line, "haunting loneliness" in their eyes, which the narrator sees in the person
"There is deep prejudice in me
Outshines all reason inside
Given dreams all ridden with pain
And projected unto the last "
-i think this part ties the song together and induces the meaning i see in the song. now notice the lines that are unmarked with asterisks above, they seem to be just descriptions of the physical world and the person looking through the window, but the narrator laments that "there is deep prejudice" in him, which makes it hard for him to take what he sees at face value, or at least reconcile with the fact that he doesn't know much about other people (let alone a singular face looking from a window).
now i think the "given dreams all ridden with pain" talks not about the person at the window, but about the narrator, in which the narrator is actually the one with the secret scars under his skin. this, i believe is further reinforced by the last line, "and projected unto the last". this is simply him (the narrator) projecting his inner thoughts and feelings unto the person at the window, looking at him. it is the narrator that "might be waiting for someone/ in need of talking" and it is again the narrator who doesn't wave back, possibly held back by his emotions.
at the end stanza, he realizes that it is not the person at the windowpane, but his projecting of his inner thoughts that he is aware of, and this is why his predjudice outshines his reason, he cannot experience the outer world objectively, but only from his inner windowpane, from which his inner feelings reflect back at him.
@stationarytraveller I think this is correct, except for the middle verse. I think the lyrics are better read with a colon.
@stationarytraveller I think this is correct, except for the middle verse. I think the lyrics are better read with a colon.
"Inside plays a lullabye:
Slurred voice over children's cries
On the inside"
"Inside plays a lullabye:
Slurred voice over children's cries
On the inside"
The image of the (perceived) lonely person in the window causes the narrator to reflect on his own damage. He is giving us a subtle glimpse of what gave the emotional scar that he alludes to in the following verse.
The lullabye is not a pleasant song, but alludes to the soundscape that the narrator had when going to bed as a child.
The narrator is recounting...
The image of the (perceived) lonely person in the window causes the narrator to reflect on his own damage. He is giving us a subtle glimpse of what gave the emotional scar that he alludes to in the following verse.
The lullabye is not a pleasant song, but alludes to the soundscape that the narrator had when going to bed as a child.
The narrator is recounting his experience of going to sleep among other crying children. The caretaker is drunk, hence the slurred speech.
as jonas87 says, and from the interview with mikael, i don't think this song is about child abuse but is simply about seeing a face in a window and thinking/elaborating about that. i should explain thus:
"Blank face in the windowpane Made clear in seconds of light Disappears and returns again *Counting hours, searching the night" -simply setting the scene, he sees someone in the windowpane, looking outside, going in and out of view, presumably attending to something, take note of the last phrase which I marked with an asterisk
"Might be waiting for someone Might be there for us to see Might be in need of talking Might be staring directly at me" -lists his thoughts about the person looking from the window, again, i should mark this whole stanza with an asterisk (I will elaborate on this at the end)
"Inside plays a lullaby Slurred voice over children cries On the inside" -again, this is purely description as I see it, presumably there are children inside and the person at the window is putting them to sleep with a lullaby. lullabies are usually soft and slurred, and not intense as they are a means of inducing sleep
"Haunting loneliness in the eye Skin covering a secret scar His hand is waving a goodbye *There's no response or action returned" -i think the "skin covering..." line is meant to be taken metaphorically, as the "scar" is not physical but mental, it is under the skin, not discernible by looking at the person physically, but from the previous line, "haunting loneliness" in their eyes, which the narrator sees in the person
"There is deep prejudice in me Outshines all reason inside Given dreams all ridden with pain And projected unto the last " -i think this part ties the song together and induces the meaning i see in the song. now notice the lines that are unmarked with asterisks above, they seem to be just descriptions of the physical world and the person looking through the window, but the narrator laments that "there is deep prejudice" in him, which makes it hard for him to take what he sees at face value, or at least reconcile with the fact that he doesn't know much about other people (let alone a singular face looking from a window).
now i think the "given dreams all ridden with pain" talks not about the person at the window, but about the narrator, in which the narrator is actually the one with the secret scars under his skin. this, i believe is further reinforced by the last line, "and projected unto the last". this is simply him (the narrator) projecting his inner thoughts and feelings unto the person at the window, looking at him. it is the narrator that "might be waiting for someone/ in need of talking" and it is again the narrator who doesn't wave back, possibly held back by his emotions.
at the end stanza, he realizes that it is not the person at the windowpane, but his projecting of his inner thoughts that he is aware of, and this is why his predjudice outshines his reason, he cannot experience the outer world objectively, but only from his inner windowpane, from which his inner feelings reflect back at him.
I love this interpretation.
I love this interpretation.
@stationarytraveller I think this is correct, except for the middle verse. I think the lyrics are better read with a colon.
@stationarytraveller I think this is correct, except for the middle verse. I think the lyrics are better read with a colon.
"Inside plays a lullabye: Slurred voice over children's cries On the inside"
"Inside plays a lullabye: Slurred voice over children's cries On the inside"
The image of the (perceived) lonely person in the window causes the narrator to reflect on his own damage. He is giving us a subtle glimpse of what gave the emotional scar that he alludes to in the following verse. The lullabye is not a pleasant song, but alludes to the soundscape that the narrator had when going to bed as a child. The narrator is recounting...
The image of the (perceived) lonely person in the window causes the narrator to reflect on his own damage. He is giving us a subtle glimpse of what gave the emotional scar that he alludes to in the following verse. The lullabye is not a pleasant song, but alludes to the soundscape that the narrator had when going to bed as a child. The narrator is recounting his experience of going to sleep among other crying children. The caretaker is drunk, hence the slurred speech.