I really like this song, catchy tune and slight Irish sounding melody I think. And lots of complex lyrics!
Overall, the story is about a wealthy man who falls in love (or at least lust) with a beautiful girl named Ada. He buys her hand in marriage from her father, and they are wed. However she does not love him in return, possibly because she loves another man, and refuses her husband's advances in the bedroom. So he takes her to the river and drowns her there.
Did he know before they were married that she didn't love him? Well, when told that he intended to marry her she replied "my fate that lies on yon horizon's tethered me to the sky". Huh??? Guys are optimists, and interpret any ambiguity as "Yes". Ladies, keep that in mind. Be clear.
Parts of the song are from the perspective of the man, and parts are from Ada's perspective, this makes it a little confusing.
Speculation time now. The title "Tulip" comes from the Dutch Tulip Mania of 1636-1637. The man either got his wealth from speculating in tulips, or was already wealthy and enjoyed trading in tulips. He uses tulips to buy things, including the wedding ring ("to the goldsmith with my flower I'll buy your wedding ring") and even buys Ada's hand in marriage by giving a bowl of tulips to her father. The most sought-after tulips at that time actually got their beauty from a disease called "Tulip Breaking Virus" which accounts for the "broken petal" references in the song. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_breaking_virus)
Now the line "The cotton sword is storming the hall" -- I have no idea what that means.
The cotton sword storming the hall may refer to fog, considering it cuts her sight to blindness. It also precedes the stanza describing her death, indicating that the atmosphere may have played a part in her death.
The cotton sword storming the hall may refer to fog, considering it cuts her sight to blindness. It also precedes the stanza describing her death, indicating that the atmosphere may have played a part in her death.
I don't agree with the interpretation that he drowns his wife, however. Considering Ada refers to the water, post-mortem as her mercy, I believe she killed herself. The line about the red lead sinker probably relates to the husband blaming himself for driving her to such an act. Murder seems too odd, considering how happy Ada feels about her death and how her...
I don't agree with the interpretation that he drowns his wife, however. Considering Ada refers to the water, post-mortem as her mercy, I believe she killed herself. The line about the red lead sinker probably relates to the husband blaming himself for driving her to such an act. Murder seems too odd, considering how happy Ada feels about her death and how her husband still refers to her as "my true love" even after the event. There is nothing earlier in the song to indicate he is deranged enough to hold such sentiments after a homicide.
Nice research on the tulip mania... although I'm a bit more inclined to believe he uses the tulip to derive pigment for paints. "With a paler leaf and a broken petal, I'll paint the king and queen" may mean he was using herb based chroma to further his career as a court painter.
Some listeners have speculated that the flower/tulip might be a metaphor for the opium poppy, in which case the husband would have bought Ada's hand by paying with a bowl, possibly full of opium. And in this case, the thing stealing oxygen, the cotton sword, and the thing cutting her vision could be the high she is getting from the narcotic, either voluntarily administered or forced upon her by her jealous husband. Or maybe they're just a metaphor for the entire progression of events (and the item at the core--opium, the item used to buy her hand)...
Some listeners have speculated that the flower/tulip might be a metaphor for the opium poppy, in which case the husband would have bought Ada's hand by paying with a bowl, possibly full of opium. And in this case, the thing stealing oxygen, the cotton sword, and the thing cutting her vision could be the high she is getting from the narcotic, either voluntarily administered or forced upon her by her jealous husband. Or maybe they're just a metaphor for the entire progression of events (and the item at the core--opium, the item used to buy her hand) that resulted in her marriage-imprisonment. But if this version is what Hoop intended the song to mean, then what would "...I'll paint the king and queen" then refer to?
...OR...
as you state, sawk23, the husband was a court painter, making sense of "I'll paint the king and queen." I muse that the bowl used to buy Ada's hand, in this scenario, would logically be full of rare paint that the suitor derived from the tulip. Maybe the later sensory-numbing she experiences is a manifestation of her feelings of emotional repression and deprivation, or maybe the cotton sword and the item cutting her vision refer to the blindfold used to cover her eyes.
Sawk23, I believe that the husband did in fact drown his wife. In an interview with Hoop conducted by The UK's "The Independent," Jesca says of murder ballads, "I love them as a form, because people are singing about killing those they love the most." Also, the husband exhibits the attitude typical of those who murder as an act of passion; "I'll keep her all to me." He wants to think of himself as having done the utmost (even going so far as to end their marriage on his terms) to keep her from her extra-marital love interest, BUT she mocks his act of defiance from the grave and even during the act, as evidenced in "This Eine river is mercy at last. DIE, as she laughs, for he's waiting with a dove's nest...", because she ironically gladly welcomes death as a means of finally uniting with her true love. In the lyrics I just quoted, I took the liberty of adding some puncuation (based on the manner in which Jesca stresses "die" as if an imperative) to clarify the wife's sentiments about the act...she curses her husband for his evil, selfish intent but laughs at him because he is actually setting her free. Lastly, the "bird(s)" mentioned throughout the song are symbols of the wife's love, I believe. As time (and the song) progress, I believe the husband becomes more and more despondent, noticing first that his wife is in love with another, then coming to the conclusion that he must cast a net on the flitting bird that is her love for another. This solution to forever ensnare her love is constructed and revealed directly preceding her last chance of-sorts and then her drowning.
I had a thought about the "cotton sword" - the stamen part of a tulip flower looks something like a sword with its tip covered in cotton. So perhaps this represents how the man's tulip obsession feels like an invasion to his wife.
I had a thought about the "cotton sword" - the stamen part of a tulip flower looks something like a sword with its tip covered in cotton. So perhaps this represents how the man's tulip obsession feels like an invasion to his wife.
I think the line "I'll paint the king and queen" probably refers to how a garden full of tulips, with different colors, can create a beautiful picture similar to the way the most skilled painter could paint when at his best, such as when painting the king and queen.
I think the line "I'll paint the king and queen" probably refers to how a garden full of tulips, with different colors, can create a beautiful picture similar to the way the most skilled painter could paint when at his best, such as when painting the king and queen.
Maybe she's a nun, and her "true love" is God so she doesn't want to marry any man?
It could explains:
"And she replied 'My faith that lies on yon horizon’s
tethered me to the sky'"
"But the birds will nest with the one that she has promised her heart"
"For he is waiting where the doves nest, My true love"
Maybe she's a nun, and her "true love" is God so she doesn't want to marry any man?
It could explains:
"And she replied 'My faith that lies on yon horizon’s
tethered me to the sky'"
"But the birds will nest with the one that she has promised her heart"
"For he is waiting where the doves nest, My true love"
I really like this song, catchy tune and slight Irish sounding melody I think. And lots of complex lyrics!
Overall, the story is about a wealthy man who falls in love (or at least lust) with a beautiful girl named Ada. He buys her hand in marriage from her father, and they are wed. However she does not love him in return, possibly because she loves another man, and refuses her husband's advances in the bedroom. So he takes her to the river and drowns her there.
Did he know before they were married that she didn't love him? Well, when told that he intended to marry her she replied "my fate that lies on yon horizon's tethered me to the sky". Huh??? Guys are optimists, and interpret any ambiguity as "Yes". Ladies, keep that in mind. Be clear.
Parts of the song are from the perspective of the man, and parts are from Ada's perspective, this makes it a little confusing.
Speculation time now. The title "Tulip" comes from the Dutch Tulip Mania of 1636-1637. The man either got his wealth from speculating in tulips, or was already wealthy and enjoyed trading in tulips. He uses tulips to buy things, including the wedding ring ("to the goldsmith with my flower I'll buy your wedding ring") and even buys Ada's hand in marriage by giving a bowl of tulips to her father. The most sought-after tulips at that time actually got their beauty from a disease called "Tulip Breaking Virus" which accounts for the "broken petal" references in the song. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_breaking_virus)
Now the line "The cotton sword is storming the hall" -- I have no idea what that means.
The cotton sword storming the hall may refer to fog, considering it cuts her sight to blindness. It also precedes the stanza describing her death, indicating that the atmosphere may have played a part in her death.
The cotton sword storming the hall may refer to fog, considering it cuts her sight to blindness. It also precedes the stanza describing her death, indicating that the atmosphere may have played a part in her death.
I don't agree with the interpretation that he drowns his wife, however. Considering Ada refers to the water, post-mortem as her mercy, I believe she killed herself. The line about the red lead sinker probably relates to the husband blaming himself for driving her to such an act. Murder seems too odd, considering how happy Ada feels about her death and how her...
I don't agree with the interpretation that he drowns his wife, however. Considering Ada refers to the water, post-mortem as her mercy, I believe she killed herself. The line about the red lead sinker probably relates to the husband blaming himself for driving her to such an act. Murder seems too odd, considering how happy Ada feels about her death and how her husband still refers to her as "my true love" even after the event. There is nothing earlier in the song to indicate he is deranged enough to hold such sentiments after a homicide.
Nice research on the tulip mania... although I'm a bit more inclined to believe he uses the tulip to derive pigment for paints. "With a paler leaf and a broken petal, I'll paint the king and queen" may mean he was using herb based chroma to further his career as a court painter.
A few things:
A few things:
Some listeners have speculated that the flower/tulip might be a metaphor for the opium poppy, in which case the husband would have bought Ada's hand by paying with a bowl, possibly full of opium. And in this case, the thing stealing oxygen, the cotton sword, and the thing cutting her vision could be the high she is getting from the narcotic, either voluntarily administered or forced upon her by her jealous husband. Or maybe they're just a metaphor for the entire progression of events (and the item at the core--opium, the item used to buy her hand)...
Some listeners have speculated that the flower/tulip might be a metaphor for the opium poppy, in which case the husband would have bought Ada's hand by paying with a bowl, possibly full of opium. And in this case, the thing stealing oxygen, the cotton sword, and the thing cutting her vision could be the high she is getting from the narcotic, either voluntarily administered or forced upon her by her jealous husband. Or maybe they're just a metaphor for the entire progression of events (and the item at the core--opium, the item used to buy her hand) that resulted in her marriage-imprisonment. But if this version is what Hoop intended the song to mean, then what would "...I'll paint the king and queen" then refer to? ...OR... as you state, sawk23, the husband was a court painter, making sense of "I'll paint the king and queen." I muse that the bowl used to buy Ada's hand, in this scenario, would logically be full of rare paint that the suitor derived from the tulip. Maybe the later sensory-numbing she experiences is a manifestation of her feelings of emotional repression and deprivation, or maybe the cotton sword and the item cutting her vision refer to the blindfold used to cover her eyes.
Sawk23, I believe that the husband did in fact drown his wife. In an interview with Hoop conducted by The UK's "The Independent," Jesca says of murder ballads, "I love them as a form, because people are singing about killing those they love the most." Also, the husband exhibits the attitude typical of those who murder as an act of passion; "I'll keep her all to me." He wants to think of himself as having done the utmost (even going so far as to end their marriage on his terms) to keep her from her extra-marital love interest, BUT she mocks his act of defiance from the grave and even during the act, as evidenced in "This Eine river is mercy at last. DIE, as she laughs, for he's waiting with a dove's nest...", because she ironically gladly welcomes death as a means of finally uniting with her true love. In the lyrics I just quoted, I took the liberty of adding some puncuation (based on the manner in which Jesca stresses "die" as if an imperative) to clarify the wife's sentiments about the act...she curses her husband for his evil, selfish intent but laughs at him because he is actually setting her free. Lastly, the "bird(s)" mentioned throughout the song are symbols of the wife's love, I believe. As time (and the song) progress, I believe the husband becomes more and more despondent, noticing first that his wife is in love with another, then coming to the conclusion that he must cast a net on the flitting bird that is her love for another. This solution to forever ensnare her love is constructed and revealed directly preceding her last chance of-sorts and then her drowning.
I had a thought about the "cotton sword" - the stamen part of a tulip flower looks something like a sword with its tip covered in cotton. So perhaps this represents how the man's tulip obsession feels like an invasion to his wife.
I had a thought about the "cotton sword" - the stamen part of a tulip flower looks something like a sword with its tip covered in cotton. So perhaps this represents how the man's tulip obsession feels like an invasion to his wife.
I think the line "I'll paint the king and queen" probably refers to how a garden full of tulips, with different colors, can create a beautiful picture similar to the way the most skilled painter could paint when at his best, such as when painting the king and queen.
I think the line "I'll paint the king and queen" probably refers to how a garden full of tulips, with different colors, can create a beautiful picture similar to the way the most skilled painter could paint when at his best, such as when painting the king and queen.
Maybe she's a nun, and her "true love" is God so she doesn't want to marry any man? It could explains: "And she replied 'My faith that lies on yon horizon’s tethered me to the sky'" "But the birds will nest with the one that she has promised her heart" "For he is waiting where the doves nest, My true love"
Maybe she's a nun, and her "true love" is God so she doesn't want to marry any man? It could explains: "And she replied 'My faith that lies on yon horizon’s tethered me to the sky'" "But the birds will nest with the one that she has promised her heart" "For he is waiting where the doves nest, My true love"