I originally did not care for the song too much. Yet reflecting more on it, and letting the music sink in, I've realized it strikes a sentimental chord with me, and I've grown to really like it.
For me, the song is about impatient love, maybe a little bit of jealousy, loneliness, unrequited love. But not exactly that - a bit more subtle. There is tension in the lyrics - perhaps the relationship is not going as deep as quickly as the protagonist desires. So the refrain "Slow, love, slow" is almost a whisper to his/her heart to be patient and wait. Endure the loneliness, the love-sickness, the worry, the heart-ache ... for "only the weak are not lonely". It's a call to faithfulness and trust in the loved one, despite the hurt. The weak, it is presumed, are not lonely because they give up quickly and move on to the next person, but in so doing, do not learn the meaning of love.
The tension, coupled with the silky-smooth melody is a beautiful contrast, and captures very well the emotions involved and the strange conflict the love-struck one feels.
The lover is infatuated with the beloved:
"the deep sigh coiled around my breast, intoxicated by a major chord". What a beautiful way to describe the way one feels when one is love-struck. The tightness in the chest, the thrill, the almost electric delight. And then the question: "Do I love you, or the thought of you." Such a beautiful question - sometimes we may love someone more than we feel they are loving us back. We find ourselves asking, "why do I love this person" when they treat me so. Or maybe when we are separated from them, we pine after them with longing, but in their real presence, there may be a coldness, a barrier, something preventing us from being satisfied by that longing we felt in their absence.
I have not completely thought through the rest of the song ... I am still trying to delve into the magician thing at the beginning, and the beautiful imagery of the last verse.
I guess in sum, and especially emphasized in the song's ending with the ticks of a clock, the song is the lover's prayer to his/her heart to be patient, to let time bring love to fruition and not be too hasty, to be strong despite the confusion of feelings that he/she is experiencing.
Excellent thoughts! I'll add that I love how the song is primarily in a minor key, but that "intoxicated by a major chord" is a very brief but powerful shift to a major key, reinforcing that bright excitement of love in the general midst of moodiness.
Excellent thoughts! I'll add that I love how the song is primarily in a minor key, but that "intoxicated by a major chord" is a very brief but powerful shift to a major key, reinforcing that bright excitement of love in the general midst of moodiness.
I originally did not care for the song too much. Yet reflecting more on it, and letting the music sink in, I've realized it strikes a sentimental chord with me, and I've grown to really like it.
For me, the song is about impatient love, maybe a little bit of jealousy, loneliness, unrequited love. But not exactly that - a bit more subtle. There is tension in the lyrics - perhaps the relationship is not going as deep as quickly as the protagonist desires. So the refrain "Slow, love, slow" is almost a whisper to his/her heart to be patient and wait. Endure the loneliness, the love-sickness, the worry, the heart-ache ... for "only the weak are not lonely". It's a call to faithfulness and trust in the loved one, despite the hurt. The weak, it is presumed, are not lonely because they give up quickly and move on to the next person, but in so doing, do not learn the meaning of love.
The tension, coupled with the silky-smooth melody is a beautiful contrast, and captures very well the emotions involved and the strange conflict the love-struck one feels.
The lover is infatuated with the beloved: "the deep sigh coiled around my breast, intoxicated by a major chord". What a beautiful way to describe the way one feels when one is love-struck. The tightness in the chest, the thrill, the almost electric delight. And then the question: "Do I love you, or the thought of you." Such a beautiful question - sometimes we may love someone more than we feel they are loving us back. We find ourselves asking, "why do I love this person" when they treat me so. Or maybe when we are separated from them, we pine after them with longing, but in their real presence, there may be a coldness, a barrier, something preventing us from being satisfied by that longing we felt in their absence.
I have not completely thought through the rest of the song ... I am still trying to delve into the magician thing at the beginning, and the beautiful imagery of the last verse.
I guess in sum, and especially emphasized in the song's ending with the ticks of a clock, the song is the lover's prayer to his/her heart to be patient, to let time bring love to fruition and not be too hasty, to be strong despite the confusion of feelings that he/she is experiencing.
Excellent thoughts! I'll add that I love how the song is primarily in a minor key, but that "intoxicated by a major chord" is a very brief but powerful shift to a major key, reinforcing that bright excitement of love in the general midst of moodiness.
Excellent thoughts! I'll add that I love how the song is primarily in a minor key, but that "intoxicated by a major chord" is a very brief but powerful shift to a major key, reinforcing that bright excitement of love in the general midst of moodiness.