I've been wondering if Elliott was a fan of Edna St. Vincent Millay. She was a popular American poet, who died tragically in 1950. There are a few parallels between her life and Elliott's. She was often suicidal, was an opium addict for some time, and wrote many very beautiful poems with extremely dark content and themes. I've noticed that there could be a reference to her in "Twilight", when he says "Because your candle burns too bright," which is like one of Millay's most famous poems,
"My candle burns at both ends
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes and oh, my friends -
It gives a lovely light."
Also in this song the line "The time it took a cigarette to burn" reminds me of this one by Millay:
"Only until this cigarette is ended,
A little moment at the end of all,
While on the floor the quiet ashes fall,
And in the firelight to a lance extended,
Bizarrely with the jazzing music blended,
The broken shadow dances on the wall,
I will permit my memory to recall
The vision of you, by all my dreams attended.
And then adieu,--farewell!--the dream is done.
Yours is a face of which I can forget
The colour and the features, every one,
The words not ever, and the smiles not yet;
But in your day this moment is the sun
Upon a hill, after the sun has set."
It's a pretty rich poem, with quite a few lines you wouldn't be surprised to find in an Elliott song, except he'd probably modernize the language a little bit, obviously! It could be just a coincidence, but I think there's nice similarities between the two. The one above is one of my favourite Edna St Vicent Millay poems, and "Going Nowhere" is one of my favourite Elliott songs!
Peace
I've been wondering if Elliott was a fan of Edna St. Vincent Millay. She was a popular American poet, who died tragically in 1950. There are a few parallels between her life and Elliott's. She was often suicidal, was an opium addict for some time, and wrote many very beautiful poems with extremely dark content and themes. I've noticed that there could be a reference to her in "Twilight", when he says "Because your candle burns too bright," which is like one of Millay's most famous poems,
"My candle burns at both ends It will not last the night; But ah, my foes and oh, my friends - It gives a lovely light."
Also in this song the line "The time it took a cigarette to burn" reminds me of this one by Millay:
"Only until this cigarette is ended, A little moment at the end of all, While on the floor the quiet ashes fall, And in the firelight to a lance extended, Bizarrely with the jazzing music blended, The broken shadow dances on the wall, I will permit my memory to recall The vision of you, by all my dreams attended. And then adieu,--farewell!--the dream is done. Yours is a face of which I can forget The colour and the features, every one, The words not ever, and the smiles not yet; But in your day this moment is the sun Upon a hill, after the sun has set."
It's a pretty rich poem, with quite a few lines you wouldn't be surprised to find in an Elliott song, except he'd probably modernize the language a little bit, obviously! It could be just a coincidence, but I think there's nice similarities between the two. The one above is one of my favourite Edna St Vicent Millay poems, and "Going Nowhere" is one of my favourite Elliott songs! Peace