These are the correct verses, first of all, if you hear the raw vocal tracks:
V-I:
In the first days - of the spring time
Made you a prince with a thousand enemies
Made a trail of - a thousand tears
Made you prisoner inside your own frequency
V-II
At the first hour - of the spring time
Made you a prince with a thousand enemies
Now I see you - from the corner
Clock strikes - and I know you will be drinking alone...
This is a quote directly from [u]Watership Down[/u] and the story of the rabbits who fled to recolonize a different place upon a premonition of danger:
"All the world will be your enemy, Prince of a Thousand enemies. And when they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you; digger, listener, runner, Prince with the swift warning. Be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed. ..."
Seeing as the video depicts rabbits and danger and all that, I would be hard-pressed to not think the quote and the video are references to the fact that these band members (3 of them anyway) are English/British and it's a 1972 British novel they likely read while young and it "got to them" to some degree. I read it in grade school too in America and I was born in '72.
But the overall message of the song about a broken relationship and her having separated him from his friends to some degree and now he is without love and without friends "drinking alone" is some reference of her remorse for what happened,...even if it's not her fault and she technically is not sorry for what happened, just has mixed feelings of how it turned out.
Thank you for the actual lyrics, and I agree with parts of your assessment, but without even knowing that the lyrics were from Watership Down (a fav of mine btw), I had a definite sense that this song was undeniably about the Native Americans and the American/British white guilt about what happened. It's just too clear.
Thank you for the actual lyrics, and I agree with parts of your assessment, but without even knowing that the lyrics were from Watership Down (a fav of mine btw), I had a definite sense that this song was undeniably about the Native Americans and the American/British white guilt about what happened. It's just too clear.
@Krusty1 I agree w/ the Watership Down reference, nice catch, btw! Trail of a thousand tears could be a reference to the Native American displacement of the same name. Two references with some sad/negative connotations.
@Krusty1 I agree w/ the Watership Down reference, nice catch, btw! Trail of a thousand tears could be a reference to the Native American displacement of the same name. Two references with some sad/negative connotations.
The rabbit god is hunted by everyone, the Native Americans were excommunicated from their homes.
The rabbit god is hunted by everyone, the Native Americans were excommunicated from their homes.
My take is that the lyricist intentionally did this damage to their lover’s social status out of a passion, during quarrel or breakup. Now, she sees the consequences and that ghost is some inkling of remorse or the knowledge that she should feel remorse, but that doesn’t mean she...
My take is that the lyricist intentionally did this damage to their lover’s social status out of a passion, during quarrel or breakup. Now, she sees the consequences and that ghost is some inkling of remorse or the knowledge that she should feel remorse, but that doesn’t mean she really feels it.
These are the correct verses, first of all, if you hear the raw vocal tracks:
V-I:
In the first days - of the spring time Made you a prince with a thousand enemies Made a trail of - a thousand tears Made you prisoner inside your own frequency
V-II
At the first hour - of the spring time Made you a prince with a thousand enemies Now I see you - from the corner Clock strikes - and I know you will be drinking alone...
This is a quote directly from [u]Watership Down[/u] and the story of the rabbits who fled to recolonize a different place upon a premonition of danger:
"All the world will be your enemy, Prince of a Thousand enemies. And when they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you; digger, listener, runner, Prince with the swift warning. Be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed. ..."
Seeing as the video depicts rabbits and danger and all that, I would be hard-pressed to not think the quote and the video are references to the fact that these band members (3 of them anyway) are English/British and it's a 1972 British novel they likely read while young and it "got to them" to some degree. I read it in grade school too in America and I was born in '72.
But the overall message of the song about a broken relationship and her having separated him from his friends to some degree and now he is without love and without friends "drinking alone" is some reference of her remorse for what happened,...even if it's not her fault and she technically is not sorry for what happened, just has mixed feelings of how it turned out.
That's my take. :) -Krusty
Thank you for the actual lyrics, and I agree with parts of your assessment, but without even knowing that the lyrics were from Watership Down (a fav of mine btw), I had a definite sense that this song was undeniably about the Native Americans and the American/British white guilt about what happened. It's just too clear.
Thank you for the actual lyrics, and I agree with parts of your assessment, but without even knowing that the lyrics were from Watership Down (a fav of mine btw), I had a definite sense that this song was undeniably about the Native Americans and the American/British white guilt about what happened. It's just too clear.
@Krusty1 I agree w/ the Watership Down reference, nice catch, btw! Trail of a thousand tears could be a reference to the Native American displacement of the same name. Two references with some sad/negative connotations.
@Krusty1 I agree w/ the Watership Down reference, nice catch, btw! Trail of a thousand tears could be a reference to the Native American displacement of the same name. Two references with some sad/negative connotations.
The rabbit god is hunted by everyone, the Native Americans were excommunicated from their homes.
The rabbit god is hunted by everyone, the Native Americans were excommunicated from their homes.
My take is that the lyricist intentionally did this damage to their lover’s social status out of a passion, during quarrel or breakup. Now, she sees the consequences and that ghost is some inkling of remorse or the knowledge that she should feel remorse, but that doesn’t mean she...
My take is that the lyricist intentionally did this damage to their lover’s social status out of a passion, during quarrel or breakup. Now, she sees the consequences and that ghost is some inkling of remorse or the knowledge that she should feel remorse, but that doesn’t mean she really feels it.