Although I agree with blue_bathtub that it can be read in an end-of-a-relationship context, I also think that the song is really more general.
Sometimes, you think you are worth nothing. That you cannot be loved, that you don't really deserve life. You want "all that is not [yours]," that is, a standard and a happy life, with a good job and a family and someone who truly and tenderly loves you. You don't think you are good enough to have it - and when it comes to love, when you sincerely fall in love with someone, you are quite sure that he does not want you, that "[you're] not right."
In a way, you perceive yourself as a "suffocator," mainly for the ones surrounding you. But the one you are really smothering actually is you. That second verse really makes me think of suicide: it's like she does not want to live anymore, because she thinks she useless. Therefore, by committing suicide, she thinks she will not only help the ones she knows (she won't be a burden for them anymore). In a more down-to-earth interpretation, it's also like her body, by disintegrating itself, will help vegetation to grow (and so turn her into a useful "thing"). Following the same idea, but more poetically, it reminds me of a description of death found in Philip Pullman's trilogy "His Dark Materials," where it is said that dead bodies liberate, in a way, their molecules, which will expand into nature and form rivers and trees and the sky...
The last verse eventually describes more accurately that feeling that she does not do anything except wasting her friends and acquaintances' time. The emphasis laid on the fact she would rather stay "inside her mother" is overwhelming, in my sense.
I love Daughter and the way they embody all sorts of feelings in their songs. They are indeed all linked to sadness and even sometimes despair, but they are so true...
I completely agree, I can't believe I didn't see the suicide connotation before! "In the darkness I will meet my creator" certainly indicates death. When she says "I'm sorry if I smothered you" that's actually very sad if she means that in a "I'm sorry for being useless and taking up your time." Also before that I think she actually says "I'm alone" which is certainly how someone would feel when they are depressed. This song is just so depressing and beautiful at the same time.
I completely agree, I can't believe I didn't see the suicide connotation before! "In the darkness I will meet my creator" certainly indicates death. When she says "I'm sorry if I smothered you" that's actually very sad if she means that in a "I'm sorry for being useless and taking up your time." Also before that I think she actually says "I'm alone" which is certainly how someone would feel when they are depressed. This song is just so depressing and beautiful at the same time.
you said everything i felt about this song. although i didn't initially draw the lines between this and the concept of dust in his dark materials... however it is a beautifully apt comparison. i've never encountered anyone else that has read that series.
you said everything i felt about this song. although i didn't initially draw the lines between this and the concept of dust in his dark materials... however it is a beautifully apt comparison. i've never encountered anyone else that has read that series.
I can't relate to this song SO much.
Although I agree with blue_bathtub that it can be read in an end-of-a-relationship context, I also think that the song is really more general.
Sometimes, you think you are worth nothing. That you cannot be loved, that you don't really deserve life. You want "all that is not [yours]," that is, a standard and a happy life, with a good job and a family and someone who truly and tenderly loves you. You don't think you are good enough to have it - and when it comes to love, when you sincerely fall in love with someone, you are quite sure that he does not want you, that "[you're] not right."
In a way, you perceive yourself as a "suffocator," mainly for the ones surrounding you. But the one you are really smothering actually is you. That second verse really makes me think of suicide: it's like she does not want to live anymore, because she thinks she useless. Therefore, by committing suicide, she thinks she will not only help the ones she knows (she won't be a burden for them anymore). In a more down-to-earth interpretation, it's also like her body, by disintegrating itself, will help vegetation to grow (and so turn her into a useful "thing"). Following the same idea, but more poetically, it reminds me of a description of death found in Philip Pullman's trilogy "His Dark Materials," where it is said that dead bodies liberate, in a way, their molecules, which will expand into nature and form rivers and trees and the sky...
The last verse eventually describes more accurately that feeling that she does not do anything except wasting her friends and acquaintances' time. The emphasis laid on the fact she would rather stay "inside her mother" is overwhelming, in my sense.
I love Daughter and the way they embody all sorts of feelings in their songs. They are indeed all linked to sadness and even sometimes despair, but they are so true...
Oh dear, let me correct that: I CAN* relate to this song.
Oh dear, let me correct that: I CAN* relate to this song.
I should definitely check my text before sending it.
I should definitely check my text before sending it.
I completely agree, I can't believe I didn't see the suicide connotation before! "In the darkness I will meet my creator" certainly indicates death. When she says "I'm sorry if I smothered you" that's actually very sad if she means that in a "I'm sorry for being useless and taking up your time." Also before that I think she actually says "I'm alone" which is certainly how someone would feel when they are depressed. This song is just so depressing and beautiful at the same time.
I completely agree, I can't believe I didn't see the suicide connotation before! "In the darkness I will meet my creator" certainly indicates death. When she says "I'm sorry if I smothered you" that's actually very sad if she means that in a "I'm sorry for being useless and taking up your time." Also before that I think she actually says "I'm alone" which is certainly how someone would feel when they are depressed. This song is just so depressing and beautiful at the same time.
you said everything i felt about this song. although i didn't initially draw the lines between this and the concept of dust in his dark materials... however it is a beautifully apt comparison. i've never encountered anyone else that has read that series.
you said everything i felt about this song. although i didn't initially draw the lines between this and the concept of dust in his dark materials... however it is a beautifully apt comparison. i've never encountered anyone else that has read that series.