Like raspy says, she stated in an interview that she was assaulted, and this song was kind of her way of coping with the situation. She said she spent years paranoid and frightened, and finally opted to make a song that kind of subverts her assault -- it kind of fingers the line of sounding like SHE'S the one stalking someone at night and also being stalked.
The first half of the song is very narrative -- walking around at night, musing about how she can just walk up to the man and snap his neck. Sort of a reversal of power. But then, she talks about how -she- fearfully walks, staring straight ahead, fighting the urge to glance behind her, etc. However, this is still sung in sort of an ambiguous way, like she's commenting on the man she follows glancing at her, and she's staring straight ahead, focused on him. Finally, the "See you on a dark night" is pretty literal but still ambiguous, both the statement of the stalker and the stalked -- they know they'll see each other on a dark night. It's both helpless and powerful, to fit both roles.
The second half is when it seems to turn to self-reflection and her fear of men. She mentions her aloneness and how it's hard to have a relationship with a man again, she can't find someone to hold her hand. But, she doesn't enjoy her fear, and she really just wants someone to give her the kick she needs to grow out of it; to look into her eyes and tell her everything is okay ("la la la la la~")
Like raspy says, she stated in an interview that she was assaulted, and this song was kind of her way of coping with the situation. She said she spent years paranoid and frightened, and finally opted to make a song that kind of subverts her assault -- it kind of fingers the line of sounding like SHE'S the one stalking someone at night and also being stalked.
The first half of the song is very narrative -- walking around at night, musing about how she can just walk up to the man and snap his neck. Sort of a reversal of power. But then, she talks about how -she- fearfully walks, staring straight ahead, fighting the urge to glance behind her, etc. However, this is still sung in sort of an ambiguous way, like she's commenting on the man she follows glancing at her, and she's staring straight ahead, focused on him. Finally, the "See you on a dark night" is pretty literal but still ambiguous, both the statement of the stalker and the stalked -- they know they'll see each other on a dark night. It's both helpless and powerful, to fit both roles.
The second half is when it seems to turn to self-reflection and her fear of men. She mentions her aloneness and how it's hard to have a relationship with a man again, she can't find someone to hold her hand. But, she doesn't enjoy her fear, and she really just wants someone to give her the kick she needs to grow out of it; to look into her eyes and tell her everything is okay ("la la la la la~")
x)