It's about two young lovers, soulmates, it's also a very spiritual song. The man dies young, and many years later, as the woman nears her death, she goes back to the place where she was most happy in her life and remembers him. The title itself "Fields of Gold" means that their love was worth far more than gold, and walking in "fields of gold" means that they have something very special and glorious between them, their love is so deep that it transcends everything, including time, space, lives, etc.
The first stanza is going back in memory and remembering that time when she was happy with him. It describes falling in love and how exciting that feeling was. There, they swear that their love will be forever. A line I love is "we'll forget the sun in his jealous sky..." I've always taken this to mean that their time in that life is limited, that he will die a young man, and she will have to live many years without him. Forgetting the sun in the jealous sky talks about that cycle of day and night that is comparable to life and death. They are forgetting for a while that their moments together are limited and that the life they have together will end rather soon. For that while, they are just enjoying their time together, living in the moment and not thinking about anything else.
"Many years have passed..." she returns to that physical place where she was happy with him, but also she returns to the place in her mind. It has been a long time, so things have changed. She watches children (not her own, just children playing) near this place, and the sun is setting. Here again is the life/death cycle.
As for the west wind, it's like a trigger for her memory, that feeling ignites her memories again, and they are bittersweet, she remembers the happiness she felt for him, but there is also the pain of losing him. I've always thought of the last stanza as a switch of perspective. Whereas till that point, he was basically speaking to her telling her she will remember him, now she is speaking to him. "You can tell the sun in his jealous sky when we walked in fields of gold", meaning that because he's already passed away, he now sees the bigger picture and can tell that time cannot touch their love, for it transcends everything.
@MurasakiGrey thank you! Your interpretation aligns most strongly with my feelings for this track, particularly around the life/death cycle. The only thing I'd add is the life/death cycle is about the relationship and not necessarily speaking to mortality.
@MurasakiGrey thank you! Your interpretation aligns most strongly with my feelings for this track, particularly around the life/death cycle. The only thing I'd add is the life/death cycle is about the relationship and not necessarily speaking to mortality.
@MurasakiGrey When he was young, he promised her if she loved him, she wouldn’t regret moving on from the jealous sun, the summer of her life, idle amusement, and that she’d be reminded of that every time the west wind blows. She took her love and gave it to him on that promise. The west wind blew them onward through life. Now he’s dead and gone, but his promise held true. She remembers him every time the west wind blows, and she sees the life they built together (e.g., the children). The things we cultivate here on earth together, the...
@MurasakiGrey When he was young, he promised her if she loved him, she wouldn’t regret moving on from the jealous sun, the summer of her life, idle amusement, and that she’d be reminded of that every time the west wind blows. She took her love and gave it to him on that promise. The west wind blew them onward through life. Now he’s dead and gone, but his promise held true. She remembers him every time the west wind blows, and she sees the life they built together (e.g., the children). The things we cultivate here on earth together, the fields of barley, are a gold greater than the sun we can never truly touch or reap.
It's about two young lovers, soulmates, it's also a very spiritual song. The man dies young, and many years later, as the woman nears her death, she goes back to the place where she was most happy in her life and remembers him. The title itself "Fields of Gold" means that their love was worth far more than gold, and walking in "fields of gold" means that they have something very special and glorious between them, their love is so deep that it transcends everything, including time, space, lives, etc. The first stanza is going back in memory and remembering that time when she was happy with him. It describes falling in love and how exciting that feeling was. There, they swear that their love will be forever. A line I love is "we'll forget the sun in his jealous sky..." I've always taken this to mean that their time in that life is limited, that he will die a young man, and she will have to live many years without him. Forgetting the sun in the jealous sky talks about that cycle of day and night that is comparable to life and death. They are forgetting for a while that their moments together are limited and that the life they have together will end rather soon. For that while, they are just enjoying their time together, living in the moment and not thinking about anything else. "Many years have passed..." she returns to that physical place where she was happy with him, but also she returns to the place in her mind. It has been a long time, so things have changed. She watches children (not her own, just children playing) near this place, and the sun is setting. Here again is the life/death cycle. As for the west wind, it's like a trigger for her memory, that feeling ignites her memories again, and they are bittersweet, she remembers the happiness she felt for him, but there is also the pain of losing him. I've always thought of the last stanza as a switch of perspective. Whereas till that point, he was basically speaking to her telling her she will remember him, now she is speaking to him. "You can tell the sun in his jealous sky when we walked in fields of gold", meaning that because he's already passed away, he now sees the bigger picture and can tell that time cannot touch their love, for it transcends everything.
Couldn't agree with your interpretation of these lyrics more MurasakiGrey - spot on!
Couldn't agree with your interpretation of these lyrics more MurasakiGrey - spot on!
I can't thank you enough Murasaki for explaining the lyric's it has given me great comfort at a time of bereavement.
I can't thank you enough Murasaki for explaining the lyric's it has given me great comfort at a time of bereavement.
@MurasakiGrey thank you! Your interpretation aligns most strongly with my feelings for this track, particularly around the life/death cycle. The only thing I'd add is the life/death cycle is about the relationship and not necessarily speaking to mortality.
@MurasakiGrey thank you! Your interpretation aligns most strongly with my feelings for this track, particularly around the life/death cycle. The only thing I'd add is the life/death cycle is about the relationship and not necessarily speaking to mortality.
@MurasakiGrey When he was young, he promised her if she loved him, she wouldn’t regret moving on from the jealous sun, the summer of her life, idle amusement, and that she’d be reminded of that every time the west wind blows. She took her love and gave it to him on that promise. The west wind blew them onward through life. Now he’s dead and gone, but his promise held true. She remembers him every time the west wind blows, and she sees the life they built together (e.g., the children). The things we cultivate here on earth together, the...
@MurasakiGrey When he was young, he promised her if she loved him, she wouldn’t regret moving on from the jealous sun, the summer of her life, idle amusement, and that she’d be reminded of that every time the west wind blows. She took her love and gave it to him on that promise. The west wind blew them onward through life. Now he’s dead and gone, but his promise held true. She remembers him every time the west wind blows, and she sees the life they built together (e.g., the children). The things we cultivate here on earth together, the fields of barley, are a gold greater than the sun we can never truly touch or reap.