Great song! I must admit I had never heard of Arthur Russell before but heard a cover Sufjan Stevens did of this song and now I want to check out more of his stuff.
I think Russell voiced really beautifully the tension when there is a person in your life you are attracted to, drawn to, and compelled to but the situation is messy and you can't just jump in and act on that feeling.
There are misgivings for some reason (a voice is telling me to run away) and so even though he is drawn to her he has a conflict between the head and the heart. It brings him to this place where he is in uncharted waters ("out on the ocean surf" "not on my turf" metaphor) where he wants her but doesn't know if it will work, if she even feels the same or wants him.
I found myself thinking "Shalalala... you gotta.... kiss the girl....." If only it were always that simple.
Great song! I must admit I had never heard of Arthur Russell before but heard a cover Sufjan Stevens did of this song and now I want to check out more of his stuff.
I think Russell voiced really beautifully the tension when there is a person in your life you are attracted to, drawn to, and compelled to but the situation is messy and you can't just jump in and act on that feeling.
There are misgivings for some reason (a voice is telling me to run away) and so even though he is drawn to her he has a conflict between the head and the heart. It brings him to this place where he is in uncharted waters ("out on the ocean surf" "not on my turf" metaphor) where he wants her but doesn't know if it will work, if she even feels the same or wants him.
I found myself thinking "Shalalala... you gotta.... kiss the girl....." If only it were always that simple.