Most of this song is fairly straightforward, but the line that still has me fairly stumped is "those two blue eyes light your face in sky blue."
I'm not entirely sure who this is supposed to be talking about. If we imagine the song is some sort of metaphor for Aboriginal Australians and the Stolen Generation (I think while you could make some sort of parallel to American Indians and all indigenous peoples, the use in Rabbit Proof Fence and the image of the train evokes the specific Stolen Generation), then it makes the most sense that the narrator is an Aboriginal person of some sort.
That being the case, two options:
The person being spoken to in the first verse is European.
The person being spoken to in the first verse is Aboriginal.
I can't really see the first option making sense because the reference seems too positive - If you're an Aboriginal person in the context of the Stolen Generation, why would you associate the eyes of a European almost wistfully with the wide, expansive sky?
The second option, while not clear, is more interesting thematically, and seems to resonante with RPF. The whole reason for the SG was basically to try and 'breed out' aboriginality, teaching Indigenous people white ways, and intermarrying with white people. This could result in children with fairly pronounced aboriginal features, but with paler skin, blonder hair, and blue eyes.
At around the time RPF came out (and incidentally, when UP was released), there was an ongoing discussion in Australia about whether people with blue eyes and fair skin could be considered 'Aboriginal', particularly in Tasmania, where the indigenous population had either died out or intermarried, mostly for reasons of government compensation and land ownership. I wonder whether this lyric is somehow an accepting of that, of an acknowledgement of that 'white indigenous' person still having a connection to that ancestry, and the land?
Of course the whole interpretation is thrown a little out of whack by the fact that this song was basically written as far back as Us in '92 - I'm not sure how much of the above was a live issue back then. It actually seems more likely to me that it is a line that is either throwaway, (the imagery just works well), or otherwise has some other personal meaning not related to RPF. The fact that Peter put the tune without the lyrics on the film (even though he had the lyrics) would seem to support that.
Anyway, I thought my interpretation had some merit, even if it wasn't PG's intent. The line still puzzles me, though.
Most of this song is fairly straightforward, but the line that still has me fairly stumped is "those two blue eyes light your face in sky blue."
I'm not entirely sure who this is supposed to be talking about. If we imagine the song is some sort of metaphor for Aboriginal Australians and the Stolen Generation (I think while you could make some sort of parallel to American Indians and all indigenous peoples, the use in Rabbit Proof Fence and the image of the train evokes the specific Stolen Generation), then it makes the most sense that the narrator is an Aboriginal person of some sort.
That being the case, two options:
I can't really see the first option making sense because the reference seems too positive - If you're an Aboriginal person in the context of the Stolen Generation, why would you associate the eyes of a European almost wistfully with the wide, expansive sky?
The second option, while not clear, is more interesting thematically, and seems to resonante with RPF. The whole reason for the SG was basically to try and 'breed out' aboriginality, teaching Indigenous people white ways, and intermarrying with white people. This could result in children with fairly pronounced aboriginal features, but with paler skin, blonder hair, and blue eyes.
At around the time RPF came out (and incidentally, when UP was released), there was an ongoing discussion in Australia about whether people with blue eyes and fair skin could be considered 'Aboriginal', particularly in Tasmania, where the indigenous population had either died out or intermarried, mostly for reasons of government compensation and land ownership. I wonder whether this lyric is somehow an accepting of that, of an acknowledgement of that 'white indigenous' person still having a connection to that ancestry, and the land?
Of course the whole interpretation is thrown a little out of whack by the fact that this song was basically written as far back as Us in '92 - I'm not sure how much of the above was a live issue back then. It actually seems more likely to me that it is a line that is either throwaway, (the imagery just works well), or otherwise has some other personal meaning not related to RPF. The fact that Peter put the tune without the lyrics on the film (even though he had the lyrics) would seem to support that.
Anyway, I thought my interpretation had some merit, even if it wasn't PG's intent. The line still puzzles me, though.
Of course, the album for RPF was instrumental, no vocals, so it's possible there are no lyrics for that reason only.
Of course, the album for RPF was instrumental, no vocals, so it's possible there are no lyrics for that reason only.