I've always wondered what this song is about. There's several things I've come up with.
My first inclination since Albert Bouchard was the writer, and he tends to lean toward sexual references, is that Quicklime may be a substitute for quick time girl. It says she "plies her trade" so she's getting paid for something. I was thinking that sailors "where coast guard crews still take their leave" hit her up for sex behind the bushes. "Where the plants grow strong and tall Behind the bush there lurks a girl
Who makes them strong and tall" could be a reference to their erections. Mistress of the "salmon salt" and "reduction of many from the one" have always seemed like code for semen to me. Perhaps they spill their semen and feed the plants that way?
She perhaps is killing her victims too, since there are ripe and ready graves. With laughter and a little step, perhaps you fall into a hole in the ground?
There's one other literal possibility. Quicklime is an actual substance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_oxide
"Because of vigorous reaction of quicklime with water, quicklime causes severe irritation when inhaled or placed in contact with moist skin or eyes. Inhalation may cause coughing, sneezing, labored breathing. It may then evolve into burns with perforation of the nasal septum, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Although quicklime is not considered a fire hazard, its reaction with water can release enough heat to ignite combustible materials." She could be burning her victims to death with quicklime, or it could even be a drug dealer reference. Since the lyrics mention gasping, and choked to death perhaps they're smoking something intended to be a drug, and it's actually poison, or perhaps they're just junkies dying from her drugs. Also, Quicklime is used to make cement, so she could be burying victims in cement too.
Another thing about the plants growing tall, is that she could be feeding actual plants with the corpses of her victims.
I believe she's a prostitute, and she lures sailors in with sex behind the bushes, and she kills them, and feeds the plants. I don't really think the drug reference makes sense if they are sailors. Sailors don't generally go off on drug binges.
I wish someone would give a definitive explanation to this song, as it's always made me wonder.
I've always wondered what this song is about. There's several things I've come up with.
My first inclination since Albert Bouchard was the writer, and he tends to lean toward sexual references, is that Quicklime may be a substitute for quick time girl. It says she "plies her trade" so she's getting paid for something. I was thinking that sailors "where coast guard crews still take their leave" hit her up for sex behind the bushes. "Where the plants grow strong and tall Behind the bush there lurks a girl Who makes them strong and tall" could be a reference to their erections. Mistress of the "salmon salt" and "reduction of many from the one" have always seemed like code for semen to me. Perhaps they spill their semen and feed the plants that way?
She perhaps is killing her victims too, since there are ripe and ready graves. With laughter and a little step, perhaps you fall into a hole in the ground?
There's one other literal possibility. Quicklime is an actual substance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_oxide "Because of vigorous reaction of quicklime with water, quicklime causes severe irritation when inhaled or placed in contact with moist skin or eyes. Inhalation may cause coughing, sneezing, labored breathing. It may then evolve into burns with perforation of the nasal septum, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Although quicklime is not considered a fire hazard, its reaction with water can release enough heat to ignite combustible materials." She could be burning her victims to death with quicklime, or it could even be a drug dealer reference. Since the lyrics mention gasping, and choked to death perhaps they're smoking something intended to be a drug, and it's actually poison, or perhaps they're just junkies dying from her drugs. Also, Quicklime is used to make cement, so she could be burying victims in cement too.
Another thing about the plants growing tall, is that she could be feeding actual plants with the corpses of her victims.
I believe she's a prostitute, and she lures sailors in with sex behind the bushes, and she kills them, and feeds the plants. I don't really think the drug reference makes sense if they are sailors. Sailors don't generally go off on drug binges.
I wish someone would give a definitive explanation to this song, as it's always made me wonder.