THIS SONG. This song. Oh my god, the vocals in this one.
The beginning phrase, "No show," is to me the vaguest line in the song. 'No show' can mean not showing up at an appointed hour, but here I think it indicates that prior to moving in with this person, she's only been 'told' who he is, not 'shown' firsthand. She doesn't know what exactly yet she's getting with him, and won't know for certain until she commits to this act of living together and being at those levels of familiarity and intimacy. "No show / Isn't that how it goes?"
The other thing I love about these lines is the duality of the choral implication. A previous lover broke her with abuse. If this new love turns out to be the man she believes he is, and that "one hand to my head" is gentle and kind, it will wreck her in a different but still terrifying way--something akin to breaking her open with love? She's making herself so vulnerable, and he is going to break her either with unforeseen cruelty or with his love and kindness. The act of tentative trust and supplication and the soaring vulnerability in this song are just... immense.
My sibling said, when listening to this song for the first time: "I hope it ends happily" and so it does. Literally and figuratively, "he lets me in."
THIS SONG. This song. Oh my god, the vocals in this one.
The beginning phrase, "No show," is to me the vaguest line in the song. 'No show' can mean not showing up at an appointed hour, but here I think it indicates that prior to moving in with this person, she's only been 'told' who he is, not 'shown' firsthand. She doesn't know what exactly yet she's getting with him, and won't know for certain until she commits to this act of living together and being at those levels of familiarity and intimacy. "No show / Isn't that how it goes?"
The other thing I love about these lines is the duality of the choral implication. A previous lover broke her with abuse. If this new love turns out to be the man she believes he is, and that "one hand to my head" is gentle and kind, it will wreck her in a different but still terrifying way--something akin to breaking her open with love? She's making herself so vulnerable, and he is going to break her either with unforeseen cruelty or with his love and kindness. The act of tentative trust and supplication and the soaring vulnerability in this song are just... immense.
My sibling said, when listening to this song for the first time: "I hope it ends happily" and so it does. Literally and figuratively, "he lets me in."