There are several references to Nietzsche in this song.\n\nFirst, the image of night falling. In Zarathustra, Nietzsche sings "Night has come: now all the songs of lovers awaken. And my soul too is the song of a lover" The night he refers to has to do with the loneliness of a bold spirit who has no one to learn from, that can only shower the world with their light, but has no light to bask in.\n\nTools and the hands made for them refer to sculpting. Nietzsche once accused Christians of making humanity into a divine abortion, suggesting that if there were a god he would be torn between rage and laughter at the sight and would ask "Was this a work for your hands? Look how you have botched my beautiful stone!" Case is establishing her right to her own creative endeavors, a right that no one else could possibly claim. She is even more boldly claiming a multiplicity of tools that were made for her hands, to which only she has a right.\n\nThe tide that smashes her plans is herself. Despite the claims of others that her creation is somehow easy. But as she is the only one she respects to criticize herself, she is also the one who will redeem herself for the suffering she has caused herself. Self-overcoming is a principal theme in Nietzsche\'s work. "There\'s nothing you can say to me" is the arrogance of the artist in refusing to acknowledge that anyone else has a right to presume they know what her art is about. She revenges herself all over herself by producing her art and vanquishing her own doubts and self-sabotage.\n\nThe boreal feast is I think a re-imagining of Nietzsche\'s labyrinth and the minotaur that devours those brave enough to venture into it. Her "urge" leads her into a lonely wilderness far from help. When she is consumed by it there is no way for anyone to rescue her, but she doesn\'t seek rescue. She wants to give herself to her art completely.\n\nThe falling star refers to inspiration. Others are incapable of catching the star she catches. Her inspiration is for her alone (the image of star as inspiration is also present in Nietzsche\'s Night Song). "Wash your hands of it, because you can\'t hold it" implies that our inspiration does not belong to us in any safe or tame way. Compare the image of the falling star from Howl\'s Moving Castle. The falling star is both wonder and calamity at the same time.\n\nAnd I do think the "drugs that keep me slow" is a reference to her ADHD. The dead pharoah line I take as a reference to the fact that cocaine has been discovered in ancient Egyptian mummies. As a stimulant, cocaine may be a useful treatment for ADHD. This feeds into the overall message of her fealty to her art, she sees her ADHD as an obstacle that interferes with her expression. \n\nBut even if she medicates her way around that, the coming of night, the loneliness of the artist cannot be prevented. What I get from the refrain is Case\'s defiance. She doesn\'t care what others say about her, because they can\'t possibly understand her anyway. Her tools were simply not made for their hands.
There are several references to Nietzsche in this song.\n\nFirst, the image of night falling. In Zarathustra, Nietzsche sings "Night has come: now all the songs of lovers awaken. And my soul too is the song of a lover" The night he refers to has to do with the loneliness of a bold spirit who has no one to learn from, that can only shower the world with their light, but has no light to bask in.\n\nTools and the hands made for them refer to sculpting. Nietzsche once accused Christians of making humanity into a divine abortion, suggesting that if there were a god he would be torn between rage and laughter at the sight and would ask "Was this a work for your hands? Look how you have botched my beautiful stone!" Case is establishing her right to her own creative endeavors, a right that no one else could possibly claim. She is even more boldly claiming a multiplicity of tools that were made for her hands, to which only she has a right.\n\nThe tide that smashes her plans is herself. Despite the claims of others that her creation is somehow easy. But as she is the only one she respects to criticize herself, she is also the one who will redeem herself for the suffering she has caused herself. Self-overcoming is a principal theme in Nietzsche\'s work. "There\'s nothing you can say to me" is the arrogance of the artist in refusing to acknowledge that anyone else has a right to presume they know what her art is about. She revenges herself all over herself by producing her art and vanquishing her own doubts and self-sabotage.\n\nThe boreal feast is I think a re-imagining of Nietzsche\'s labyrinth and the minotaur that devours those brave enough to venture into it. Her "urge" leads her into a lonely wilderness far from help. When she is consumed by it there is no way for anyone to rescue her, but she doesn\'t seek rescue. She wants to give herself to her art completely.\n\nThe falling star refers to inspiration. Others are incapable of catching the star she catches. Her inspiration is for her alone (the image of star as inspiration is also present in Nietzsche\'s Night Song). "Wash your hands of it, because you can\'t hold it" implies that our inspiration does not belong to us in any safe or tame way. Compare the image of the falling star from Howl\'s Moving Castle. The falling star is both wonder and calamity at the same time.\n\nAnd I do think the "drugs that keep me slow" is a reference to her ADHD. The dead pharoah line I take as a reference to the fact that cocaine has been discovered in ancient Egyptian mummies. As a stimulant, cocaine may be a useful treatment for ADHD. This feeds into the overall message of her fealty to her art, she sees her ADHD as an obstacle that interferes with her expression. \n\nBut even if she medicates her way around that, the coming of night, the loneliness of the artist cannot be prevented. What I get from the refrain is Case\'s defiance. She doesn\'t care what others say about her, because they can\'t possibly understand her anyway. Her tools were simply not made for their hands.