Sad Lisa Lyrics
she must be hurt very badly,
Tell me what's making you sadly.
Open your door, don't hide in the dark,
you're lost in the dark, you can trust me,
'cause you know that's how it must be,
Her eyes like windows,
tricklin' rain upon her pain, getting deeper
though my love wants to relieve her.
She walks alone from wall to wall, lost in a hall,
she can't hear me, though I know she likes to be near me,
She sits in a corner by the door.
There must be more I can tell her.
If she really wants me to help her,
I'll do what I can to show her the way,
and maybe one day I will free her,
'though I know no one can see her.
Lisa Lisa, sad Lisa Lisa.
My name is Lisa. My husband died in 2012 and now it's 2016. He sent me this beautiful song while I was planning his funeral. I posted my interpretation on this site in 2013. Currently it is found on page two of this blog.
Whatever Cat had in mind when he wrote this haunting song, it will always represent the death of my husband, the love of my husband, and his last words to me given after his death.
Tea for Tillerman is on my CD changer in the car. It will always be. Every time Sad Lisa plays, I remember how much he loved me.
It played on the way home tonight and I remembered the Sad Lisa interpretation post and wondered what site I posted it to over 4 years ago, then let the question fade. Checking my email as I always do first when I return home, I received a notice that someone had rated up my first post. With that notice I was able to relocate the post and read it again.
I cried again. This time it was tears of joy. He's still out there, helping me when he can. I love you Lorin.
@Huff actually it reply’s to the children with autistic disorder (Ass) or any kinderen of depression which the parents and the society has no knowledge about it and they don’t understands the struggles , that’s why those kids walk among us without been seen ! In this case it’s about those kids ( Lisa ) is the imaginary figure whom she represents those kids!
@Huff actually it reply’s to the children with autistic disorder (Ass) or any kinderen of depression which the parents and the society has no knowledge about it and they don’t understands the struggles , that’s why those kids walk among us without been seen ! In this case it’s about those kids ( Lisa ) is the imaginary figure whom she represents those kids!
That's such a beautiful thing you shared with us. Mine died in 2014. His ghost isn't helpful though. He still likes to **** with me every now and then. He makes me mad but I still love him with all my heart. I kinda wish he'd stop haunting me though, because it's been like 7 years and I don't want to be a widow anymore, it's lonely. I'd like to be with someone else. He always was a possessive man.
That's such a beautiful thing you shared with us. Mine died in 2014. His ghost isn't helpful though. He still likes to **** with me every now and then. He makes me mad but I still love him with all my heart. I kinda wish he'd stop haunting me though, because it's been like 7 years and I don't want to be a widow anymore, it's lonely. I'd like to be with someone else. He always was a possessive man.
My husband, a natural born musician, passed on last December. While planning his funeral, sitting on his side of the bed near the door in the corner of the room, listening to a TV new age music channel, wearing his shirt, and sobbing now and then, a most beautiful instrumental by Angels of Venice caught my attention. I looked up to see the words 'Sad Lisa' floating across the TV screen. My name is Lisa.
The next day I bought the Angels of Venice CD. I told my sister about the beautiful music and how I hoped it was a message from my husband. She called me back within the hour to let me know the song was by Cat Stevens and told me to read the words of the song.
My husband's urn was on a memorial table in the hall outside our bedroom. I had spent days wandering our large home alone. I was crying on his shirt in the corner by the door. Somehow, he sent me this most beautiful song.
I love him more than life itself, and he loved me, for over 20 years. I know now that he'll show me the way if he can. And he knows no one can see me, the real me that is. The me that he knew.
I think the lyric is "sad, Li" and not "sadly". The first is an affectionate short name for Lisa and the second is just messed up English.
I agree - my name is Lisa, and my parents and close friends call me Li sometimes, so I just assumed that's what the lyric actually is.
I agree - my name is Lisa, and my parents and close friends call me Li sometimes, so I just assumed that's what the lyric actually is.
Same here. I always thought it was "Sad, Li". My name is Lisa as well. So they call me "Lee". It makes more sense if the lyric is What's making you sad, Lee? It's more personal, since he is speaking diretly to Lisa. And clearly having a one-sided conversation with her.
Same here. I always thought it was "Sad, Li". My name is Lisa as well. So they call me "Lee". It makes more sense if the lyric is What's making you sad, Lee? It's more personal, since he is speaking diretly to Lisa. And clearly having a one-sided conversation with her.
I always felt that she was Agoraphobic. (Afraid of leaving her house). But then my name is Lisa, I had Agoraphobia, so maybe I just want her to be like me. It does make sense though. He is the only one who can see her/touch her....
I always felt that she was Agoraphobic. (Afraid of leaving her house). But then my name is Lisa, I had Agoraphobia, so maybe I just want her to be like me. It does make sense though. He is the only one who can see her/touch her. Perhaps he lives with her. He almost seems like her carer.
To me, this is one of the saddest songs ever written. The line, "My love wants to relieve her" and "open your door, don't hide in the dark" they just break my heart. The piano is just perfect. Particularly the end piece. It becomes erratic and grating. Leading to no particular climax. The same with Lisa. We don't know what will become of her. But it won't be good. She almost seems doomed.
@snowie0wl While your reasoning makes sense, all printed sources of sheet music and even the lyrics on the vinyl cover indicate "Sadly." Cat Stevens had a reputation of being very precise about the lyrics whenever in print.
@snowie0wl While your reasoning makes sense, all printed sources of sheet music and even the lyrics on the vinyl cover indicate "Sadly." Cat Stevens had a reputation of being very precise about the lyrics whenever in print.
Those are lots of interesting interpretations to ponder. I remember when this song first came out. I thought it was about a girl in an institution struggling with depression for the first 95% of the song. The twist at the end "I know nobody can see her" made me believe that she was actually all in his mind. Kind of like a struggling imaginary friend that made me believe it was he who was struggling. No matter how you interpret this song it strikes me as being a beautiful combination of tenderness, sadness, hope, while being haunting.
@LIT4EVER I remember this song well too. I hadn't paid much attention to the line "I know nobody can see her" escaped me. Like you, I got a picture of a girl struggling with some sort of trauma or depression,
@LIT4EVER I remember this song well too. I hadn't paid much attention to the line "I know nobody can see her" escaped me. Like you, I got a picture of a girl struggling with some sort of trauma or depression,
Been a devote Cat fan since he first arrived. As a songwriter, he ranks up there with Lennon and Clapton. just my opinion after many years of listening.
Like many, I struggled for years on the true meaning. Some of you are right. AshenCharm is the closest. Lisa is a spirit or ghost and obviously dealing with some serious emotional isues. And may very well be stuck in some twilight zone, neither world (possible for hundreds of years?). After realizing Cat Stevens was a genius and so much is written "between the lines" in most of his work, I took it a little farther. Try this --- Lisa, the spirit, has fallen in love with the storyteller. How and why does is not important. OR vic' versa -- He has fallen in love with Lisa, the spirit. Either way, one can't tell the other. But there are "vibes".
Ok. Just to make it more interesting, consider this possibility -- Lisa is very much alive (still with the emotional issues) and the STORYTELLER is the ghost/spirit!
And that, ladies and gents, can drive one crazy! LOL.
"Thank you Yussif for the brilliance in all your songs."
Sad Chris: I was just 19 when my girlfriend, who would have been my friend/wife for life, got pancreatic cancer and died, taking a part of my heart with her!
Although I have since met and married the most fantastic woman with a heart and soul of pure gold, the missing part of my heart sometimes tugs, in the form of Sad Lisa. Then I can't help feeling sorry for that 19 year old boy - even though it is myself - cruelly torn during the period in my life.
Why is it that perhaps every writer will, with certainty, write at least one heartbreaking song?
SadChris: To see Cat in that concert at Williamsburg, Virginia, is to see someone who is pure music, sharing with the world, that which is food for our souls, perhaps one of God's greatest gifts to us.
SadChris: To see Cat in that concert at Williamsburg, Virginia, is to see someone who is pure music, sharing with the world, that which is food for our souls, perhaps one of God's greatest gifts to us.
You can see it in way he moves, plays and sings. Thank you Cat!
You can see it in way he moves, plays and sings. Thank you Cat!
This is SUCH a beautiful song. This song reminds me of when I was depressed, which I was for years and years, and everytime I'm sad again, or someone's wronged me I listen to this and brings back memories of old pain, and I know it may seem a little odd but it feels good to remember times like those, just cos I got through them. But now I'm just rambling :p lol. I love the way he uses a kind of pun...dunno if anyone else noticed it. "Her eyes like windows, trickling rain, upon her pain getting deeper", pain could also be seen as window PANE.
Anyway, this song makes me cry. My mom played it to me when..well something really bad had happened to me, something I couldn't tell ANYONE about, and I kept holding it back and then one night I just sat with her and cryed on her shoulder. I still couldn't tell her, but I think she could relate this song perfectly then. "Open the door, don't hide in the dark" "Tell me what's making you Sadly"
This is just the ultimate song for deep and beautiful sadness. If you could call it that.
This is the most beautiful song. I first heard it about 3am coz i put this album on when i was going to sleep, then had it so it repeated the entire album over and over. I woke up and heard the piano and freaked out coz i didnt know where it was coming from. But I loved it from the minute i heard it
"Open your door, don't hide in the dark," "Her eyes like windows, tricklin' rain upon her pain, getting deeper" "She walks alone from wall to wall, lost in a hall,"
They are my 3 favourite lines. I love this song and Cat Stevens is a legend
doggs are powerful.dawg
This song is about and autistic girl, his sister. No one sees her, means everyone lese has stopped trying. She is locked in an institutuion. Only he comes to visit any more. She know he is all she has left, but cant reach out to him.
@jojopenny No. Just No. This is not about some imaginary autistic sister. If you want to make up your own meaning by all means go at it. But don't say that is what this song is about. Someone will believe you. And they will tell someone else perhaps. Then we have another stupid myth. Morons shouldn't be allowed on the internet. The man is still alive. And the true meaning is out there if you'd like to look for it. She was a person he knew, but she wasn't his sister.
@jojopenny No. Just No. This is not about some imaginary autistic sister. If you want to make up your own meaning by all means go at it. But don't say that is what this song is about. Someone will believe you. And they will tell someone else perhaps. Then we have another stupid myth. Morons shouldn't be allowed on the internet. The man is still alive. And the true meaning is out there if you'd like to look for it. She was a person he knew, but she wasn't his sister.