I have always loved this song by Tanita Tikaram. Anyone who is old enough to remember the 80s, especially those from Europe, will remember this song when they hear it. The lyrics are to love, although I'm not totally sure I understand them. It is quite "mysterious". Here's the video (equally haunting) for your viewing pleasure, and the lyrics. If you would like to dissect the lyrics, have a go at it and let me know what you think they mean. I think I have some idea, something about our way of life and life in general, resignation, strength/will, but I can't put it all together. :)
I read somewhere it is about the "evening news"...Also, Maya Angelou has a book titled "All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes". Hmmm, maybe the song IS about evening news...
I feel like there's something in this song about turning our heads away from all the "problems" in the world when we actually pretend to "care" and "be good/giving"...Something like we all talk the talk, but how many of us actually walk the walk? Something about hypocrisy...Especially in the first few lines, where she says "all god's children need traveling shoes (Angelou's book is an autobiography of her life Africa, so maybe there's a reference there to the "developing world" or people in need...I think there's a portrayal of "unhappiness" and underprivileged people in the video, too), drive your problems from here, all good people read good books, now your conscience is clear, I hear you talk girl (you read, you sound intelligent when you talk, you're "good" because you "cared"?)...The eyes being holograms, does that stand for witnessing and taking things into memory? "Twist in my sobriety" sounds cool, although I have no idea what that means. Something that just adds to her state of being sober apparently, haha...And the use of sobriety and the word "twist" there form a nice contrast. Love drawing red from the hands- a religious reference? You pig out 'til you've seen the light-you live carelessly until you actually start seriously caring?
I could be totally off base here, can anyone help me out? :)
All god’s children need traveling shoes
Drive your problems from here
All good people read good books
Now your conscience is clear
I hear you talk girl
Now your conscience is clear
In the morning I wipe my brow
Wipe the miles away
I like to think I can be so willed
And never do what you say
I’ll never hear you
And never do what you say
Look my eyes are just holograms
Look your love has drawn red from my hands
From my hands you know you’ll never be
More than twist in my sobriety
We just poked a little empty pie
For the fun people had at night
Late at night don’t need hostility
The timid smile and pause to free
I don’t care about their different thoughts
Different thoughts are good for me
Up in arms and chaste and whole
All god’s children took their toll
Look my eyes are just holograms
Look your love has drawn red from my hands
From my hands you know you’ll never be
More than twist in my sobriety
Cup of tea, take time to think, yeah
Time to risk a life, a life, a life
Sweet and handsome
Soft and porky
You pig out ’til you’ve seen the light
Pig out ’til you’ve seen the light
Half the people read the papers
Read them good and well
Pretty people, nervous people
People have got to sell
News you have to sell
Look my eyes are just holograms
Look your love has drawn red from my hands
From my hands you know you’ll never be
More than twist in my sobriety
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9 comments:
wow. tanita tikaram. i haven't heard that name in a long time. is she still alive? i did like that song. thanks for reminding me. as for the meaning. hmm. i have to say poetry never made much sense to me. i prefer it all spelled out. i guess i'm differently wired. and it seems to me that as soon as i think i know what she's talking about, she changes the subject. afraid i'm not much help there. sorry.
Hint: meanings of 'twist'.
One of my all time favorites. Here is something I thought you would like to see.
http://www.tanitatikaram.com/
The Roman Rogoweicki Interview
Roman: Do you mind telling us about the song "Twist In My Sobriety"? I suppose everyone knows it but few people are aware what it's really about.
Tanita: Oh, it's quite funny, the first line "All God's children need travelling shoes" comes from a book by Maya Angelou; I don't know why I used it but it sounded poetic and spiritual too me; the rest of the song is really about not understanding - when you're 18, you've got a very particular emotional relationship with the world, you feel very isolated, and everybody else is so distant and cold. And I think I was singing about not feeling anything or not being moved by things around. I think this is a strong feeling when you're just after adolescence. There is a very good film called 'Heavenly Creatures' by a director from New Zealand, I don't know if you've seen it, it's about two girls that kill their mother.
Roman: Oh, no...
Tanita: but it's not the murder that matters but their feelings and how you're feeling at that time. But then it passes by.
Roman: I think most of your songs are about emotions and relationships people have. Are you honest in your songs or are you just playing games?
Tanita: Actually, I think I'm playing games. (laughter) I don't know, I think both. Not with you, but with myself as well. I mean, I don't want to fool a listener, but in everything I write there's a sense of truth and untruth, but I try to make untrue things real as well, so it's a kind of a game.
Roman: What a pity, I thought you're honest with us.
Tanita: (laughter) I try, but it's a kind of a game.
Thank you for the interview! Well, that clarifies things I guess. :)
What rock have I been living under? Discovered this video today. Hauntingly beautiful. I think your take on the lyrics are right on.
well, my opinion on this song is that it is a song about loving an ego maniac, self centered person, or sociopath.
Start of the song, reference to "good people", is about the fact that people, especially self centered ones tend to find excuses to look at them as "good" people.
A bit of irony, maybe. "People are not good just for wearing traveling shoes" and they are "good" so their "conscience is clear".
Second verse is about not giving yourself to the influence of that person. Wish that you can separate from them easily.
"Look my eyes are just holograms
Look your love has drawn red from my hands" - it could be about the emotional drain which loving such person can do. Sucking up the love from someone until they run out of blood and life shine in eyes.
i totally agree with the last interpretation
and i believe that someone can see all the other issues the other people have picked up from the song - it depends on the listener and the thoughts this song brings him/her. it reminded me of people with hypocrisy who have influenced us in the past - may be we liked what they did to us - but we refuse to let them influence us any more and we try to convince ourselves that they are just a twist from our sobriety - like getting drunk for a night - and whatever we do while drunk - does not matter - it's not our regular self - it's just a twist - after that things will get back to normal
Here is my interpretation of certain parts of the song. Feel free to disagree with any of it.
The reference to sobriety or being sober always caught me as something deeper than being physically sober. Drawing from the idea of the "morning news interpretation", I get the idea that the depressing and unpleasent stories often heard on the morning news can be intoxicating to the mind in a way (therefore being the "twist" in sobriety).
The references to unhappiness in the video enforces a the idea of how the "intoxication" from the media (the news) tends to make us realize how much wrong is in the world.
The imagery of eyes being like holograms brings up the realization of how artificial our attitudes have become towards the problems of the world. A hologram is an image and eyes being like images suggests that we are "turning a blind eye".
The "love drawn red from my hands" can be seen as a representation of how people go to extremes for what they believe in. "Love" is a reference to a cause one believes strongly in, and "drawing red" being the extreme actions one would take (such is killing or hurting others). For some reason, that line makes me think of war.
Hope that helps.
Peace,
Revekka
The word "twist" has many meanings, one being "a curled piece of orange or lemon used to flavour a drink".
So "you'll never be more than twist in my sobriety" says: the journey of my life is bleak, prim, proper, very isolated, and everybody else is so distant and cold; I read my improving books and reject the temptation you represent by force of my will; I am imprisoned by my clear conscience; you were a brief interlude, a small spot of flavour but I have seen the light and that is all you will ever have been to me.
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