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Helplessly hoping her harlequin hovers nearby
Awaiting a word
Gasping at glimpses of gentle true spirit he runs
Wishing he could fly
Only to trip at the sound of goodbye
Wordlessly watching he waits by the window and wonders
At the empty place inside
Heartlessly helping himself to her bad dreams he worries
Did he hear a good-bye?
Or even hello?
They are one person
They are two alone
They are three together
They are for each other
Stand by the stairway you'll see something certain to tell you
Confusion has its cost
Love isn't lying it's loose in a lady who lingers
Saying she is lost
And choking on hello
They are one person
They are two alone
They are three together
They are for each other
Awaiting a word
Gasping at glimpses of gentle true spirit he runs
Wishing he could fly
Only to trip at the sound of goodbye
Wordlessly watching he waits by the window and wonders
At the empty place inside
Heartlessly helping himself to her bad dreams he worries
Did he hear a good-bye?
Or even hello?
They are one person
They are two alone
They are three together
They are for each other
Stand by the stairway you'll see something certain to tell you
Confusion has its cost
Love isn't lying it's loose in a lady who lingers
Saying she is lost
And choking on hello
They are one person
They are two alone
They are three together
They are for each other
Lyrics submitted by DustinGC
Track duration: 02:39
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And the guy is himself the harlequin, it is not more complex than that: he feels himself a clown that is 'helplessly hoping' that she will give him his love, only to hear that she's out again (goodbye), and only to realize that perhaps she hasn't even said goodbye at all. And a minute later he sees his rival standing at the staircase, and the woman is indeed in love, but not with the harlequin but with another man, she is 'loose', and she is embarrassed and doesn't know what to say to him anymore).
I had never really listened very closely to the text, but some of the sentences always made me feel as if the man and wife had been married for a long time and when they got older, the man was slowly getting into a state of, say, Alzheimer's, and the woman found herself progressively letting him go, emotionally that is, and what we hear the song tell is how the man sort of recognizes how his wife is leaving him (not literally but in terms of the relation) and then gets confused again, and forgets, and so on. The 'three together' may then refer to the disease of the man that stands in between them.
Reading the text closely I think I am overinterpreting the song and it is really more about the woman losing her love for the man while the man only slowly starts to realize it (and way too late to revive it).
Lancelot was Gwenevere's servent and secret lover (she a queen, he a knight), her Harlequin. She always looked for him, but he would leave on long quests in an effort to distance himself from her.
Lancelot always saw himself as a sadistic savage, as inherently bad. He feel in love with Guinever when he was taken aback at his ability to hurt her gentle spirit. He did not think he was worthy of any love, especially hers. Again, he would flee from her. 'Gasping at glimpses of gentle true spirit he runs wishing he could fly'. However, he could not bear her being angry with him or her sending him away. At one point she becomes enraged at him and sends him away. He went mad and disappeared for a long period of time. Tripped at the sound of goodbye.
Their worst nightmare was to be discovered and thereby executed. Arthur loved them both and turned a blind eye to their affair. However, if they were publically exposed (which they were eventually) he would have had no choice but to hold up the rule of law, because that was what he based his entir reign on. That was the bad dream that Lance would delve into. Lance was moody and worrisosme and would want to discuss these issues at length, that or his self loathing. She also feared he would leave her for another lover. Which he never would have except he was tricked once and ended up getting a girl pregnant.
Guinevere's love for Lance never eased. It was always loose. She always lingered around waiting for him to return. Even when she was angry with him. She had no children, Arthur was often away. The castle seemed a prison for the Queen. She felt lost vey often, and very often was choked with fear, loneliness and boredom.
The chorus refers to the love triangle between Lancelot, Guinevere and Aurthur. They were all the greatest of friends and loved one another very much.
It is an incredibly romantic and moving love story! I hope that you enjoyed my interpretation of this wonderful song.
(Sorry about the spelling errors)
"Helplessly hoping her harlequin hovers nearby
Awaiting a word"
She is waiting to hear a kind word from her man/clown.
"Gasping at glimpses of gentle true spirit he runs
Wishing he could fly
Only to trip at the sound of goodbye"
This dude startled by the blinding love she shows him, and gets scared at the thought of commitment (who hasn't been there?), but then confused, to think he could blow it when he hears her say "goodbye".
"Wordlessly watching he waits by the window and wonders
At the empty place inside"
He realizes he blew it by leaving her, and wonders what the hell happened.
"They are one person
They are two alone
They are three together
They are for each other"
They each are individuals, but being in each other lives, they are two (or maybe too) alone, when separated. I think the "three" refers to the three entities in a relationship- There is "Me", "Her", and "Us". They are for each other is obvious, and brilliant, IMHO.
"Stand by the stairway you'll see something certain to tell you
Confusion has its cost
Love isn't lying it's loose in a lady who lingers
Saying she is lost
And choking on hello"
After the break up, they run into each other at the grocery store, i.e., and realize what they had. I do like the imagary of the stairway with family photos, as someone mentioned earlier.
Which then reverts back to the chorus.
Absolutely brilliant song in so many ways. And the chorus, when taken by it self, is great for a toast at weddings.
The couple has been together for sometime, possibly even married and have a love child (whom they love very much).
The song is about doubts, expectations, disappointments that come with long relationships, plus the difference in general feelings between man and woman.
"Helplessly hoping her harlequin hovers nearby
Awaiting a word.."
She is still an innocent child at heart, her harlequin, that faithful friend she could talk to, she misses, and wishes it was there to listen to her.
"Gasping at glimpses of gentle true spirit he runs
Wishing he could fly
Only to trip at the sound of goodbye."
He is a man, with endless dreams and ambition, and feels he is missing opportunities, and wants to wash his hands of the relationship. But when faced with the ramifications of actually ending it, he realizes it is too important, and he's too invested. This is where a child can keep two people together despite a tumultuous relationship.
"Wordlessly watching he waits by the window and wonders
At the empty place inside
Heartlessly helping himself to her bad dreams he worries
Did he hear a good-bye?
Or even hello?"
He is looking for that intellectual stimulation that many men want from their wives, but never comes. Many Women just don't find joy in deep conversation with their husbands. Men can, in their efforts to draw this out of the girl, dig too deep into the girl's psyche to try and generate something, force them to open up. All the while he is driving her away from him, slowly destroying the relationship, and he knows it. The goodbye would be a painful relief. But his persistence now has him stuck in a hell where he's tainted the relationship to the point she won't open up to him at all.. Not even a hello.
They are one person (Married)
They are two alone (if Separated, with a double meaning of 'too alone' while together).
They are three together (Man, Woman, and Child)
They are for each other (Helplessly bound to one another by reality)
"Stand by the stairway you'll see something certain to tell you
Confusion has its cost
My stairway is lined with Family pictures. Pictures of earlier times in the relationship. When measured up to how things are now, you wonder.. what happened? Where is that magic?
Love isn't lying it's loose in a lady who lingers
Saying she is lost
And choking on hello"
A dig on the fickle heart of woman.. And another reference to how her pride or feelings have now closed her off from him.
Peace and Love to everyone.. (Except evil people).