Damien Rice – Eskimo

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  General Comment:I looked everywhere (well.. it didnt took me long) and Eskimo is how some people call Cocaine.. so I never thought this was actually about some Eskimo friend.. it didnt make sense to me, but i always had the feeling that Damien must have been pretty high on something when he wrote this song (I have that feeling in a few of his songs)... and now I confirm it and know that is about getting high on cocaine... lol

  Flag natty791on July 02, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:For me this is a song about am eskimo who used to be friends with another eskimo but fell out because they couldn't agree on whether or not the igloo they were building together should have windows or not.
  
  The "empty space" of the first verse clearly refers to an unfurnished igloo - the protaganist is "irritated" by his eskimo friend's insistence on having windows put in whereby "brightness fills" the living (for "living" read "empty") space. This space may also refer to outer space though Rice tantalisingly leaves this idea unresolved.
  
  Later the protagonist is possibly portrayed as being self-conscious about his appearance as he had recently spent time abroad in a muddy wet country (Rice here is possibly hinting at a "mythical/symbolic" Ireland - perhaps the ultimate "destination" of his soul) and does not want external natural light pouring down on him revealing his muddy wet face. The protagonist wants to be "washed" as is alluded to in the bridge - but he finds this too "hard" because the "speed" at which he would have to scrub to remove the mud stains from his face and body would more than likely result in skin abrasions and not completely remove the mud. Eskimo skin tends to absorb mud and other terrestrial detritus more readily and is therefore harder to clean.
  
  

  Flag princeofprofundityon September 03, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:When i heard this song I thought it made no sense at all until i started singing it. This song is clearly about drug use - specifically cocaine use. Think about it, why would someone look to their 'Eskimo friend' only 'when their down' that kind of friendship would definitely suck in reality! When i think of Eskimos snow comes to mind. When i think of snow - which is white and powdery - cocaine comes to mind.

  Flag JustHearMeOuton July 15, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:for some reason id never heard this song untill like 3 weeks ago and i heard it during class while i was fighting with one of my friends and it just really got to me becuase since we stopped being friends everything became harder to do wihtout him but i was always wiht him still and i would get really good ideas when i was near him and thinking of him..so i love thi song

  Flag HandfulOfRedemptionon May 31, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:I was under the impression that Lisa Hannigan wrote the words to this song. I dunno.
  In my itunes the composer is listed as Lisa and all the other songs as Damien...i don't know what to take from that hehe
  I am aware that Lisa Hannigan can play guitar, so she could have written the guitar part, but also the lyrics seem a little different to what Damien writes...They did have a large influence on eachother...so it could be either way...
  
  Whoever wrote it!!! Amazing song...one of my favorite songs of all time!!

  Flag Dannoneusk91on May 16, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:Has anyone noticed that the eskimo song is 16 minutes long?? I let it play on and there is two other songs within that song! One he sings and the otherlisa songs! Dont know if anyone knows that just thought i would share the info!!

  Flag karenwon May 13, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:To me, it definitely seems like he's talking about his dog. My guess is that he has a husky or some similar looking dog with thick fur around its neck, that makes it look like an Eskimo. Every time I listen to this song, it makes me think of my dog. It seems like my dog knows when I'm upset before any one else does, and he always tries to cheer me up when I'm crying. Ever since I was young, I've had a dog, and they're amazing for comfort when you're in a difficult situation. You can vent to them and they'll never hold it against you.

  Flag ralissaon February 25, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:the finnish opera is so beautiful - haunting and powerful and sweet.. damiens broken voice is perfect - full of despair yet still allowing for moments of hope he finds in the comfort of who or whatever he is singing about (cocaine, lover, a spiritual being, etc)

  Flag elysium.contúon September 21, 2008   Link

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  General Comment:who would agree with the fact that this is about masturbation?
  
  It comes down to him being despondent, and looks for some sort of comfort.
  
  I figured eskimo reffered to this source of comfort.
  
  judging on other Damien rice songs
  it doesn's seem to far fetched to me

  Flag Salamaniron February 03, 2008   Link

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  General Comment:no idea about the meaning, but read on the msg boards on his website that the song is about doing coke, kinda works with the lyrics

  Flag wheresackon January 31, 2008   Link

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