a cannon was fired by the light of the moon
I'm waiting, the boat should be here very soon
and I mind less and less all the silly
pictures that hang 'round my room for now
I write you a letter, I hope you feel better
I hope you forgive the transgression, I've given
you love and I've given you anger as well
and I meant them both

I always knew it was coming this way
I always knew a big boat would come and
take me away

I stood on my bed then I slipped on my dress
then I ran through the halls like a ghost and in case
someone heard me I grabbed up a dagger
that I'd never use unless...

bare feet on a cobblestone street, then a beach
then a splash in my ankles, my knees, then my thighs
and my eyes open wide, I threw myself right into the sea
and I could see it was coming my way

I always knew a big boat would come and
take me away

I've woken up once and I've woken up twice
and I've woken up millions and millions of times
somebody's got to tell all the people to be like the water

I would if I could but I can't so I don't
my heart breaks too easy, my words get all jumbled
and when I wear lipstick then no one
understands me at all
they think I'm saying hello and goodbye
what I'm really saying is...

I've woken up once and I've woken up twice
and I've woken up millions and millions of times...



Lyrics submitted by Lan


A Cannon song meanings
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23 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:I always thought the whispers mean that she is dying to say her real feelings, which she still must keep to herself. People think she's fine, they think she's just small-talking, "hello, goodbye", but actually she has much deeper feelings inside of her. Or maybe it's about how people think she has nothing to say, or she's worthless and stupid (like "hah she wears lipstick, what a dumb bitch"=nobody understands her at all) and she only can say hello&goodbye when actually she has so much to say
    I'm a really bad explainer, sorry!
    OH YEAH, and this song also makes me think about our trip to portugal. I commented my interpretation of this song on a comment of this song in youtube. Go find it if you can, my username is also lilyfloss there:)
    Flag Lilyflosson February 24, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Personally I think this is one of her more innocent songs. A girl who is a dreamer and decided to leave it all behind and go somewhere on a boat. The letter is who she's left, whether it be her family or what have you, hoping she hasn't upset anyone by leaving so abruptly. No one understands her, so she's leaving, going somewhere where no one knows her and she can be anyone she wants. That's all, in my opinion. :)
    Flag littlefidelityon May 03, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:To me, this song is from the perspective of a delusional escaped mental hospital patient. To me, the song is sort of sad and happy at the same time. I think Regina sings the song with a sort of innocent wide-eyed enthusiasm.
    "a cannon was fired by the light of the moon
    I'm waiting, the boat should be here very soon
    and I mind less and less all the silly
    pictures that hang 'round my room for now"
    I think that's sort of the senseless ramblings of the character, speaking of the boat that she imagines is going to take her away.
    "I write you a letter, I hope you feel better
    I hope you forgive the transgression, I've given
    you love and I've given you anger as well
    and I meant them both"
    I think she's speaking of a frantic letter she left behind for her caretakers, speaking of hectic episodes as well as any affection she had for them.
    "I always knew it was coming this way
    I always knew a big boat would come and
    take me away" This is the wide-eyed enthusiasm I was speaking of. If you really listen to Regina's voice, she sounds like a little kid who's making up a grand story.
    "I stood on my bed then I slipped on my dress
    then I ran through the halls like a ghost and in case
    someone heard me I grabbed up a dagger
    that I'd never use unless..."
    Her sneaking out. I think the "unless" part might refer to delusions she's had, or maybe dreams in which she has to fight off monsters or ghosts.
    "bare feet on a cobblestone street, then a beach
    then a splash in my ankles, my knees, then my thighs
    and my eyes open wide, I threw myself right into the sea
    and I could see it was coming my way
    I always knew a big boat would come and
    take me away"
    This is her finally committing suicide and literally throwing herself into the sea. Then, the excited talk of the "boat" again, which is all fantasy.
    "I've woken up once and I've woken up twice
    and I've woken up millions and millions of times"
    I think the "woken up" part could have something to do with coming out delusions or not being able to tell whats real from fantasy.
    "somebody's got to tell all the people to be like the water"
    I believe this to be a sort of very casual final musing of the drowning mental patient. She's feeling the flow of the ocean, enjoying it's beauty, and she very casually thinks to herself, "Everybody should fell the natural flow of the ocean. Somebody's got to tell all the people to be like the water". Of course, it's too late for her to do that. I think this part could sort of hint that in a way, this person might be the only sane person surrounded by insane people. She understands the rhythm of the ocean which the uptight society in which she lives might not.
    "I would if I could but I can't so I don't
    my heart breaks too easy, my words get all jumbled
    and when I wear lipstick then no one
    understands me at all
    they think I'm saying hello and goodbye
    what I'm really saying is [whispers]"
    I think this is her rambling to herself, and recounting how no one understands her or can properly communicate with her. I think the "lipstick" could be a sedative they give her that makes her a zombie and makes it so that she can't speak properly at all. Maybe this sedative makes her hallucinate that other people think they are having ordinary conversations with her, "hello", "goodbye".
    I hope my interpretation is somewhat coherent.
    Flag gregjeeon January 29, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I agree with p*, for the most part.

    The singer is an idealist, and a dreamer. She believes in these collassal, romantic, adventurous tales. Eventually, she thinks, she will escape to a bigger, more exciting, almost magical life.

    But cooped up with the unimaginative, unsympathetic people of her world, she starts to go mad. She imagines a boat sailing towards the shore, for her. She writes off a letter, then runs out and throws herself into the sea, drowning, and no longer waking up millions of times.
    Flag TheAwkwardSwanon January 23, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Maybe its about the titanic
    Flag respecktoron October 07, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i love this song, i love this song, this is the most amazing Regina Spektor song there is. It is so strangely true, it's amazing.
    Flag yesteryearon May 05, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Also, the lines -
    'I've woken up once and I've woken up twice
    and I've woken up millions and millions of times'
    remind me a lot of Sleeping Beauty, except each time she's 'woken up' is like a sort of rebirth or a revelation...
    Flag blue.painted.tearson February 09, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I love the part in the line 'When what I'm really trying to say is -' where she whispers incoherently. It's like we're all curious to find out what she's really trying to say, and we can't understand it. It symbolizes a lot of things. Maybe she's really trying to say nothing. Maybe what she is trying to say can't be expressed through words. Maybe she's expressing the futility of such statements - if someone says something wise and profound, it'll probably sound like gibberish to the general public. Maybe she wants us to imagine what she could be saying.

    Haha, I got so carried away. X]
    Flag blue.painted.tearson February 09, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This has one of the best feelings of any of Regina's songs.


    She seems to be expressing this longing and expectancy of freedom. It's like she's been waiting for this moment her whole life, and nobody understands that [I hardly see Regina without lipstick], but she's going to go for it, and "be like the water," by going with the flow, and encourages mankind to do the same.
    Flag cliche_in_our_timeon November 05, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:It reminds me of a Russian novel called The Scarlet Sails. It's about a girl who waited for the ship that would take her away... Very similar sentiment to the one in the song. It's really striking. You should look it up, people.
    Flag irena_son April 01, 2008   Link

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