Lyrics for A Cannon as interpreted by Lan

A Cannon Lyrics
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

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nykol86
04-08-2006

Rated 0 
i may be wrong [but its one of my favorite regina songs] so ill start with a few touch ups for the lyrics:
where theres a quesiton mark: "and i my less and less"
and im pretty sure "then a peach" (haha) should be "then a beach"
anyway, i love the childlike fairytale quality of this song. it is as if she's describing a dream; she makes me imagine it all so visually. pang of nostalgia (that i always feel when reminiscing about childhood)

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nykol86
04-08-2006

Rated 0 
damn. i meant "and i *mind* less and less"
nothing beats correcting a typo with another typo!

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lady kiddo
07-05-2006

Rated 0 
She should be Folk Song writer queen. Honest and charming, her voice is so passionate and true. This is definitely close to being my favorite songs by her. I dance around my room, ballerina style and sing a long..beautiful Regina, absolutely beautiful!

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JaimeDarling
07-20-2006

Rated 0 
Mabey its just me cuz im a theatre freak.....but doesnt teh melody from the lines "I've woken up once
And I've twice
And I've woken up millions and millions of times" kinda sorta maybe sound a little like that little part of the song in The Magica Mr. Mistoffles in Cats? lol

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shobhna_guerin
01-12-2007

Rated 0 
I so love this song, especially the part that goes "and when I wear lipstick then no one understands me at all". Plus her voice in this song is something incredible!

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envirohodges
04-30-2007

Rated 0 
i agree with the magical feeling of this song. i love the 'i always knew a big boat would come and take me away, take me away."

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P*
06-07-2007

Rated +1 
I think this song is about a dreamer. Someone who dreams and hopes to be taken away far from where she lives. Nobody understands her, "when I wear lipstick then no one understands me at all". So she sees a boat in the distance and thinks it's calling for her. She writes a letter and leaves it for her parents or husband. She throws herself into the sea, but she drowns. Her letter is mistaken for a suicide note. And finally, people thinks she's saying "hello and goodbye", just like the water. But nobody will ever know what she's REALLY saying, because they can't understand her, which is the part where she's whispering.

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1 Reply
primadonna
07-04-2007

Rated 0 
Does anyone else notice the relation of this song to the poem by Lord Tennyson called the Lady of Shalot? It's not totally the same, but this song reminded me of it, so I thought I'd mention it.

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just_old_light
07-25-2007

Rated 0 
Oh man, this is such a beautiful song. Definitely about a dreamer; she wants to escape from her life, wants to "tell all the people to be like the water" (I think this means she wants to remind people that they are free, like water flowing in whichever direction it pleases and that *they* are the only ones who control their own lives, they are the sea under their own boats). Maybe she wants to be a writer or a singer or something, but she can't seem to properly articulate herself; no one understands her message. Either that or no one believes themselves capable of freedom and choice; they listen to her words but never apply them.

I don't think she literally throws herself into the sea and drowns. I think she pours herself into her art, I think she writes letters explaining and carries daggers protecting, but still, she's "woken up millions and millions of times" and will continue to do so. She dreams and dreams, but nothing changes. But I hear something very hopeful in this song, maybe it's just the melody, maybe it's the constant anticipation of a big boat arriving to take her away. Who knows? Maybe someday the people will understand, maybe someday she'll escape into the life she dreams of.

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love_is_free
11-15-2007

Rated 0 
In response to just_old_light (love your screen name btw, that's from Samson right?)- when she says "tell all the people to be like the water" i always thought it meant something more along the lines of a sea of people, so she can swim in them. Like the water she swam in in the song.
I don't think the escaping in this song (which i can definietely imagine was inspired by a dream) has to do with literal escaping from her life. Whenever i hear it or read the lyrics i think of regina just wanting the freedom to be herself.
I also think this song could be something entirely different. About a relationship that set her free. The big boat was a person who took her away. The canon that was fired was the start of a relationship.
The waking up once and twice and millions of times part i think symbolizes falling out of love or ending relationships. She sounds afraid that she's going to wake up somewhere off of a big boat taking her away:
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

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chelswildflower
12-28-2007

Rated 0 
primadonna, i just looked up The Lady of Shalott and it really really reminds me of this song! though i don't think it's what Regina had in mind, i can definitely see the connection

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listentothemusic_1
12-29-2007

Rated 0 
crazy happy song. does everything have to make sense?

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SecondDegreeFresh
01-18-2008

Rated 0 
I'm not positive, but I believe this song is in the key of either A or a minor, I don't have perfect pitch or a trained ear so I'm not sure... One of my favorite Regina tracks, I think it is more about nursery rhymes and fairy tales sung to children and the dreams they provoke. Thats how it's "woken up once and I'm woken up twice and woken up millions of times", and the way people try to interpret the children's stories.

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irena_s
04-01-2008

Rated 0 
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.

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4 Replies
cliche_in_our_time
11-05-2008

Rated 0 
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.

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blue.painted.tears
02-09-2009

Rated 0 
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]

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blue.painted.tears
02-09-2009

Rated 0 
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...

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yesteryear
05-05-2009

Rated 0 
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.

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respecktor
10-07-2009

Rated 0 
Maybe its about the titanic

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