Dear someone listening in the shadows
I only talk to you sometimes
And though I ask for help in riddles
It is clearer in my mind, clearer in my mind

Born of a sign that carries vessels
But in a month that's cold as ice
I know I question things too quickly
But I have never questioned if I've loved

Dear someone watching from the shadows
I'm clenching water in my fists
the drops, they slip right through my fingers
But there's water on my lips, water on my lips

Born of a sign that carries vessels
But in a month that brings just ice
I know I question things too quickly
But I've never wondered if I've loved

Dear someone watching from the shadows
You've seen me lose all the water from my hands
I'm not a skillful water carrier
But the raindrops keep falling on my head, falling on my head

Born of a sign that carries water
But in a month that brings just ice
I'm not a skillful water carrier
But I've learned to carry love,
learned to carry love...



Lyrics submitted by flore


Aquarius song meanings
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  • 0
    General Comment:Most of regina's songsu guys are sarcasm look at "human of the year" "ave maria" she sings sarcasm sooo well and in her genius way its hard to tell thus ppl will still like her. lol. Oh how I love her soooo much. Shes absolutely brilliant. She gets me. (as creepy as that is) im so much like her.
    Flag reginasbitchon August 07, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Regina is clearly an atheist and this song proves it. Some atheists dont believe in astology and astrological signs. So this song is all sarcasm mocking this "God" who is supposedly always "listening in the shadows" (omnipresent) . shes saying if you are God and u can read minds, and u are all knowing (Omniscient) , why do I have to verbally ask for what I want all the time or use words that lose all my meaning in riddles, when its clearer in my mind? So shes questioning and mocking this god in the shadows. Then she went on to point out the paradoxes of the aquarius sign : "Born of a sign that carries vessels
    But in a month that's cold as ice"

    And in her genius brilliant regina spektor way she uses metaphors to basically combine the contradictions of god and the phenomenon of astrology to point out that they clearly dont exist, love is the undeniable true religion, she cant carry water, she ask for help in riddles but she doesnt deny that she knows one thing Love, LOVE is her religion and her personality cannot be defined by the stars.
    Flag reginasbitchon August 07, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song in my interpretation is about Regina. She was born on the last day of the Aquarius zodiac sign. The line "Dear someone listening in the shadows" is hear addressing the audience. At most performances the stage is lit and the house is dark.
    I believe that lines referencing water and ice are about what she wants to do in life versus what she is capable of doing. Her disappointment have yet to keep her from enjoying life.
    Flag Armistanceon August 20, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I guess someone listening in the shadows might be "the water carrier" as an aquarius i see "him" as a kind of LORD, as someone who has power over my behaviour, but also might be God, if she isn't atheist, when she speaks about "learn to carry love" she is talking about universal love, Aquarius phrase is "I LOVE", so she might be talking about love for humanity not for "someone", the raindrops might be the ideas, wisdom, aquarius is a sign of air, an intelligent sign, and one of the things that water represents in aquarius is wisdom. As an aquarian this song is very touching for me, I cried first time I listen to it, I feel this song as if it was mine.
    Flag dadu1on January 21, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"just a heartache that caught in my eye"
    Flag botchoyon November 30, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Alright, I love this song. I never really thought of her to be sinning to god. Just to someone who would listen. Like a diary, but verbal. It sounds like a cry for help. When I fist heard this song, I thought maybe she was talking to the person listening to the song. but then she goes on to say "Dear someone watching from the shadows You've seen me lose all the water from my hands" which means it's someone she often talks to.
    I know Regina Spektor is very religious, so there is no doubt there is a possibility that the shadow person is god. But to me, an atheist, the shadow person is not. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder-right?


    ps, Go Aquarii :D
    Flag KathrynHon November 06, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i think when she says dear someone she is maybe talking to God. or maybe anyone out there.
    i am a christian and i am NOT forcing this on people. because they have free will and its ur choice. :)
    Flag kenniehi77on November 01, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I like all the God-related interpretations, but I don't really think that's what it's about.

    Meet Quirky Aquarius Girl. She doesn't really confide in anyone, because she thinks she's so odd. She's not sure of much, but she understands love. However, most people won't give her the chance to prove it because she's so unusual. She points out all the paradoxes of her sun sign ("born of a sign that carries water, but in a month that brings just ice").

    Now she decides to confide in someone, at long last. She "only talks to them sometimes," but they understand her. She's never really had success in love before ("the drops slip right through her fingers") but this person has seen her through thick and thin ("you've seen me lose all the water from my hands")... and they've realized that they're right for each other.

    I could be completely off, of course. I just really connected with the song when I heard it, because I related to that particular interpretation. It's like the story of my life. :D
    Flag TheAwkwardSwanon October 24, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I agree with littlestkinner that this is more to a loved one that isn't there any more but they are sill in the shadow of her mind so she doesn't think of them as often as she use to. But they know her faults so when she need help with something that seems impossible like clenching water in her fists and she is questioning the things that are happing in her life she can think back at how much she loves them so it'll be ok
    Flag jojojeton May 25, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song feels like she's talking to someone who has died, that she loved very much, and that she tried with every fiber of her being to "save them", or at least held onto the them for as long as she could (holding onto the water), it was fruitless (month's as cold as ice). However, that person taught them love, and she carries that for all time. I don't know, it just seems to be a very intimate song about loss to me.
    Flag notanotheremosn3on May 02, 2009   Link

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