Regina Spektor – Pound of Flesh

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if you're never sorry
then you can't be forgiven
if you're not forgiven
then you can't be forgotten
if you're not forgotten
then you can live forever
if you live forever
then you'll begin to dream
of death...

ezra pound sat upon my bed
asked me which books as of late I've read

ezra pound sat upon my bed
asked me which books as of late I've read
asked me if I've read his own
and whether I could spare a pound
of flesh to cover his bare bones
I says, man, take a pound, take two
what's a pound of flesh between
friends like me and you?
what's a pound of flesh among friends?

but if you're never sorry...

if you're never sorry
then you can't be forgiven
if you're not forgiven
then you can't be forgotten
if you're not forgotten
then you must live forever
if you live forever
you cannot be reborn
if you're not reborn then
you can't be a baby
if you're not a baby
you can't learn how to crawl
if you cannot crawl away
then you must stay in bed all day
if you stay in bed all day
you're sure to have some visitors

ezra pound'll sit upon your bed
ask you which books as of late you have read
ask you if you've read his own
and whether you could spare a pound
of flesh to cover his bare bones
you'll say, man, take a pound, take two
what's a pound of flesh between
friends like me and you?
what's a pound of flesh among friends?...

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Lyrics submitted by Airyca

Track duration: 03:25


Pound of Flesh song meanings
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28 Comments

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  • -1
    General Comment:i didnt know who ezra pound is, so I was guessing that he was the grim reaper
    Flag SunnyPeeon December 22, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Well, to understand this song one must first know the accurate history of Pound.

    Ezra Pound wasn't crazy. He wasn't even anti Semitic. He wanted the US to know the truth about a group of the most powerful people in the world and he was imprisoned for it.

    So, with that said, if you understand that you might interpret that Regina is actually talking to those people in this song. If they're never sorry, they can't be forgiven.
    Flag lonelypoeton October 28, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:Well, I have a story.

    Regina's in bed, mentally insane, reading the same books over and over and over.

    She can't stop thinking of death and has mental images of Ezra asking for her flesh, which she complies with.

    Her friends and family are worried for her, but they don't do a damn thing to stop it.

    She just wants to die and be reborn because the mental illness is affecting her so much.
    Flag Solluxon August 22, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:ha ha i used to think it was about the bubonic plague. well it was probably the time coincidence of when i discovered this song. thats when i learned about the plague. but of course i still did not know about shakespear or ezra pound, so i just thought it was like this sick friend that was asking from help from another sick friend. and then if you refused to help and were never forgiven then you ( so on and so on, the lyrics go on..)but well now i know about the holocaust and so its completely different now. BEST SONG EVER:):):)
    Flag astridgaminoon November 09, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:okay. she's in her bed, ezra pound pops up. he asks if she's read his book, basically if she knows who he is. he asks her for a pound of flesh, she gives it to him. she refers to them as friends so she knows who he is, knows about his antisemitism. the shakespeare reference has already been pointed out. in the merchant of venice the one demanding a pound of flesh is jewish, here the roles have been reversed. i feel that this is all about being weak and giving in. then she talks about having to be sorry to be forgiven. i feel that this has to do with christianity, as long as you confess your sins god will forgive you.

    so i think that this song is basically all about people giving in and giving up their beliefs. asking those you don't like for help, giving help to those who don't like you. apologizing for doing something that others consider wrong just in order to be accepted.
    Flag jorrrdynon September 22, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:This song used to be called "Ezra Pound" in the earliest concerts.
    Flag TTamon January 26, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Ezra Pound was an imagist poet during WW2 who openly supported Mousellini and was later convicted of treason or something like that. He plead insane and spent the rest of his life in a crazy house. I don't know what it has to do with the song, but maybe that'll lead someone to say something insightful about thes song.
    Flag ryelikethebreadon December 13, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song is very interesting, when i hear it, i see this guy ezra pound, an anti-sematic who never died because he was never sorry, going around talking to other people who arnt sorry,and being nice to them, making small talk, then asking for a pound of flesh, which they give... and them regina tells about how he is collecting these pounds of flesh so thathe can be reborn...

    very interesting concept....

    Flag ClockWork95on August 26, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i found it an interesting coincidence that ezra pound, the poet mentioned in the song, had a lifelong affair with a woman named dorothy shakespear, while parts of the song seem to be in reference to will shakespeares play merchant of venice. just a thought.
    Flag lovetherainthemoston April 24, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I didn't see the meaning of this in a biblical or religious sense. I took it on a more personal level of relations; friendship.

    "What's a pound of flesh between friends"
    -that is repeated throughout the song only to illustrate the perversion of what "friends" are all about, sarcastically speaking. Ironically, it's a play on words, the ingredient of what makes up a friend, by definition.

    case in point:

    say someone fails to recieve an apology, in a relationship that depends on one. It is ideal, an or safe to say that the realtionship between the two are over but ironically, given the ingredient..

    "if your never sorry, you can't be forgiven. and if your not forgiven you can't be [forgotten]"
    which means
    if you can't forget someone you one had a good relations with, it's not over

    The Ingredient:

    "beginning w/
    if your never sorry....

    to...
    if you're not reborn then
    you can't be a baby
    if you're not a baby
    you can't learn how to crawl
    if you cannot crawl away
    then you must stay in bed all day
    if you stay in bed all day
    you're sure to have some visitors(i.e.) 'FRIENDS'"


    this suggests that pompous people such as Ezra Pound are to be, not so much saw as an enemy but not to be mistaken for a friend either (considering they won't apologize), but by definition, people like Pound will have some visitors (friends)
    who will likely pass, in empathy, and give you their time "a pound of flesh". as a play on words:
    friends will eventually empathize with you even "if your never sorry" to someone who need your empathy.
    Flag treefloweron February 27, 2009   Link

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