Cherry Ghost – Mathematics

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  General Comment:Important to me are two things: The speaker/"I" doesn't have the girl he wants yet ("I'd hold you..", "baby out of reach"), and he always alienates the people he's trying to impress. The corrected lyrics (see first comment) seem to be appropriate if you listen very hard to the studio version of the song. According to these lyrics, it is cold mathematics which gets in the way of love. Love is irrational, crazy – but the speaker/"I" ist unable to be irrational and crazy, he can't let himself go and give in to his feelings. Instead of falling for the girl he wants, he thinks too much and alienates her, as he is alienating everyone else. So he is very lonely, but hopes that one day he will overcome his obsessive cold rationality: "But one day I will learn to shine through the unforgiven sounds of cold mathematics making it's move on me now."
  Another interpretation could be that the girl rejects the speaker/"I". She is heartless and imposes cold mathematics on him. He is lovesick and lonely and has cruel visions of "peacocks on the chopping block". And he hopes that some day he will get through to her, so that he won't have to hear "unforgiven sounds of cold mathematics" anymore. In this interretation it is a song about rejected love.
  I think it is a great song because it is ambivalent and invites you to look at it from different perspectices. However, what I don't hear in the lyrics is the equation love = mathematics. And: I hope that Cherry Ghost will tour Germany one day!

  Flag dasteddenon March 19, 2013   Link

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  Lyric Correction:Meet me on the corner by the fire escape and I'll be waiting,
  Every inch of back roads that have put me here will disappear,
  And I'd hold you in my arms,
  But cold mathematics's making it's move on me now,
  
  Peacocks on the chopping block and in the docks, my boats are burning,
  You're beautiful and trivial and baby, just out of reach,
  So give me the unforgiven sound,
  Of cold mathematics making its move on me now,
  
  Towards the stars the great silence,
  It's the only place I have left to go,
  And I'd hold you in my arms,
  But cold mathematics's making its move on me now,
  
  It's funny how I always seem to alienate the people that I'm
  Trying to impress but one day I will learn to shine,
  Through the unforgiven sounds,
  Of cold mathematics making it's move on me now,
  
  And I'd hold you in my arms,
  And cold mathematics's making its move on me now,
  
  Cold mathematics making its move,
  Cold mathematics making its move,
  Cold mathematics making its move.

  Flag niteflite01on January 07, 2011   Link

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    My son was born around the time this song was released and I absolutely love it.. It holds even more significance for me now because three weeks after he was born he was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis and the song took on a whole new meaning...the reality of CF is all numbers and science - this song kind of speaks to me about that...

    Flag lewisgirlon November 03, 2011  
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  General Comment:This song is amazing. mathematics is cold, calculated, kinda void of emotion if you know what i mean. This is what love is to the singer in my opinion.

  Flag THYDEon November 12, 2007   Link

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  General Comment:I think this is a song that is describing Love as Mathematics instead of the usual "chemistry"
  Seen them 3 times this year and will see them again in 2 weeks time.
  awesome song

  Flag meleon October 26, 2007   Link

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