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Grandma, my sleepless know
that you bring me some strong drink
Straighten out the pots and set them close outside
for when my belly
for when my little belly speaks
Grandma, there's air beneath my bed
and it whispers
and it whispers when I rest
with hemmed skirts
and salt and vinegar, vinegar
and water closely
Oh, water closely underhead
Grandma, the water is rising
By now this hair has gotten green
I'll be your swimming fodder starlet
when you walk safely, safely
over me
Grandma, my hands have wondered
and my legs
my little legs are getting weak
Bid, lend me your wispy frame
and guard my powers
guard my precious powers in its gate
Grandma, I've been unruly
in my dreams
and with my speech
Drill little holes into my eyelids
that I might see you
that I might see you when I sleep
Grandmother, the water is rising
By now this hair has gotten green
I'll be your swimming fodder starlet
and you walk safely, safely
over me
I'll be your swimming fodder starlet
that you bring me some strong drink
Straighten out the pots and set them close outside
for when my belly
for when my little belly speaks
Grandma, there's air beneath my bed
and it whispers
and it whispers when I rest
with hemmed skirts
and salt and vinegar, vinegar
and water closely
Oh, water closely underhead
Grandma, the water is rising
By now this hair has gotten green
I'll be your swimming fodder starlet
when you walk safely, safely
over me
Grandma, my hands have wondered
and my legs
my little legs are getting weak
Bid, lend me your wispy frame
and guard my powers
guard my precious powers in its gate
Grandma, I've been unruly
in my dreams
and with my speech
Drill little holes into my eyelids
that I might see you
that I might see you when I sleep
Grandmother, the water is rising
By now this hair has gotten green
I'll be your swimming fodder starlet
and you walk safely, safely
over me
I'll be your swimming fodder starlet
Lyrics submitted by donyon
Track duration: 02:58
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The girl is malnourished and gets fed only with kitchen scraps(pulps) when she is very hungry or when her stomach grumbles ("belly speaks"). The grandmother gives her alcohol to put her to sleep when she is kept awake by hunger.
"bid you bring me some strong drink
strain out the pulps and set them close outside
for when my little belly speaks"
She has contemplated suicide and has had dreams of running away, but feels guilty for it and things she has said to her grandmother in the past. Despite being abused, she is loyal to her grandmother and wants to spend every moment seeing her.
"Grandma, my hands have wondered"--implying her hands have a mind that has thought about killing her.
"Grandma, I've been unruly
in my dreams
and with my speech
Drill little holes into my eyelids
that I might see you
that I might see you when I sleep"
Unable to care for her, the grandma eventually drowns her in the pool by luring her out there by saying something encouraging that grandmother's commonly say: "You'll be my swimming starlet." The reference to hair turning green is what commonly happens to blond hair in chlorinated water. "The water is rising"-- the grandma is pushing her deeper and then walks safely along the edge of the pool as the girl starts dying,
Her is an archetype for Grandma intuitive wisdom, accessible through the (collective) unconscious. ‘My sleep is narrow’ refers to her ability to pinpoint meaning or knowledge in her dreams, or more broadly in the (collective) unconscious. ‘Strain out the pulps’ refers to setting reality aside while she intuitively finds meaning, ‘close outside’ so she can apply this knowledge to the outside world; after her ‘belly speaks’.
The air beneath her bed that whispers when she rests refers again to the knowledge she derives from intuition, seemingly out of thin air. ‘Bid hem the skirts in salt and vinegar’ means that she feels this intuition with her at all times, ‘closely under head’ or in her gut, specifically.
‘The water is rising’ means that she’s drowning in conscious ‘reality’ a reality that distorts true meaning. The appearances of the real world do not represent truth. “I'll be your swimming fodder starlet when you walk safely, safely over me,” means that she can navigate, or find true meaning in, such a reality when her grandma walks on the water above her, or when intuition guides her.
“Hands wandered” and “legs weak” means she’s swimming, or living in this distorted reality, but is getting tired. She wants to transcend it (“lend me your wispy frame”). Her psyche slips out of consciousness into the collective unconscious (a dream), leaving only her grandma, blind intuition, as a guide for her physical body (‘guard my precious body’).
Here she sees actual truth, rather than the veil of reality. She’s been liberated, in a sense (‘been unruly in my dreams’) and drills holes into her eyelids so she does not have to wake up (and cease knowing truth) when she returns to consciousness.
"Grandma, there's air beneath my bed
and it whispers
and it whispers when I rest"
I feel like this is the classic fear of the dark of a child who can't sleep unless his grandma watches over him
really weird i know :3
really weird i know :3
Of all the things she says she's done like being "unruly" she may feel like corpse. Not alive..good enough for her grandma to view her. As if her actions were "unruly enough" that she had might as well be dead or dying. Her conscious seems to be getting to her. Her "sleepless know"
She wants to see her Grandma, "Drill little holes into my eyelids
that I might see you, that I might see you when I sleep" Whether it be as she walks over her in heaven or in her dreams.
OR this could be just another great song. :)
My opinion is that this song is about abortion.Didn't quite interpretate all of it since it's late and I'm sleepy but I'll get back to it.
Most abortions back in the time were painful and risky,the grandmother is there probably because old women knew all about it ,pots were used for the huge loss of blood,intoxication with salt was a popular way of abortion in the 70' and 80',also intoxication with vinegar(apple vinegar) those 2 were risky and 80% of the mothers died from it.Green hair is an affliction for people with blonde,gray,white hair that stay to much in water due to assimilation of copper in hair matrix.oh also I don't know if it's the case here most probably the water simbolyses the death coming for her but they also used to place water close to a heating spot because humidity increases the chances of abortion somehow(not sure about that one).She could be a very poor girl that's dieing from an abortion.I'm getting back tomorrow to finish the interpretation.
This is my Interpretation and my opinion only so don't be hatin'
<3
grandma my sleep is narrow
bid you bring me some strong drink
strain out the pulps and set them close outside
for when my little belly speaks
grandma there's air beneath my bed
and it whispers when I rest
bid hem the skirts in salt and vinegar
and hover closely under head
grandma my hands have wandered
my little legs are getting weak
bid lend me your wispy frame
guard my precious powers in its cage
grandma the water is rising
my boundless hair has gotten green
I'll be your swimming forest island
bid you walk safely over me
grandma my sleep is narrow
bid you bring me some strong drink
strain out the pulps and set them close outside
for when my little belly speaks
grandma there's air beneath my bed
and it whispers when I rest
bid hem the skirts in salt and vinegar
and hover closely under head
grandma my hands have wandered
my little legs are getting weak
bid lend me your wispy frame
guard my precious powers in its cage
grandma I've been unruly
in my dreams and with my sleep
drill little holes into my eyelids
that I might see you when I sleep
grandma the water is rising
my boundless hair has gotten green
I'll be your swimming forest island
bid you walk safely over me
I'm submitting the lyrics from the jacket for most of the songs just because it's what Purity Ring themselves put out as the lyrics
There are a good amount of discrepancies between the recorded lyrics and the jacket lyrics