Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
You put your hand on top of mine
You're talking fast but talking blind
And I can't bring myself to meet you're eyes
'Cause death is slowly covering you
In galaxies of black and blue
And under your skin all his colours bloom
And you're only half here
Like someone left a frail body and took the rest
But I remember when you were strong
Never wanted help from no-one
What you've become is not who I remember
Is this the cooling of the embers?
She's off again through summers past
The smell of rain and freshly cut grass
Seems those ordinary days are the ones that last
'Cause he was there, the one you loved
The one you never could let go of
And there's something you know as you're looking up
That your only half here
Like someone left a frail body and stole the rest
But I remember when you were strong
Never wanted help from no-one
What you've become is not who I remember
Is this the cooling of the embers?
Is this the cooling of the embers?
'Cause you are not who I remember
It's like you are a child, you are a child, you are a child once more
And all of our yesterday's have gone
You put your hand on top of mine
You're talking fast but talking blind
And I can't bring myself to meet your eyes
You're talking fast but talking blind
And I can't bring myself to meet you're eyes
'Cause death is slowly covering you
In galaxies of black and blue
And under your skin all his colours bloom
And you're only half here
Like someone left a frail body and took the rest
But I remember when you were strong
Never wanted help from no-one
What you've become is not who I remember
Is this the cooling of the embers?
She's off again through summers past
The smell of rain and freshly cut grass
Seems those ordinary days are the ones that last
'Cause he was there, the one you loved
The one you never could let go of
And there's something you know as you're looking up
That your only half here
Like someone left a frail body and stole the rest
But I remember when you were strong
Never wanted help from no-one
What you've become is not who I remember
Is this the cooling of the embers?
Is this the cooling of the embers?
'Cause you are not who I remember
It's like you are a child, you are a child, you are a child once more
And all of our yesterday's have gone
You put your hand on top of mine
You're talking fast but talking blind
And I can't bring myself to meet your eyes
Lyrics submitted by murtletheturtle, edited by artsyemma224
Cooling of the Embers Lyrics as written by Melissa Morrison Higgins
Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
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The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
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Word Alive, The
This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
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Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
Just have to say I LOVE MISSY HIGGINS VOICE and I LOVE this song it makes me cry.