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Figure eight is double four
Figure four is half of eight
If you skate you would be great
If you could make a figure eight
That's a circle that turns round upon itself
Figure eight is two times four
Four times four is two times eight
If you skate upon thin ice
You'd be wise if you thought twice
Before you made another single move
Figure four is half of eight
If you skate you would be great
If you could make a figure eight
That's a circle that turns round upon itself
Figure eight is two times four
Four times four is two times eight
If you skate upon thin ice
You'd be wise if you thought twice
Before you made another single move
Lyrics submitted by PLANES
Track duration: 02:09
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The original ends with "Place it on its side and it's a symbol meaning infinity..."
Currently my seven-year-old daughter's favorite song.
IMHO, the original (sung by Blossom Dearie) is far better. Yes, it has the cheesy upbeat part in the middle, but then it returns to the original theme at the end, which makes it all the more haunting. The arrangement of the strings in the original is so beautiful.
Here is the original: youtube.com/…
ELLIOTT'S VERSION: youtube.com/…
As you can hear, Elliott's version does not go into the upbeat parts of the original.
Eight is also an infinity symbol. As far as symbolism, I think of a 'figure 8' as being like depression, in that it's set on an infinite loop ... "a circle that turns round upon itself." There's no way out, and even when you try to move forward, you always arrive back in the same place, like a cat chasing its own tail. This might be a bit of a reach, and I'm not saying it's the same symbolism Elliott saw; it would appear not, based on the "amusement of a pointless task" interview comment (though elliott was often cryptic about the meanings of his songs in interviews). Anyway, recently I was watching a documentary about depression, and someone described it as being locked inside a circle. This very simple metaphor hit me hard for some reason, and now I relate it to this song.
At first I was going to describe the song as 'haunting'. But that has a menacing feel. This song just sort of floats around the room when it's played and then when it fades off the feeling stays. But in a soft, sweet way that only makes you wish to hear it again.
its corresponds to all types of life, all aspects.