Know something about this song or lyrics?
Add it to our wiki.
A winter's day
In a deep and dark
December,
I am alone,
Gazing from my window to the streets below
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow.
I am a rock,
I am an island.
I've built walls,
A fortress deep and mighty,
That none may penetrate.
I have no need of friendship, friendship causes pain.
It's laughter and it's loving I disdain.
I am a rock,
I am an island.
Don't talk of love,
But I've heard the words before,
It's sleeping in my memory.
I won't disturb the slumber of feelings that have died.
If I never loved I never would have cried.
I am a rock,
I am an island.
I have my books
And my poetry to protect me,
I am shielded in my armor,
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb.
I touch no one and no one touches me.
I am a rock,
I am an island.
And a rock feels no pain,
And an island never cries.
In a deep and dark
December,
I am alone,
Gazing from my window to the streets below
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow.
I am a rock,
I am an island.
I've built walls,
A fortress deep and mighty,
That none may penetrate.
I have no need of friendship, friendship causes pain.
It's laughter and it's loving I disdain.
I am a rock,
I am an island.
Don't talk of love,
But I've heard the words before,
It's sleeping in my memory.
I won't disturb the slumber of feelings that have died.
If I never loved I never would have cried.
I am a rock,
I am an island.
I have my books
And my poetry to protect me,
I am shielded in my armor,
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb.
I touch no one and no one touches me.
I am a rock,
I am an island.
And a rock feels no pain,
And an island never cries.
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
A winter's day
In a deep and dark
December, (Last week in December is Christmas)
I am alone, (most elderly are alone - could be thier own doing or most of friends died off)
Gazing from my window to the streets below (pondering suicide)
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow. (it's snowing, as it does in most places in December. Most old people back in the day wore shaws. Snow silents the area outside. No one would hear him if he climbed out the window in his shaw and fell with the snow to the ground)
I am a rock, ( buried in an all granite Mausoleum)
I am an island (Mausoleums are usually to themselves in a sea of head stones at a cemetary- kind of like an island is all to itself in an ocean)
I've built walls, (more of his choice in life to push folks away from him)
A fortress deep and mighty, (Mausoleums are strong fort like)
That none may penetrate. (no one can hurt him now)
I have no need of friendship, friendship causes pain. (He had friends in life. They could have died or they could of had a falling out. Either way he didnt handle it well. He is dead of course he doesn't need friendship any more)
It's laughter and it's loving I disdain. (distain is the word by the way and yes he wanted no part of laugher or love while he was alive)
I am a rock,
I am an island
Don't talk of love,
But I've heard the words before, (he must have loved at one time in his life and it ended badly)
It's sleeping in my memory.
I won't disturb the slumber of feelings that have died. (when you are dead you are dead - no more feelings)
If I never loved I never would have cried. (true for all but then again why bother going through life without love )
I am a rock,
I am an island.
I have my books
And my poetry to protect me, (he was buried with his books and poetry he wrote)
I am shielded in my armor, (mausoleums usually are marked on the outside of them with a family crest or symbol of the person on the inside )
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb.
I touch no one and no one touches me. (mausoleums are room like you can't touch anyone when you are dead and no one can touch you either you are safe from being hurt kind of like a womb too
I am a rock,
I am an island.
And a rock feels no pain,
And an island never cries. (again mausoleums are made of granite rock they feel no pain and are all unto themselves in a sea of headstones at a cemetary)
SAD SAD SAD BETTER TO LOVE THAN NEVER CRY - deal with the ups and downs of being alive - I know that is easier said then done. Regret nothing - and try very hard not to hurt anyone along the way. No guarantees you won't be hurt but don't let that harden your inner soul/feelings/mindset.
But ... to do a bit of over-analyzing ...
"Safe within my womb": Throwing the common metaphor of the womb being a warm, safe place, consider that the womb is a temporary haven, in less than a year the inhabitant will be thrust into the cold, harsh world. In this case, though, I think they were going for the simple image and rhyme.
You can always see what is inside of people by observing what they suggest is in others. (You can only accuse others of what you have some capacity inside yourself.) Otherwise, how could you calculate the degree to what you imagine is inside of others, without some self-memory of it as a basis for comparison? ("Labyrinth" - David Bowie)
So ... if you want to get to know the people who like to interpret lyrics, simply apply what they suggest the songwriter was saying to themselves. (Just saying; snivel snivel.)
The tempo and the chord pattern in this tune suggests driving forward, with meditative restrains. It's not a lonely sad song. It's a solitary "warrior" song. (Paul wrote this in 1965, just before suffering a Garfunkel.)
In eighth grade I used to throw the headphones on and spread eagle in the floor in the living room getting stoned on their stuff. I could lock the living-room door to the living room and block out all the riff-raft. (Don't jump to conclusions! I didn't say rasta-raff.)
SO, what this song REALLY means is ...
A winter's day (LOVE THE SNOW AND THE FRESH AIR OUTSIDE THE WINDOW WHILE I STAY WARM INSIDE)
In a deep and dark December; (SO DEEP WAS THE SNOW THAT IT COVERED THE ENTIRE WINDOW AND MADE THE ROOM DARK)
I am alone, (BY CHOICE BECAUSE I WORK BEST THAT WAY, I'M LEFT BRAIN DOMINANT - SORRY GARFUNKEL)
Gazing from my window to the streets below (AFTER I KNOCKED SOME SNOW OFF)
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow. (AAAAAAAAAAAH THE SILENCE! RARE IN NEW YORK; BUT BEAUTIFUL, CLEAN, WHITE, AND QUIET.)
I am a rock, (I AM SOLID IN MY SELF-NESS)
I am an island. (I AM A PEACEFUL TROPICAL PARADISE, HERE IN THE WARMTH OF MY ROOM)
I've built walls, (A CASTLE FOR PROTECTING OTHERS WITH A SIMILAR INTELLIGENCE)
A fortress deep and mighty, (DEEP FOUNDATION AND HIGH TRUTH)
That none may penetrate. (WALK IN BY INVITATION YES, PENETRATE WITHOUT PERMISSION, NO)
I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain. (PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BEFRIEND ME FIND PAIN WHEN I FAIL TO LIVE UP TO THEIR ILLUSIONARY EXPECTATIONS OF ME)
It's laughter and it's loving I disdain. (ILLUSIONARY DISTRACTIONS THAT DIS-TRACK HUMAN BEINGS FROM ACQUIRING A PEACEFUL INTELLIGENCE)
I am a rock, (YUP)
I am an island. (THANK GOODNESS - COME JOIN ME ANYTIME YOU ARE TIRED OF TREADING WATER AND EATING SEAWEED)
Don't talk of love, (DON'T TALK ABOUT ILLUSIONS)
Well, I've heard the word before. (WORDS ARE ILLUSIONS WITHOUT ACTION)
It's sleeping in my memory. (I REMEMBER THE ILLUSIONS ... SO THAT I DON'T HAVE EXPECTATIONS THAT FAIL AGAIN)
I won't disturb the slumber of feelings that have died. (FEELINGS OF ILLUSIONS WITHOUT PERMANENT ACTIONS NEED TO DIE)
If I never loved I never would have cried. (IF I HAD NEVER BELIEVED IN THE ILLUSION, I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ANGRY AT MYSELF, THEN CRIED FOR MISLEADING MYSELF, AND THEN NEEDED TO DEPRESS MYSELF JUST TO STOP THE ANGER ABOUT THE STUPID ILLUSIONS I BOUGHT INTO)
I am a rock, (SOLID)
I am an island. (CENTERED: STANDING APART FROM THOSE THAT FLOUNDER JUST OFF-SHORE)
I have my books (CORRECT MEMORIES THAT I USE TO CONSTRUCT CORRECT IMAGINATIONS - NOT ILLUSION LIGHTLY)
And my poetry to protect me; (THE HISTORICAL ART OF THE PAST REMINDS ME HOW TO IMAGINE THE FUTURE CORRECTLY)
I am shielded in my armor, (KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND A CORRECT MEMORY IS THE KEY)
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb. (HIDING FROM THE FREEZE OUTSIDE, WARMTH OF THE WOMB INSIDE)
I touch no one and no one touches me. (I DON'T HURT THEM, SO THEY CAN'T HURT ME)
I am a rock, (COMPLETE, UNBROKEN, RELIABLE AND STEADFAST)
I am an island. (A PLACE TO FIND SHELTER FROM THE RAGING CONFUSION IN THE SEA)
And a rock feels no pain; (HAS NO EXPECTATIONS OF OTHERS - THEREBY CREATES NO ILLUSIONS OF LOSS ABOUT WHAT CAN ONLY BE SOME INCORRECT IMAGINATION)
And an island never cries. (HAS NO NEGATIVE THOUGHT PATTERNS DUE TO POSITIVE UNDERSTANDING AND A CONSCIOUS STABILITY)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
YUP. Its a solitary life, when you don't have the same snivel-boy mentality that almost everyone else does.
But its much more productive and way more savor-able.
Those of us who would rather live as a long, happy, chain of tropical Heavenly islands; than live surrounded by self-entitled, expectant, innumerably disillusioned, irrational friends on the mainland of Hell ... or out in the sea of inconsistent ideology that stands between them and us.
LOVE ALWAYS,
As long as it's truth and not illusion; as long as its permanent - and not some attractive fantasy.
For the Truth can always be dressed up, played with, and fully enjoyed as a fantasy. But a fantasy can never be dressed up, or played with, or fully enjoyed as the Truth.
Love ya forever,
Actions are the essence, words are just one of the necessary paint brushes ...
You Know Who You Are,
WOLFFEE
He has said in interviews that it troubles him that some (such as Wolfee) seem to consider this an ANTHEM for self-sufficiency and the nobleness and peace of solitude. He has said the song is about the fact that if we are not willing to suffer a little, to be vulnerable to one another, that we will be locked in our own prison and will be very lonely. He meant that to come across as a bad thing, not a good thing.
Good metaphor (wolf/forest) for that line. He's looking to poetry, a method used to connect human beings spiritually/emotionally with words, as a shield against having to deal with people. Yummy comparison.
I also think, Maninamac, that you ought to try composing your posts in a word processor first, then paste them to avoid the problem of multiple drafts being published online.