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Come over to the window, my little darling
I'd like to try to read your palm
I used to think I was some kind of Gypsy boy
Before I let you take me home
Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we began
To laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again
Well you know that I love to live with you
But you make me forget so very much
I forget to pray for the angels
And then the angels forget to pray for us
Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we began
We met when we were almost young
Deep in the green lilac park
You held on to me like I was a crucifix
As we went kneeling through the dark
Oh so long, Marianne, it's time that we began
Your letters they all say that you're beside me now
Then why do I feel alone?
I'm standing on a ledge and your fine spider web
Is fastening my ankle to a stone
Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we began
For now I need your hidden love
I'm cold as a new razor blade
You left when I told you I was curious
I never said that I was brave
Oh so long, Marianne, it's time that we began
Oh, you are really such a pretty one
I see you've gone and changed your name again
And just when I climbed this whole mountainside
To wash my eyelids in the rain
Oh so long, Marianne, it's time that we began
I'd like to try to read your palm
I used to think I was some kind of Gypsy boy
Before I let you take me home
Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we began
To laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again
Well you know that I love to live with you
But you make me forget so very much
I forget to pray for the angels
And then the angels forget to pray for us
Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we began
We met when we were almost young
Deep in the green lilac park
You held on to me like I was a crucifix
As we went kneeling through the dark
Oh so long, Marianne, it's time that we began
Your letters they all say that you're beside me now
Then why do I feel alone?
I'm standing on a ledge and your fine spider web
Is fastening my ankle to a stone
Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we began
For now I need your hidden love
I'm cold as a new razor blade
You left when I told you I was curious
I never said that I was brave
Oh so long, Marianne, it's time that we began
Oh, you are really such a pretty one
I see you've gone and changed your name again
And just when I climbed this whole mountainside
To wash my eyelids in the rain
Oh so long, Marianne, it's time that we began
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Oh, you are really such a pretty one.
I see you've gone and changed your name again.
And just when I climbed this whole mountainside,
to wash my eyelids in the rain!
The climbing of the mountain is the feat of getting over her, and at the top he attempts to wash his vision clear of her beauty. She's such a pretty one, capable of reversing his long, drawn out, epic resolve in an instant.
To me, it is a wistful recognition that the pure love- perhaps the love of one's life- came on the cusp of middle age- before the grim realities of life really began.
The first indication of what happened between them comes in the next line:
"I used to think I was some kind of a Gypsy boy
Before I let you take me home." The masculine difficulty to "settle down" is expressed here. The refrain which follows clearly indicates the lovers have gone through a lot of ups and downs. They have met again, after a long parting. Both of them lots of compalints and memories. It is time to forive, forget and at the same time, to cry...but, also to laugh.
The next stanza speaks about the first time them met and Marianne's reaction and what she expected from him. She held onto him like a crucifix - a holy, sacred thing. This attitude is very differnt from the Gypsy boy's attitude - of wander lust, experimentation and curiosity.They were both "kneeling through the dark." That is, they have both passed through many difficult times, together.
The reference to Marianne's letters "whcih say that she is beside" him now clearly indicates they are not together anymore. The gypsy boy has also realized how lonely he is, without her.
the next lines, I feel,are some of the most beautiful lines about love:
"I am standing on a ledge
and your fine spiderweb
is fastening my ankle to stone."
He is on a ledge - a place he can jump off, or turn off...a place which can change his life, for worse, mostly...but, perhaps, also for the better. And what is stopping him from taking that step - probably, a step into madness, depression, suicide or even a new relationship - is her find spiderweb - her words that she writes to him, perhaps...or the tender thing that she weaves with her love, which catches him like a fly - and makes his step turn to stone.
Towards the end we realize that Marianne did not wait for him endlessly. she has gone and changed her name again...yet, both of them cannot forget each other. And her "hidden love" for him continues.
Another line that created difficulty over here - "I wash my eyelids in the rain." I see it as purifying through misery...you wash your eyelids usually with tears...and, any washing is part of a purificatory process...and, you wash youselves with the misery of your strong emotions, which pours like rain...and, your eyelids wash themselves...since they are tears raining through you...Years of complexity of emotions associated with Marianne has that effect on the lover.
Her love is hidden now because she has gone and changed her name again - remarried.
to laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again'). 'Your letters they all say that you're beside me now. Then why do I feel alone?' Ordinarily this would be a comfort to him, but because he doesn't feel the same anymore it isn't. He's confused as to why it's changed: why do I feel alone? You shouldn't feel alone in a relationship.
For now I need your hidden love.
I'm cold as a new razor blade.
You left when I told you I was curious,
I never said that I was brave.
He wants her 'hidden love', he wants her to dig deep and give her something he can't find in her anymore. He feels 'cold as a new razor blade', he no longer feels that original pang of love you get at the beginning of a relationship. He wants to move on and live his life but she doesn't understand. 'I never said that I was brave'; it seems she expected too much of him.
I really love this song, so beautiful.
When he says:
Well you know that I love to live with you,
but you make me forget so very much.
I forget to pray for the angels
and then the angels forget to pray for
He is talking about although he loves being together and in love with her, they ultimately aren't right for each other, and they have to let each other go; they need to be apart.
This stanza:
We met when we were almost young
deep in the green lilac park.
You held on to me like I was a crucifix,
as we went kneeling through the dark.
This is about the fact that when they met, they led each other through the difficulties of life, and they needed each other. But again, that was then.
Your letters they all say that you're beside me now.
Then why do I feel alone?
I'm standing on a ledge and your fine spider web
is fastening my ankle to a stone.
I feel like perhaps she has expressed interest in rekindling their relationship together, and he is stuck on the idea. Also for her it is not a full feeling, it is just a thin fine thread giving him the feeling of hope, and making him not be able to move on.
For now I need your hidden love.
I'm cold as a new razor blade.
You left when I told you I was curious,
I never said that I was brave.
I think here he is saying that if you are going to love me, then you need to really show me. You can't falter and you need to prove it to me in a big way. She left him when he was finally thinking of committing to her forever.
Oh, you are really such a pretty one.
I see you've gone and changed your name again.
And just when I climbed this whole mountainside,
to wash my eyelids in the rain!
I think she keeps opening up the possibility each time that he thinks he's gotten over her.