Lyrics for Caramel as interpreted by iconnu

Caramel Lyrics
It won't do
To dream of caramel,
To think of cinnamon
And long for you.

It won't do
To stir a deep desire,
To fan a hidden fire
That can never burn true.

I know your name,
I know your skin,
I know the way
These things begin;

But I don't know
How I would live with myself,
What I'd forgive of myself
If you don't go.

So goodbye,
Sweet appetite,
No single bite
Could satisfy...

I know your name,
I know your skin,
I know the way
These things begin;

But I don't know
What I would give of myself,
How I would live with myself
If you don't go.

It won't do
To dream of caramel,
To think of cinnamon
And long
For you.
---
"Caramel" as written by Suzanne Vega
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., EMI Music Publishing
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caramel fire
06-18-2002

 Rated  0 
the emotion this song talks about is so common, so tragic, and so beautiful.

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1 Reply  · 
chineezeyes
10-11-2002

 Rated  0 
I'd compare the meaning of this song to the movie in which Wynona Ryder and Johnny Depp starred in. It's pretty old and he falls in love with her, only his hands are scissors!! Yes, the pain of not being able to just hold somebody close, when that person is standing right infront of you, is very painful

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bloodybitch
06-30-2003

 Rated  0 
Edward Scissorhands is the name of the movie. It IS hard, not being able to be as close to someone as you want to.

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eckra
01-12-2005

 Rated  0 
and the song is the ost of the new movie - Closer. julia roberts + jude law...

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TK6022
01-14-2005

 Rated  0 
Beautiful, simple song. Reminds me that you don't need electronics, loud guitars, amps, etc to get a feeling across. In fact, you're often better off without 'em.

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bartoshek
03-14-2005

 Rated  0 
It also got into another movie - The truth about cats and dogs, with Janeane Garofalo and Uma Thurman. I really loved this movie, and finding this song for it's soundtrack was a wonderfull treat, since it really fitted in.

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Tenniskh89
02-05-2006

 Rated  0 
This is a beautiful song; it reminds me of an open-mic poetry coffeehouse. It is skillfully written; the music matches the tone and lyrics, and the simple images it evokes are accurate to the song's theme. Every line is memorable. A true favorite of mine.

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missme
07-26-2006

 Rated  0 
This song is beautiful, so simplistic yet so wonderful, the emotions it captures. The music is slow, sexy, and transfixing, reflecting the nature of the song.

She wants someone so badly, but she can't be with them, she knows she has to walk away, because "it won't do/to stir a deep desire/to fan a hidden fire/that can never burn true." such a common feeling, she captures it beautifully.

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circusjuggler
09-12-2006

 Rated  0 
At my humble opinion, this song talks about a girl that intensely wants a guy but at the same time she knows herself very well for letting his love takes her heart, since she cannot deal with the things related to love. Maybe she's a bit immature or quite selfish/egocentric for doing this.

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spinningfree
10-21-2006

 Rated  +1 
I'm feeling it now.. Sometimes it's not a matter of selfishness or egocentric-ness but more of.. I know I'm not who he's looking for and I know I can't have him so I tell myself I'll walk away. But somehow I still think of him when I'm alone and I still long for him. It's a devastating feeling and it has nothing to do with selfishness. It's... self-preservation.

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naughteragain
05-20-2007

 Rated  0 
I agree that this is more about self-preservation. It’s that mental conversation some women have when they physically want a man, when the chemistry is so strong, but they know the object of their passion is unavailable (married/committed), and for purposes of self-preservation, they deny temptation because “a single bite” will just not do, especially when the relationship “could never burn true.”

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mirzoza211
12-30-2007

 Rated  0 
i completely agree with spinningfree... i know this feeling myself when you try to stop urself from feeling something for someone so you won't get hurt...well mostly it doesn't work...or at least it doesn't work for ME...because no matter how hard i try to ignore this kind of feelings till they're gone at the end i end up being disappointed because no matter how hard you try there's still a part of you that hopes for a happy end....and you end up being disappointed and hurt...

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Electric Lizard
12-30-2007

 Rated  -1 
This is what i think the song means.

You know the day destroy the night
Night divides the day
Tried to run
Tried to hide

This first verse is telling us that we cannot run from real reality and that conformity is only a thin blanket concealing this.

Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side, yeah

In the chorus Morrison backs up what he says by telling us that we should "Break on through to the other side" of conformity and be free.

We chased our pleasures here
Dug our treasures there
But can you still recall
The time we cried

This verse, verse 2 is telling us how much time we've wasted "chasing false pleasures" and that we really should be "digging our treasures" in other words getting through the thin curtain that hides reality from us.

Then Morrison reinforces his point with the chorus.

I found an island in your arms
Country in your eyes
Arms that chain us
Eyes that lie

This verse can have two meanings to me. The first is the pleasure you can get from breaking on through to the other side, and the other is saying that conformism is one cruel maiden.

Morrison backs up this with the chorus.

Made the scene
Week to week
Day to day
Hour to hour
The gate is straight*
Deep and wide

This verse is telling us that he, Morrison has achieved this breaking on through to the other side and is living wonderfully because of it.

Morrison reinforces his point by adding the chorus.

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mirzoza211
12-30-2007

 Rated  0 
wrong song, huh? ^^

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dcmtr
07-20-2008

 Rated  0 
Is the object of her desire someone she could have sex with at least once if she wanted? Or is it someone who's definitely going to stay faithful to their partner?

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1 Reply  · 
VeeRon
09-13-2009

 Rated  0 
I know exactly what this song means... This song is about a woman who likes this guy. They guy more than likely does not want a relationship or doesn't have the same feelings for her that she does for him (just like every other girl and boy out there).

For example the lines, "I know your name, I know your skin, I know the way, these things begin."

Whenever you meet someone for the first time, it always starts out fresh and new and fun, but then things change. Either your feelings change for that person or the other person gets bored or their feelings change too, etc.

But I don't know
what I would give of myself,
how I would live with myself
if you don't go.

So, the above lines mean that she has this unrequited love or feelings for this guy and she knows she will inevitably get hurt by this guy if she keeps seeing him because in reality it's torture to be with someone and spend time with someone who doesn't want you the same way, you want them...

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Song Meaning
BARNABE
02-09-2010

 Rated  0 
I think the song talks about guilt and about trying not to make what we know would be a mistake.
"what I'd forgive of myself"

But I think it might be she ("I") who is in a relationship already and is trying to avoid having an "affair" with this "you" because she "knows the way these things begin" (things=affair), and knows she can't keep longing for this person when she can't give herself to them because she is involved elsewhere...In fact how "would (she) live with (herself)" after that ?
Therefore he has to go.

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General Comment
mdove
02-21-2010

 Rated  0 
I get the feeling that the song is about a woman who fell in love with a caramel-colored man, who is so irresistible to her, that it isn't enough to simply dream about his skin, but she wants to have him near to her again. Unfortunately, she can't handle him completely, because her urges are too deep and she doesn't want to be so attached to him. Her lyrics, "It won't do, to dream of caramel, think of cinnamon," and "I know your skin" always pair together in my mind.

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My Interpretation
jjooeekkooll
04-21-2010

 Rated  0 
I saw her in concert last week. She talked about the song in terms of a "love song". In this case it is "in love" with things that are bad for you...in excess. That is paraphrasing what she said.

The "sweets" can be a metaphor for anything for anybody. So the song can work for you everyday of your life...as you change your vices change.

Brilliant! She realy works on a "plane" above most any other musician I have listened to. Her work is more like poetry.

Most of these classics were written was she was fairly young...20's or so...amazing deep thoughts.

I really think she is very intelligent. Most folks probably would not keep up with her in a conversation if she was into the topic. I'm not so sure that she can find a partner that wants to "feel" as deeply as she wants or needs to. She seems to need to be 100% into something, no part way in.

When I saw her she was alive on stage but not so much so afterwards with the autographs. I don;t mean that as a negative at all.I think she is bored with the business stuff but loves to perform. I sense that she performs for herself, it sets her free so to speak...I really don't think the audience is needed per se...but yet the audience is a conduit for her.

I read a piece that mentioned that in one her earliest performances she opened with Tom's Diner and if wasn't received well by the crowd...she did not plan to continue. Obviously it went well. She seems to be a mixed bag of contradictions: opens her soul but vulnerable; doesn't want to risk being hurt emotionally but wanting 110% from a guy; big city woman but really a shy girl. She really is an artist in a classic sense. I would really love to spend a day with her just talking and trying to see things from her POV. I probably would only "get" 10 or 20% of the conversation...but for me it would be more than enough.

I wonder if she gets bored with average folks? She "needs" people yet doesn't "need" them. She needs NYC though...she couldn't survive anywhere else...she needs the "vibe". She needs to be with other square pegs in the same sea as round holes. That is sad though, I love travel for example. I spent a whole afternoon and evening looking at the Pantheon. I don't think she could do that...but if she could she would be absorbing something at a higher level than the fundamental architecture. She wouldn't be happy looking at the simple beauty of a mountain...it would have to be deeper for her.

She would be an intellectual and emotional challenge to be friends with since she operates at such a high level. She wants to be loved but can't find a male that can be as emotional deep/open/giving as she needs him to be. One heck-of-a-woman.

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Song Meaning




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