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As I sat sadly by her side
At the window, through the glass
She stroked a kitten in her lap
And we watched the world as it fell past
Softly she spoke these words to me
And with brand new eyes, open wide
We pressed our faces to the glass
As I sat sadly by her side
She said, "Father, mother, sister, brother,
Uncle, aunt, nephew, niece,
Soldier, sailor, physician, labourer,
Actor, scientist, mechanic, priest,
Earth and moon and sun and stars
Planets and comets with tails blazing
All are there forever falling
Falling lovely and amazing"
Then she smiled and turned to me
And waited for me to reply
Her hair was falling down her shoulders
As I sat sadly by her side
As I sat sadly by her side
The kitten she did gently pass
Over to me and again we pressed
Our different faces to the glass
"That may be very well" I said
"But watch the one falling in the street
See him gesture to his neighbors
See him trampled beneath their feet
All outward motion connects to nothing
For each is concerned with their immediate need
Witness the man reaching up from the gutter
See the other one stumbling on who cannot see"
With trembling hand I turned toward her
And pushed the hair out of her eyes
The kitten jumped back to her lap
As I sat sadly by her side
Then she drew the curtains down
And said, "When will you ever learn
That what happens there beyond the glass
Is simply none of your concern?
God has given you but one heart
You are not a home for the hearts of your brothers
And God does not care for your benevolence
Anymore than he cares for the lack of it in others
Nor does he care for you to sit
At windows in judgment of the world he created
While sorrows pile up around you
Ugly, useless, and over-inflated"
At which she turned her head away
Great tears leaping from her eyes
I could not wipe the smile from my face
As I sat sadly by her side
At the window, through the glass
She stroked a kitten in her lap
And we watched the world as it fell past
Softly she spoke these words to me
And with brand new eyes, open wide
We pressed our faces to the glass
As I sat sadly by her side
She said, "Father, mother, sister, brother,
Uncle, aunt, nephew, niece,
Soldier, sailor, physician, labourer,
Actor, scientist, mechanic, priest,
Earth and moon and sun and stars
Planets and comets with tails blazing
All are there forever falling
Falling lovely and amazing"
Then she smiled and turned to me
And waited for me to reply
Her hair was falling down her shoulders
As I sat sadly by her side
As I sat sadly by her side
The kitten she did gently pass
Over to me and again we pressed
Our different faces to the glass
"That may be very well" I said
"But watch the one falling in the street
See him gesture to his neighbors
See him trampled beneath their feet
All outward motion connects to nothing
For each is concerned with their immediate need
Witness the man reaching up from the gutter
See the other one stumbling on who cannot see"
With trembling hand I turned toward her
And pushed the hair out of her eyes
The kitten jumped back to her lap
As I sat sadly by her side
Then she drew the curtains down
And said, "When will you ever learn
That what happens there beyond the glass
Is simply none of your concern?
God has given you but one heart
You are not a home for the hearts of your brothers
And God does not care for your benevolence
Anymore than he cares for the lack of it in others
Nor does he care for you to sit
At windows in judgment of the world he created
While sorrows pile up around you
Ugly, useless, and over-inflated"
At which she turned her head away
Great tears leaping from her eyes
I could not wipe the smile from my face
As I sat sadly by her side
Lyrics submitted by aj2828aj, edited by Mellow_Harsher
Track duration: 06:15
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I interpret this line as it relates to falling in love which is where I get the sense of this woman's longing for love.
All are there forever falling
Falling lovely and amazing
This part makes me feel that the man just isn't able to give her the attention she needs:
God has given you but one heart
You are not a home for the hearts of your brothers
By the end of it, it seems like this woman is sad to have to admit that she can no longer be in a relationship with this man anymore. They don't see eye to eye anymore and it's clear that they should no longer be together.
He's sitting above everything, looking down on it. He thinks he's better than everyone below. He sees everyone else as looking out for only themselves.
I hear sarcasm when she talks about his "benevolence." Then she talks about all the ugliness he lets pile up around him.
He's self-righteous and useless. He keeps himself apart. He only speaks of the evils of the world. And all the time, he does nothing to make the world any better.
But he doesn't hear her. He takes a macabre comfort from the pain and suffering of others. This is why he smiles as he sits sadly by her side. He can't even see that he's sitting in his own grave.
The narrator's wife has newly converted to Christianity (or any religion you care to mention), explained in the line "with brand new eyes open wide"; she's looking at the world with new eyes. "Reborn", one might say.
The next verse is her explaining all of the things to Cave/The Narrator God has created, and how 'lovely' and 'amazing' it (her God's creation) is.
The next small part is just her waiting for the rebuttal which will surely come from her grumpy husband (the hair-brushing gesture is quite intimate, I imagine she'd know him quite well).
Verse 4 is, of course, Cave's rebuttal; the world is not as beautiful a place as you think. Look at the people crying out for help and simply being ignored by those who COULD help. We're selfish animals, and even IF we notice the plight of others we're not likely to stop to help.
Next verse is just him brushing her hair from her eyes and the kitten moving back to her lap (it's like a hairy talking stick :P).
The last verse is the 'victory'; his wife loses her temper at him and gets all haughty. She insults him and the two sit quietly. He knows now that the religion is just an addition to her life, she's still the woman he married and, consequently, loved.
The refrain ("As I sat sadly by her side") would just be his sadness at her 'succumbing' to religion.
That is, this is what I thought until the interview. Close enough.
I believe this is just two lovers watching the world in this manner, sitting and judging the world through the looking glass.
The idealist versus the realist. Glass is half empty versus glass is half full. The religious tones to me belay the arugment of Free will the world is what we make of it versus why did god do this to us.
I believe this is just two lovers watching the world in this manner, sitting and judging the world through the looking glass.
The idealist versus the realist. Glass is half empty versus glass is half full. The religious tones to me belay the arugment of Free will the world is what we make of it versus why did god do this to us.
She tells him that his "benevolence" is no different than the lack he sees in everyone else. He only sits there and talks about the bad stuff going on in the world instead of doing something about it. He thinks he's a righteous man. She tells him he's not.
And in the end, he only hears what he wants to hear...so he remains smiling and she is crying.
She said, "Father, mother, sister, brother,
Uncle, aunt, nephew, niece,
Soldier, sailor, physician, labourer,
Actor, scientist, mechanic, priest,
See how the construct of morality and freedom of knowledge is of great importance in each case. Soldiers and sailors bring about questions of duty. Physicians and scientists, rational truths (rendered problematic in the postmodern condition ala Lyotard). Labourer and mechanic, again taking orders but related to the economic structure of capitalist society (Witness the man reaching up from the gutter
See the other one stumbling on who cannot see.)
I love how Cave visualises the direction of the philosophical thought with lines such as:
And with brand new eyes, open wide
We pressed our faces to the glass
Looking at the surface of the world, and the 'external' as described previously
The kitten she did gently pass
Over to me and again we pressed
Our different faces to the glass
Again to the outside but where she sees perfectly ordered society he notes the differentials and inequality of modern society. He moves the hair 'from her eyes' with a trembling hand.
Then she drew the curtains down
And said, "When will you ever learn
That what happens there beyond the glass
Is simply none of your concern?
The closing of the curtains moves the question to the internal, having established that society or man is irrepairable the focus moves to the idea that man can find solice in his own moral rightousness. But by the lady expressing her disgust with the speakers philosophy, she reveals the fundamental point that he is striving to convey, that people are morally falible, no matter how benevolent or well-meaning.
Then she replies that he shouldn't judge 'God's plan'.
The last part is interesting. I think she knows well that he is 'right'. That a lot of stuff is happening in this world that just ain't right or can be justified.
At which point she starts to weep. He couldn't wipe the smile from his face, because he realised that the woman understands what he means.