You thought the leaden winter
Would bring you down forever
But you rode upon a steamer
To the violence of the sun
And the colors of the sea
Blind your eyes with trembling mermaids
And you touch the distant beaches
With tales of brave Ulysses
How his naked ears were tortured
By the sirens sweetly singing
For the sparkling waves are calling you
To touch their white laced lips
And you see a girl?s brown body
Dancing through the turquoise
And her footprints make you follow
Where the sky loves the sea
And when your fingers find her
She drowns you in her body
Carving deep blue ripples
In the tissues of your mind
The tiny purple fishes
Run laughing through your fingers
And you want to take her with you
To the hard land of the winter
Her name is Aphrodite
And she rides a crimson shell
You know you cannot leave her
For you touched the distant sands
With tales of brave Ulysses
How his naked ears were tortured
By the sirens sweetly singing
Yeah
The tiny purple fishes
Run laughing through your fingers
You want to take her with you
To the hard land of the winter
Would bring you down forever
But you rode upon a steamer
To the violence of the sun
And the colors of the sea
Blind your eyes with trembling mermaids
And you touch the distant beaches
With tales of brave Ulysses
How his naked ears were tortured
By the sirens sweetly singing
For the sparkling waves are calling you
To touch their white laced lips
And you see a girl?s brown body
Dancing through the turquoise
And her footprints make you follow
Where the sky loves the sea
And when your fingers find her
She drowns you in her body
Carving deep blue ripples
In the tissues of your mind
The tiny purple fishes
Run laughing through your fingers
And you want to take her with you
To the hard land of the winter
Her name is Aphrodite
And she rides a crimson shell
You know you cannot leave her
For you touched the distant sands
With tales of brave Ulysses
How his naked ears were tortured
By the sirens sweetly singing
Yeah
The tiny purple fishes
Run laughing through your fingers
You want to take her with you
To the hard land of the winter
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I understand this song intuitively because I have lived it! I always loved the song for its classical allusions and psychedelic power, but it took on even deeper dimensions of meaning for me later in life, after my tripping days were well behind me: I met my wife in Latin America - we had an amazing day at the beach while getting to know each other. I remember the intensity of the colors, the sensations, the sand, the glorious sense of isolation in the shimmering waves, the sun was reflecting off the water on her brown body, I was in love, we were all alone, I knew I had to marry her and bring her back to cold New England. I took her (poor tropical maiden) to the "hard land of the winter" and she has adapted magnificently. She has learned English, we have two beautiful children and just had our 10-year anniversary.
I have made very few good decisions in my life, but marrying my lovely Latina bride was definitely one of them. I owe part of it to this immortal song by Cream. And I owe all of it to God...
@NomadMonad <br /> absolutely lovely interpretation of this song. I always feel I want to stay when I vacation in warm climate, and then have to return to Cleveland. Yuck!<br /> Happy for you, many blessings to you and your family.