I took the song as to be about facades. "Wear sandals in the snow/Smile that won't wash away" evidence a superficiality to an absurd degree. On one hand the man dons "Rasta wear" (invoking carefree hippy culture) and "Struts a suicide poem" (a will to express existential crisis). In the song the man's greatest struggle is to maintain the facade but reality shows through at times so he prevents an air of confusion hence the "mystery" he builds onto with his lies and unavoidable truths.
I took the song as to be about facades. "Wear sandals in the snow/Smile that won't wash away" evidence a superficiality to an absurd degree. On one hand the man dons "Rasta wear" (invoking carefree hippy culture) and "Struts a suicide poem" (a will to express existential crisis). In the song the man's greatest struggle is to maintain the facade but reality shows through at times so he prevents an air of confusion hence the "mystery" he builds onto with his lies and unavoidable truths.
The "window" is a representation of how others see him. The mans inner conflicts "cast a shadow" or block how others truly perceive him and his perceptions of them. The conflicts is between the image the man wishes to present vs the man that really shows. I think the concluding lines are perhaps intending to say with a facetious air: "You really you know everything... Oh, you're a beautiful one. You f***ed up man.". up man Externally, the mystery remains "Who are you really?" internally the question is "Have I forgotten who I am?".
Fantastic song from the peerless Sarah McLachlan.
I took the song as to be about facades. "Wear sandals in the snow/Smile that won't wash away" evidence a superficiality to an absurd degree. On one hand the man dons "Rasta wear" (invoking carefree hippy culture) and "Struts a suicide poem" (a will to express existential crisis). In the song the man's greatest struggle is to maintain the facade but reality shows through at times so he prevents an air of confusion hence the "mystery" he builds onto with his lies and unavoidable truths.
I took the song as to be about facades. "Wear sandals in the snow/Smile that won't wash away" evidence a superficiality to an absurd degree. On one hand the man dons "Rasta wear" (invoking carefree hippy culture) and "Struts a suicide poem" (a will to express existential crisis). In the song the man's greatest struggle is to maintain the facade but reality shows through at times so he prevents an air of confusion hence the "mystery" he builds onto with his lies and unavoidable truths.
The "window" is a representation of how others see him. The mans inner conflicts "cast a shadow" or block how others truly perceive him and his perceptions of them. The conflicts is between the image the man wishes to present vs the man that really shows. I think the concluding lines are perhaps intending to say with a facetious air: "You really you know everything... Oh, you're a beautiful one. You f***ed up man.". up man Externally, the mystery remains "Who are you really?" internally the question is "Have I forgotten who I am?".