I see this haunting song as a tune about someone regretting how he mistreated his former lover. It seems that she was deeply in love with him, left someone she was already involved with for him, and bent over backwards to make him happy, but he didn't appreciate her. The "lack of loyalty" reference suggests that he either cheated, refused to commit, or in some way betrayed her. The verse "I bred my misery and drowned it in her,/And she got me high,/And I hardly noticed there were tears in her eyes" seems to say that he used her as a distraction from his unhappiness and emotional problems without concern as to how that would affect her. Now that he's lost her, he tries to convince himself that he doesn't miss her, that she wasn't so wonderful after all, and that she couldn't really love him after he treated her so terribly ("Don't claim you love me/'Cause you know that ain't true).
To interpret the "skeleton key" metaphor, remember that a skeleton key is a master key which can open any lock, but it's also, by its nature, generic. When the singer refers to her as "squirming," "twisting," and "turning" like a skeleton key, I think he's describing her efforts to get him to open up to her, to unlock his heart, so to speak, while also implying that she was unable to do so because he treated her as though she was "nothing special," generic, interchangeable, indistinguishable from any other girl...like a skeleton key.
I also noticed some references to an alcohol problem in this song. Besides the obvious line about how "this stream of whisky's helped to wash you away," the song is laced with phrases like "drowned my misery," "she got me high," and "my dire affliction," which seem to compare the girl's role in his life to a drug or drink that helps him forget his troubles. Whether this is merely a metaphor or a hint at an actual alcohol addiction that drove her away is anybody's guess.
Overall, an insightful song about taking someone's love for granted...
I love your interpretation of these lyrics. Do you think he says "she cooked me food" just to give an example of what she did for him or do you think it's a metaphor for being a vital part of keeping him alive at that time? And what do you think the line "don't call me that" refers to? (the only thing I can think is that it's either something mean.)
I love your interpretation of these lyrics. Do you think he says "she cooked me food" just to give an example of what she did for him or do you think it's a metaphor for being a vital part of keeping him alive at that time? And what do you think the line "don't call me that" refers to? (the only thing I can think is that it's either something mean.)
I see this haunting song as a tune about someone regretting how he mistreated his former lover. It seems that she was deeply in love with him, left someone she was already involved with for him, and bent over backwards to make him happy, but he didn't appreciate her. The "lack of loyalty" reference suggests that he either cheated, refused to commit, or in some way betrayed her. The verse "I bred my misery and drowned it in her,/And she got me high,/And I hardly noticed there were tears in her eyes" seems to say that he used her as a distraction from his unhappiness and emotional problems without concern as to how that would affect her. Now that he's lost her, he tries to convince himself that he doesn't miss her, that she wasn't so wonderful after all, and that she couldn't really love him after he treated her so terribly ("Don't claim you love me/'Cause you know that ain't true).
To interpret the "skeleton key" metaphor, remember that a skeleton key is a master key which can open any lock, but it's also, by its nature, generic. When the singer refers to her as "squirming," "twisting," and "turning" like a skeleton key, I think he's describing her efforts to get him to open up to her, to unlock his heart, so to speak, while also implying that she was unable to do so because he treated her as though she was "nothing special," generic, interchangeable, indistinguishable from any other girl...like a skeleton key.
I also noticed some references to an alcohol problem in this song. Besides the obvious line about how "this stream of whisky's helped to wash you away," the song is laced with phrases like "drowned my misery," "she got me high," and "my dire affliction," which seem to compare the girl's role in his life to a drug or drink that helps him forget his troubles. Whether this is merely a metaphor or a hint at an actual alcohol addiction that drove her away is anybody's guess.
Overall, an insightful song about taking someone's love for granted...
I love your interpretation of these lyrics. Do you think he says "she cooked me food" just to give an example of what she did for him or do you think it's a metaphor for being a vital part of keeping him alive at that time? And what do you think the line "don't call me that" refers to? (the only thing I can think is that it's either something mean.)
I love your interpretation of these lyrics. Do you think he says "she cooked me food" just to give an example of what she did for him or do you think it's a metaphor for being a vital part of keeping him alive at that time? And what do you think the line "don't call me that" refers to? (the only thing I can think is that it's either something mean.)