I find this song hauntingly sad and incredibly beautiful at the same time.
As a huge fan of Vienna's it saddens me because I think it was written perhaps at a very sad time or moments for her.
I see it as autobiographical, though she says she does not write about herself. I think it is about seeking true personal identity. In her case...it is two fold...professional name and the Asian / American dichotomy, and surroundings of fame and loneliness among people who for the most part can not even relate in the language of her parents...
"it's the crowded room that's never heard
no one here can say a word of my native tongue
I can't be among them anymore
I fold myself away before it burns me numb"
and then there is the private person, the alter Vienna...who in a different way is equally lonely and seeks the comfort of true identity and love and...
"oh, call my name - you know my name
and, in your love, everything will change
tell me it won't always be this hard
I am nothing without you
but I don't know who you are"
In both cases ...she is nothing without her respective identity...the private person of her birth name and the professional stage persona of Vienna Teng, but is torn in trying to reconcile the two while trying to discover...
I am nothing without you
but I don't know who you are"
The song makes me sad becuause I sense a deep loneliness despite being so adored publically and so rich of person privately. I can only hope that if I am anywhere near the true meaning of this song for Vienna, that these feelings are reconciled and true identity and happiness find her.
Unless I'm mistaken, Vienna is American-born (Wikipedia). That would mean that this song is drawing from her parents' experiences or that of other Asian immigrants.
Unless I'm mistaken, Vienna is American-born (Wikipedia). That would mean that this song is drawing from her parents' experiences or that of other Asian immigrants.
I find this song hauntingly sad and incredibly beautiful at the same time.
As a huge fan of Vienna's it saddens me because I think it was written perhaps at a very sad time or moments for her. I see it as autobiographical, though she says she does not write about herself. I think it is about seeking true personal identity. In her case...it is two fold...professional name and the Asian / American dichotomy, and surroundings of fame and loneliness among people who for the most part can not even relate in the language of her parents...
"it's the crowded room that's never heard no one here can say a word of my native tongue I can't be among them anymore I fold myself away before it burns me numb"
and then there is the private person, the alter Vienna...who in a different way is equally lonely and seeks the comfort of true identity and love and...
"oh, call my name - you know my name and, in your love, everything will change tell me it won't always be this hard I am nothing without you but I don't know who you are"
In both cases ...she is nothing without her respective identity...the private person of her birth name and the professional stage persona of Vienna Teng, but is torn in trying to reconcile the two while trying to discover...
I am nothing without you but I don't know who you are"
The song makes me sad becuause I sense a deep loneliness despite being so adored publically and so rich of person privately. I can only hope that if I am anywhere near the true meaning of this song for Vienna, that these feelings are reconciled and true identity and happiness find her.
Steve
Unless I'm mistaken, Vienna is American-born (Wikipedia). That would mean that this song is drawing from her parents' experiences or that of other Asian immigrants.
Unless I'm mistaken, Vienna is American-born (Wikipedia). That would mean that this song is drawing from her parents' experiences or that of other Asian immigrants.