This song is about a loved one dying. You argue with loved ones & they drive you crazy, and then they die & you miss even the dumb things like that. You suddenly think of all these things you wish you could have said to him/her.
It seems in this case, there was an unresolved argument that kept them apart & now that the loved one has died he is regretting never resolving it with that person, but now it's too late to start over with him/her. It's late for "revision".
The person was ill for a little while, ("To tell the truth I saw it coming, The way, you were breathing.") and that sort of was a warning, but you still can never be ready to lose a loved one. It's always a shock. Also, that kind of news often comes at odd times, like early in the morning when you don't normally get a phone call.
It's weird to him that weather is nice & that coffee tastes good because when something tragic happens you almost expect everything else to reflect it. Like, how can the world go on like nothing happened when this amazing person has just died? The weather should be grieving also.
The line about his wife being surprised at how small this person is & that he/she is human is describing how he thought so much of this person & probably talked so highly of him/her (hence the title of the song & line "when someone great is gone.") that people who had never met this person before would expect them to be almost more than human.
I think it is a really sad & sweet song at the same time. It really hits on some feelings you have when someone you love dies.
I love your interpretation of this song. It goes right along with how I felt about it. This is one of the only songs that has ever put tears to my eyes. It's such a beautiful song. The instrumentals, the singer's voice, and the beat all go together so well. The second verse where he says "but nothing can prepare you for it, the voice on the other end," almost always chokes me up because it's so sad.
I love your interpretation of this song. It goes right along with how I felt about it. This is one of the only songs that has ever put tears to my eyes. It's such a beautiful song. The instrumentals, the singer's voice, and the beat all go together so well. The second verse where he says "but nothing can prepare you for it, the voice on the other end," almost always chokes me up because it's so sad.
I think voodoodolly is essentially correct, but let me expand: I think the song is about George Kamen, a pychiatrist practicing in NY, to whom the album is dedicated to and to whom I would speculate the songwriter went to for therapy.
I think voodoodolly is essentially correct, but let me expand: I think the song is about George Kamen, a pychiatrist practicing in NY, to whom the album is dedicated to and to whom I would speculate the songwriter went to for therapy.
I think the first stanza describes speaker's funny problem of talking about a death with his therapist when the death is that of the therapist:
I think the first stanza describes speaker's funny problem of talking about a death with his therapist when the death is that of the therapist:
I wish that we could talk about it, But there, that's the problem
I wish that we could talk about it, But there, that's the problem
;and his belief that seeing a new therapist about this would be futile and unsatisfactory compared to the length and quality of his relationship with Mr. Kamen. The songwriter expresses his appreciation of the therapist and the therapeutic process (sometimes antagonistic) by saying,
The little things that made me nervous,
are gone, in a moment
I missed the way we used to argue,
Locked, in your basement.
I think voodoodolly is on target with second and third stanzas. I would add that the line
Your smaller than my wife imagined
Surprised, you were human
could also refer to diminutive,perhaps, dwarf-like, stature of the therapist as many, at least in my experience, are quite short. The line about the "ring of silence" has a double meaning. First, the grief that numbs a person when someone passes away and it also, I believe , refers to the exclusive, private and unique relationship between Mr. Kamen and the speaker where things not uttered to others (including the previously mentioned wife) are shared. By virtue of Mr. Kamen's death this ring of silence is sealed forever and the issues are no longer to be talked about in the previously unique format ("But what, are the options?").
The chorus "Someone great is gone", of course, refers to the speaker's attachment Mr. Kamen and his professional stature in his field (check his bio).
The last two lines are interesting:
We're safe, for the moment
Saved,
for the moment
I like to think it's an acknowledgement of death that comes to all and perhaps, the healing nature and redemptive nature of therapy where the word 'moment' refers back to the word 'moment' in the first stanza.
This song is about a loved one dying. You argue with loved ones & they drive you crazy, and then they die & you miss even the dumb things like that. You suddenly think of all these things you wish you could have said to him/her. It seems in this case, there was an unresolved argument that kept them apart & now that the loved one has died he is regretting never resolving it with that person, but now it's too late to start over with him/her. It's late for "revision".
The person was ill for a little while, ("To tell the truth I saw it coming, The way, you were breathing.") and that sort of was a warning, but you still can never be ready to lose a loved one. It's always a shock. Also, that kind of news often comes at odd times, like early in the morning when you don't normally get a phone call.
It's weird to him that weather is nice & that coffee tastes good because when something tragic happens you almost expect everything else to reflect it. Like, how can the world go on like nothing happened when this amazing person has just died? The weather should be grieving also.
The line about his wife being surprised at how small this person is & that he/she is human is describing how he thought so much of this person & probably talked so highly of him/her (hence the title of the song & line "when someone great is gone.") that people who had never met this person before would expect them to be almost more than human. I think it is a really sad & sweet song at the same time. It really hits on some feelings you have when someone you love dies.
I love your interpretation of this song. It goes right along with how I felt about it. This is one of the only songs that has ever put tears to my eyes. It's such a beautiful song. The instrumentals, the singer's voice, and the beat all go together so well. The second verse where he says "but nothing can prepare you for it, the voice on the other end," almost always chokes me up because it's so sad.
I love your interpretation of this song. It goes right along with how I felt about it. This is one of the only songs that has ever put tears to my eyes. It's such a beautiful song. The instrumentals, the singer's voice, and the beat all go together so well. The second verse where he says "but nothing can prepare you for it, the voice on the other end," almost always chokes me up because it's so sad.
I think voodoodolly is essentially correct, but let me expand: I think the song is about George Kamen, a pychiatrist practicing in NY, to whom the album is dedicated to and to whom I would speculate the songwriter went to for therapy.
I think voodoodolly is essentially correct, but let me expand: I think the song is about George Kamen, a pychiatrist practicing in NY, to whom the album is dedicated to and to whom I would speculate the songwriter went to for therapy.
I think the first stanza describes speaker's funny problem of talking about a death with his therapist when the death is that of the therapist:
I think the first stanza describes speaker's funny problem of talking about a death with his therapist when the death is that of the therapist:
I wish that we could talk about it, But there, that's the problem
I wish that we could talk about it, But there, that's the problem
;and his belief that seeing a new therapist about this would be futile and unsatisfactory compared to the length and quality of his relationship with Mr. Kamen. The songwriter expresses his appreciation of the therapist and the therapeutic process (sometimes antagonistic) by saying,
The little things that made me nervous, are gone, in a moment I missed the way we used to argue, Locked, in your basement.
I think voodoodolly is on target with second and third stanzas. I would add that the line
Your smaller than my wife imagined Surprised, you were human
could also refer to diminutive,perhaps, dwarf-like, stature of the therapist as many, at least in my experience, are quite short. The line about the "ring of silence" has a double meaning. First, the grief that numbs a person when someone passes away and it also, I believe , refers to the exclusive, private and unique relationship between Mr. Kamen and the speaker where things not uttered to others (including the previously mentioned wife) are shared. By virtue of Mr. Kamen's death this ring of silence is sealed forever and the issues are no longer to be talked about in the previously unique format ("But what, are the options?").
The chorus "Someone great is gone", of course, refers to the speaker's attachment Mr. Kamen and his professional stature in his field (check his bio).
The last two lines are interesting:
We're safe, for the moment Saved, for the moment
I like to think it's an acknowledgement of death that comes to all and perhaps, the healing nature and redemptive nature of therapy where the word 'moment' refers back to the word 'moment' in the first stanza.
But I could be overanalyzing ....
I thought he was sing the death of his son/daughter :(
I thought he was sing the death of his son/daughter :(