This is another one of my favorite songs. I love how simple and stripped down it is, not a lot going on musically. Just makes the lyrics more powerful if you ask me.
I love the repitition of the "first sin". "My first sin was a young American girl", "My first sin was a fear that made me old", "Your first sin was a lie you told yourself".
I think my favorite part though is:
Now I walk down by the shipyard, near the place that I was born
Sayin, "Ah, Maria, if you'da known me when."
But she just smiles, by the light on the Navesink Banks
Sayin, "Listen baby... I know you now."
I mean that's just... phew.
Do you suppose the Maria at the end of the song is the same she from the beginning, with the sign above her bed? Or two different women? Perhaps the first girl was one that ruined him, and Maria is a different one, and he wishes he knew her -- she knew him -- before the first girl. I don't know. I'm just thinking aloud. =]
@Desaparecida I definitely think it's two different women. He doesn't call the first one by name, just a young American girl. She was the sin, and she is someone who made him who he is, even though he isn't particularly proud of it. Maria is the one who has accepted him as who he is, and has stepped into his river - his life - while he is on the banks, stuck in this past for a few moments. Seeing everything properly under the light from the moon. The nighttime reference is a reference to his age and maturity.
@Desaparecida I definitely think it's two different women. He doesn't call the first one by name, just a young American girl. She was the sin, and she is someone who made him who he is, even though he isn't particularly proud of it. Maria is the one who has accepted him as who he is, and has stepped into his river - his life - while he is on the banks, stuck in this past for a few moments. Seeing everything properly under the light from the moon. The nighttime reference is a reference to his age and maturity.
This is another one of my favorite songs. I love how simple and stripped down it is, not a lot going on musically. Just makes the lyrics more powerful if you ask me.
I love the repitition of the "first sin". "My first sin was a young American girl", "My first sin was a fear that made me old", "Your first sin was a lie you told yourself".
I think my favorite part though is:
Now I walk down by the shipyard, near the place that I was born Sayin, "Ah, Maria, if you'da known me when." But she just smiles, by the light on the Navesink Banks Sayin, "Listen baby... I know you now."
I mean that's just... phew.
Do you suppose the Maria at the end of the song is the same she from the beginning, with the sign above her bed? Or two different women? Perhaps the first girl was one that ruined him, and Maria is a different one, and he wishes he knew her -- she knew him -- before the first girl. I don't know. I'm just thinking aloud. =]
@Desaparecida I definitely think it's two different women. He doesn't call the first one by name, just a young American girl. She was the sin, and she is someone who made him who he is, even though he isn't particularly proud of it. Maria is the one who has accepted him as who he is, and has stepped into his river - his life - while he is on the banks, stuck in this past for a few moments. Seeing everything properly under the light from the moon. The nighttime reference is a reference to his age and maturity.
@Desaparecida I definitely think it's two different women. He doesn't call the first one by name, just a young American girl. She was the sin, and she is someone who made him who he is, even though he isn't particularly proud of it. Maria is the one who has accepted him as who he is, and has stepped into his river - his life - while he is on the banks, stuck in this past for a few moments. Seeing everything properly under the light from the moon. The nighttime reference is a reference to his age and maturity.
Love your analysis.