I love this song. To me, it sounds like it is about being in love with (i.e. addicted to) a prostitute. Mother of Pearl is a very common, cheap "gem" (inside of an oyster shell), yet is very beautiful, looking like the more expensive pearls that are produced by the oyster. A pearl would be a beautiful, but proper lady.
@IrishPoet I think you have touched on something, but the whole song is the juxtaposition of the real and the spurious, and the massive irony is that at the end of the song the performer ( Ferry) is implicated in this superficial lifestyle that he too cannot distinguish between what is profound and what is shallow.
@IrishPoet I think you have touched on something, but the whole song is the juxtaposition of the real and the spurious, and the massive irony is that at the end of the song the performer ( Ferry) is implicated in this superficial lifestyle that he too cannot distinguish between what is profound and what is shallow.
I love this song. To me, it sounds like it is about being in love with (i.e. addicted to) a prostitute. Mother of Pearl is a very common, cheap "gem" (inside of an oyster shell), yet is very beautiful, looking like the more expensive pearls that are produced by the oyster. A pearl would be a beautiful, but proper lady.
Just my two cents.
Wonderful,powerful lyrics about addiction.
Wonderful,powerful lyrics about addiction.
I think your analysis has some substance to it - something pure and real vs. settling for a cheaper imitation (of love?)
I think your analysis has some substance to it - something pure and real vs. settling for a cheaper imitation (of love?)
@IrishPoet I think you have touched on something, but the whole song is the juxtaposition of the real and the spurious, and the massive irony is that at the end of the song the performer ( Ferry) is implicated in this superficial lifestyle that he too cannot distinguish between what is profound and what is shallow.
@IrishPoet I think you have touched on something, but the whole song is the juxtaposition of the real and the spurious, and the massive irony is that at the end of the song the performer ( Ferry) is implicated in this superficial lifestyle that he too cannot distinguish between what is profound and what is shallow.