I think you're right on about this, with some addition. I think it's about potential and reduction, loss and cruelty, and not just about our dreams, but our emotions, our ability to love and be open. Our hearts are broken over and over as we go through life; all of us suffer, all of us are "buried in snow." But we react differently. We all feel the cold suffocation of the world, we all are robbed of our treasures, talents, and loves: "the gaping holes where diamonds should be", and we gradually awaken to the magnitude of what we've lost, but not of all us react the same. All of us become victims of horrible betrayal and cruelty to various degrees; some of us try to overcome it and stay compassionate despite the odds, and some of us react to that betrayal by becoming horribly cruel ourselves and inflicting our suffering on others. She says "some hearts" are settling down in dark waters, meaning that presumably not all of us drown -- it's significant that she says "our hearts" up to this point. I'm not sure exactly what the difference means -- buried in snow, vs. drowned in deep water. Maybe the hearts that are buried in snow have the potential, at least, to thaw, while the hearts that are drowned in silt, are dead forever. Then, there seems to be kind of a prayer for peace at the end: "such a stillness, calm as the owl glides," at the end and the beginning. We all start out with the potential for finding peace, and maybe ultimately we can all find it.
Whatever the case, this is one of the saddest and most beautiful songs I've ever heard. I listen to it over and over again. I registered just to comment on it. Thanks for your interpretation.
I wanted to add before, but my computer froze, that this song reminds me of an Emily Dickinson poem which I especially love (quoted here from memory so her quirky punctuation and capitalization might not be exact):
I wanted to add before, but my computer froze, that this song reminds me of an Emily Dickinson poem which I especially love (quoted here from memory so her quirky punctuation and capitalization might not be exact):
After great pain, a Formal Feeling comes --
The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs --
The stiff Heart questions, was it he, that bore --
And Yesterday -- or Centuries, before?
After great pain, a Formal Feeling comes --
The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs --
The stiff Heart questions, was it he, that bore --
And Yesterday -- or Centuries, before?
The Feet, mechanical, go round
Of ground, or air, or ought --
A Wooden Way, regardless grown --
A quartz contentment, like a Stone --
The Feet, mechanical, go round
Of ground, or air, or ought --
A Wooden Way, regardless grown --
A quartz contentment, like a Stone --
This is the Hour of Lead
Remembered, if outlived --
As freezing Persons, recollect the Snow --
First -- Chill -- then stillness,
Then -- the letting go --
I think you're right on about this, with some addition. I think it's about potential and reduction, loss and cruelty, and not just about our dreams, but our emotions, our ability to love and be open. Our hearts are broken over and over as we go through life; all of us suffer, all of us are "buried in snow." But we react differently. We all feel the cold suffocation of the world, we all are robbed of our treasures, talents, and loves: "the gaping holes where diamonds should be", and we gradually awaken to the magnitude of what we've lost, but not of all us react the same. All of us become victims of horrible betrayal and cruelty to various degrees; some of us try to overcome it and stay compassionate despite the odds, and some of us react to that betrayal by becoming horribly cruel ourselves and inflicting our suffering on others. She says "some hearts" are settling down in dark waters, meaning that presumably not all of us drown -- it's significant that she says "our hearts" up to this point. I'm not sure exactly what the difference means -- buried in snow, vs. drowned in deep water. Maybe the hearts that are buried in snow have the potential, at least, to thaw, while the hearts that are drowned in silt, are dead forever. Then, there seems to be kind of a prayer for peace at the end: "such a stillness, calm as the owl glides," at the end and the beginning. We all start out with the potential for finding peace, and maybe ultimately we can all find it.
Whatever the case, this is one of the saddest and most beautiful songs I've ever heard. I listen to it over and over again. I registered just to comment on it. Thanks for your interpretation.
I wanted to add before, but my computer froze, that this song reminds me of an Emily Dickinson poem which I especially love (quoted here from memory so her quirky punctuation and capitalization might not be exact):
I wanted to add before, but my computer froze, that this song reminds me of an Emily Dickinson poem which I especially love (quoted here from memory so her quirky punctuation and capitalization might not be exact):
After great pain, a Formal Feeling comes -- The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs -- The stiff Heart questions, was it he, that bore -- And Yesterday -- or Centuries, before?
After great pain, a Formal Feeling comes -- The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs -- The stiff Heart questions, was it he, that bore -- And Yesterday -- or Centuries, before?
The Feet, mechanical, go round Of ground, or air, or ought -- A Wooden Way, regardless grown -- A quartz contentment, like a Stone --
The Feet, mechanical, go round Of ground, or air, or ought -- A Wooden Way, regardless grown -- A quartz contentment, like a Stone --
This is the Hour of Lead Remembered, if outlived -- As freezing Persons, recollect the Snow -- First -- Chill -- then stillness, Then -- the letting go --