the thing that makes me appreciate cake so much more than almost all other artists is the overall integrity of the layering of meaning in the poetry of the lyrics and within the instrumentals.
within the short first verse john manages to evoke the images of three different modes of transit: sea, air, and land, all to make the painfully simple observation that he's eating dinner alone tonight.
the second verse is the most straight-forward of the three verses, and it ultimately works to solidify the central theme of the song in a rather bald-faced way. i adore the shift from more observational/external poetry in the first verse to the more personal, gut-wrenching straight talk of this verse; it mirrors the crazy up and down emotions involved in a difficult break-up. note that the first line of this verse bridges from the first verse's transit imagery: "so i hired a plane to take me to, a place so far away from you..." the line: "and i could get away from you, and you could get away from me" would seem so pedestrian if it weren't for the perfect context that john sets the line within. as it is, i absolutely cherish it.
the third, and last, verse is a bit of a digression from the main theme, which i believe is its intent: to bring back in some of the observational/external imagery from the first verse to further evoke the sense of detachment from the world while he is rather aimlessly running away from a relationship gone bad.
wheels keep on spinning 'round, spinning 'round... the chorus is lovely for the reason i stated at the beginning: the layering of meaning. in his transit imagery and his (probably imagined) travels, wheels literally spin, within his mind thoughts of the relationship keep spinning 'round, getting mixed up with all of the things around him, and, ultimately, life goes on, or 'keep[s] on 'spinning round.'
the sheer musicality of the outro would be enough to make it an excellent conclusion to the song, with the 5-part vocal harmonies layered harmonically and rhythmically within the instrumentals, but the lyrics make it really exceptional and, for me, moving. "I don't know why you say you are not in love with me," repeated until all that remains is the man's lonely voice: a return to the harsh mental anguish of the second verse, but in an even more stripped-down, emotive way.
This is an amazing song. As somebody who recently lost a love of almost three years, I appreciate many of the songs on this album a great deal. I hope that my observations of the song are useful/interesting.
I think you’ve captured the meaning very well including the infuriating juxtaposition of the sublime love and mundane aspects of travel, strangeness and loneliness.
I think you’ve captured the meaning very well including the infuriating juxtaposition of the sublime love and mundane aspects of travel, strangeness and loneliness.
the thing that makes me appreciate cake so much more than almost all other artists is the overall integrity of the layering of meaning in the poetry of the lyrics and within the instrumentals.
within the short first verse john manages to evoke the images of three different modes of transit: sea, air, and land, all to make the painfully simple observation that he's eating dinner alone tonight.
the second verse is the most straight-forward of the three verses, and it ultimately works to solidify the central theme of the song in a rather bald-faced way. i adore the shift from more observational/external poetry in the first verse to the more personal, gut-wrenching straight talk of this verse; it mirrors the crazy up and down emotions involved in a difficult break-up. note that the first line of this verse bridges from the first verse's transit imagery: "so i hired a plane to take me to, a place so far away from you..." the line: "and i could get away from you, and you could get away from me" would seem so pedestrian if it weren't for the perfect context that john sets the line within. as it is, i absolutely cherish it.
the third, and last, verse is a bit of a digression from the main theme, which i believe is its intent: to bring back in some of the observational/external imagery from the first verse to further evoke the sense of detachment from the world while he is rather aimlessly running away from a relationship gone bad.
wheels keep on spinning 'round, spinning 'round... the chorus is lovely for the reason i stated at the beginning: the layering of meaning. in his transit imagery and his (probably imagined) travels, wheels literally spin, within his mind thoughts of the relationship keep spinning 'round, getting mixed up with all of the things around him, and, ultimately, life goes on, or 'keep[s] on 'spinning round.'
the sheer musicality of the outro would be enough to make it an excellent conclusion to the song, with the 5-part vocal harmonies layered harmonically and rhythmically within the instrumentals, but the lyrics make it really exceptional and, for me, moving. "I don't know why you say you are not in love with me," repeated until all that remains is the man's lonely voice: a return to the harsh mental anguish of the second verse, but in an even more stripped-down, emotive way.
This is an amazing song. As somebody who recently lost a love of almost three years, I appreciate many of the songs on this album a great deal. I hope that my observations of the song are useful/interesting.
I think you’ve captured the meaning very well including the infuriating juxtaposition of the sublime love and mundane aspects of travel, strangeness and loneliness.
I think you’ve captured the meaning very well including the infuriating juxtaposition of the sublime love and mundane aspects of travel, strangeness and loneliness.