What are the emotions here?

[Mr. Stevens]

Thanks for explaining your interpretation Ella

 

[Tom]

Emotions aren't my forte, but she seems to be describing a series of calamities.

1. Bedroom caught fire
2. Ship sank
3. One of her organs fell out from laughing too hard.

 

[Rodafina]

No, please do.

Kate Wolf’s country track is filled with the warmth and light that resides in the eyes of a lover. Her song is about a lived-in relationship that ceases to wear out from the passing “years of hard and heavy times.”

Kate’s chorus captures the majestic beauty of her partner’s green eyes, whose brightness fails to dim into the ungrateful tides of normalcy that eventually sweep over any marriage or long-term relationship.



“Your green eyes, they don’t miss a thing, they hold me like the sun going down, warm me like a fire in the night, without a sound.”

Wolf evokes the comforting nature of gazing into your lovers eyes with her lines, “You were a beacon to a sailor lost at sea, I saw it in your eyes when you looked at me so openly,” elegantly metaphorising the protection and support showered upon you from simply looking into your partner’s loving eyes.

^ google

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

It's triggery for me so that was my first clue.

v1 -
~ Every night we light the candle
that stands beside our bed
Sometimes the flame’s too hot to handle
That’s what you said, that’s what you said
And you should know
because you built a fire in me and you made it burn
You followed me watching every move, matching every turn


~ Every night we lit the candle:
Candles are a symbol of hope and courage / loss / mourning
Every night -- she's emphasizing the passage of time
It is past tense "lit the candle", not present tense "we light ..."
She's saying they went through the motions of being together
She was faithful and kept lighting new candles or waiting up for him
Either she believed him, or she ignored her suspicions
She's incredulous that she was complicit for so long

She's tired of his BS, or she's mourning their relationship
She's thinking back on their conversations and putting the pieces together
She's evaluating his statements based on new information


~ You said the flame is too hot to handle.
That's what you said. That's what you said.
You should know:

Mixed tenses: Said / is
The flame is still burning for someone else
She's calling him out for making excuses
"You should know!"
It's all about him
"That's what you said. That's what you said" - He lied

The flame was so hot he couldn't resist it ... likely elsewhere
He blamed his hormones and lust
He would still come home to her, and light a new candle of hope
That means he would pretend to make a fresh start
She got his residual passion

One bedside candle doesn't make a flame that hot, like fire
The heat he "couldn't handle" was elsewhere
He couldn't couldn't handle or resist the temptation
"Couldn't handle it" also means he cracked, or slipped up
His partner found out

Maybe he desired them both
Either way he was duplicitous

If he didn't have a physical affair, it was emotional
In an emotional affair he would have built up "heat" for the other woman
Then he would use that "heat" in bed with her

You followed me, matching every turn -
He matched her moves in bed, he pretended to be in love
He watched her with jealousy despite being unfaithful himself
He made her feel like she was at fault
She's proving she did nothing wrong or he would have seen it

~ You built a fire in me and made it burn:
This is a YOU verse
She's looking at his role in what happened
She doesn't say THEY made a fire together
This is all on him

He orchestrated the affair step by step, like building a fire
He built her trust step by step as well with daily routines and normalcy
He fed her lines to keep their passion alive

You made it burn - he let her suspicion / jealousy grow over time
The fire is her anger / jealousy / resentment but also her love for him (pain)

It's all a metaphor for the fact she's been burnt by him and it hurts
Meaning: "You did this to me, and it's your fault" or "You made me love you"

The relationship and trust are burning down

-------------------

v2 -
~Your green eyes don’t miss a thing
They hold me like the sun going down
Warm me like a fire in the night
Without a sound. Without a sound


Green eyes = jealousy (Shakespeare)
He's smart and doesn't miss a detail
His eyes have controlled or deceived her because she trusted them
The sun going down - Relationship ending, time passing
They warm me without a sound - He kept a secret, didn't tell her
Sounds aren't supposed to "warm" us
She thought the silence was warmth but it was secrecy
warmth vs silence

Now he's asking forgiveness, so she sees his eyes as "warm"
She is torn whether or not to forgive him

~You were waiting till I heard
just as patient as that love light in your eyes
You never threw away a word, nor ever talked in a disguise
I ought to know
You were a beacon to a sailor lost at sea
I saw it in your eyes when you looked at me
so openly


This part is killing me
Now using some "I" statements instead of all YOU
Heard WHAT ... ?
He was waiting for her to find out
More passage of time until she heard through the grapevine
He didn't want to tell her himself

Just as patient as the love in your eyes -
He was manipulating her
All that time he looked at her lovingly, or he loved two people
She thought it was patience but it was cowardice on his part

You never threw away a word ... -
He never said more than he needed to, his words were measured

Nor talked in a disguise -
She should have known better because the signs were there
Starting to blame herself
I OUGHT TO KNOW - Again, I should have known, I do know
Guilt / shame / trauma

You were a beacon to a sailor
I saw it in your eyes when you looked at me so openly -


He was her beacon
She realises he was a beacon for other women too
He fooled everyone
People saw him as strong and they trusted him for their bearings
This is meant to be ironic


---------------

v3 -
~ First time I ever heard your laughter
brake loose inside and tumble out to me
My heart knew it had found what it was after
and it came so easily
And we should know
after all the years of the hard and heavy times
Now our days fly by like best friends’ story lines
Yours and mine


She's nostalgic and reflecting on their good times
She's trying to stop blaming herself
Torn between acceptance and pain

"we should know" -- instead of "I ought to know" in v2
She's holding him accountable

after all the years of the hard and heavy times
Now our days fly by like best friends’ story lines
Yours and mine

Another reference to time and the passage of years
Time makes her love him, but intensifies the betrayal
Years of hard and heavy times
She's contemplating her commitment, rationalising
Days fly by - Moving forward now instead of looking back
Best friends' story lines - No longer lovers
Best friends tell each other about their lust for others
They have a new dynamic
Yours and mine -
He has a story to share (betrayal)
She has a story too (what's she's been through)

Sorry, I can't listen to it but that's how I read the lyrics.

Ella Spell, it grieves me this song causes you pain. I am so sorry. I wish for you loving thoughts.

 

[Ella Spell]

Thanks. I didn't mean to be dramatic but yeah, been there many times.

Maybe I'm reading it with my own bias but it seems to jump off the page for me.
Poetry and lyrics are meant to be interpreted personally, anyway.

 

[Ella Spell]

Kate Wolf’s country track is filled with the warmth and light that resides in the eyes of a lover. Her song is about a lived-in relationship that ceases to wear out from the passing “years of hard and heavy times.”

Kate’s chorus captures the majestic beauty of her partner’s green eyes, whose brightness fails to dim into the ungrateful tides of normalcy that eventually sweep over any marriage or long-term relationship.



“Your green eyes, they don’t miss a thing, they hold me like the sun going down, warm me like a fire in the night, without a sound.”

Wolf evokes the comforting nature of gazing into your lovers eyes with her lines, “You were a beacon to a sailor lost at sea, I saw it in your eyes when you looked at me so openly,” elegantly metaphorising the protection and support showered upon you from simply looking into your partner’s loving eyes.

Good grief. I must be shell-shocked.

Never mind mine, then.

 

[Ella Spell]

Thanks for explaining your interpretation Ella

Hmmm --- It says a lot about me brain, me thinks.

* enters own guilt/shame cycle for overreacting lmao *

 

[Ella Spell]

Now I'm curious where Ella gets infidelity from, but this is basically what I wrote:

Verse 3: She is fulfilled. They have taken years to learn who the other is deeply and now their life is easier because of a deep intimacy. They basically share emotions--laughter moving from one to the other. This was a foundation to grow more unified, and now she's at peace.

Verse 1: She compares their love to a fire, because it's not something they control entirely but it must be tended. She appreciates that he cares enough to study her and see what pleases her, and this is how the relationship started. So she is grateful and also more aware of herself--that she could feel so strongly at someone doing this to her.

Verse 2: She is also grateful here, but in a different way. She appreciates his honesty and directness. I would guess that he was waiting for her to hear that this was honesty and directness--that she could trust him. Then later she could hear his laughter ring through her. He basically taught her to be vulnerable and helped give her a real humanity, so she was no longer lost. This leads to the fulfillment of her life and herself as a human being in verse 3.

It's about love as gratitude and realization.

I just saw this. ^

I'm in that place now.
I can relate to your interpretation too.

Funny how I defaulted to trauma.
Lesson learned.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Art is always open to interpretation. People see/hear different things.

This song is in a minor key. At time, reading the words, it could be interpreted as the lover having the personality of a charismatic abuser. You lit a fire in me (no reciprocal) for example. Watching every move (oooh, that could be creepy.)

But Wolf’s songs, she is pretty wholesome, celebrating all kinds of love, kindness, spirit-led.

 

[Ella Spell]

It's all Mr. Stevens' fault because he said "cheating".

That's my ADHD brain making lightning speed connections and microanalysing everything to death with detail.

I only charge $100/hour for last minute papers if you ever need one.

 

[Mr. Stevens]

It's all Mr. Stevens' fault because he said "cheating".

Hey, don't blame me That would be cheating.

 

[Ella Spell]

No worries. I'll blame myself. ^

 

[Au Naturel]

For me it is love-love-love.

The singer is singing about a life she has shared with someone she loved. A long and interesting time with ups and downs. Still feels the passion and they are best friends.

Every night we light the candle
that stands beside our bed.
Sometimes the flame’s too hot to handle.
That’s what you said, that’s what you said.
And you should know
because you built a fire in me and you made it burn.
You followed me watching every move, matching every turn.

Sparking a fire is how sexual passion is often described. Every night they light that candle. Present tense means the passion is still there. But sometimes passion leads to conflict. People in love sometimes have nasty arguments.

He only has eyes for her and loves to watch her. If I am in love with someone I like to gaze at them. There is a possible stalker-ish note (Every Breath You Take - Police) but that doesn't match the rest of the song. He matches her every move is likely a dance reference, implying that living together (or maybe making love) is like a dance and he's a good dancer. Maybe even that he lets her take the lead, otherwise she'd be matching him. Or it could be he adapts to her emotional needs.

The chorus reflects this. She says his green eyes warm her, rather than oppressing her.

You were waiting till I heard
just as patient as that love light in your eyes.
You never threw away a word, nor ever talked in a disguise
I ought to know
You were a beacon to a sailor lost at sea.
I saw it in your eyes when you looked at me
so openly.

He fell in love with her first and patiently waited until it was reciprocated. He was always truthful and she ought to know. Indicates she's known some liars. He gave her a sense of direction and safety. Again with the eyes - and no concealment of his feelings.

First time I ever heard your laughter
break loose inside and tumble out to me.
My heart knew it had found what it was after
and it came so easily.
And we should know
after all the years of the hard and heavy times
Now our days fly by like best friends’ story lines
Yours and mine.

She was attracted to his laughter. A person's sense of humor can tell us a lot about them as can the quality of their laughter. Laughing easily means you're not uptight, anxious, angry, inhibited, ect. He's a good-natured person. They've stayed together a long time through good times and bad. And as you get older, the days tend to fly by ever faster. Plus time flies when you're having fun. Both are probably implied here.

And finally, they are best friends.

 

[Ella Spell]

Nicely put.

I thought that was all pretty obvious though, so I assumed the OP was looking for something deeper.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Nah, the OP hasn’t a clue about emotions.

 

[PonderingPrincess]

I can see this assignment as both fun, when I read the variety in other people’s interpretations, and perhaps a bit torturous. I have an art degree, visual art not music, so I’ve had the privilege and challenge of interpreting emotions other people want to convey via visual art as well as having been critiqued by others who have tried to interpret my art and attached feelings.

The trick isn’t in being able to get it right. You are not the song writer. The emotion she feels by writing symbolic words and the emotions you get from reading them are not going to be the same. You cannot really know what she feels, without knowing her and her life’s story.

You only get to observe and not really know because she is not your close relation.

The trick is being comfortable with guessing and understanding that your unique background either lets you “assign” an emotion or not or it doesn’t. Not being able to interpret symbolism is not a flaw—not in my eyes. Just as I cannot connect to every person and understand their unique perspective. I can also decide if I want to. It’s okay to say “I get nothing from this.” I may not be you truly cannot understand the symbolism. It may just be that you do understand symbolism is deeply personal and specific to her and you just don’t have the opportunity to ask her what she was thinking.

Green eyes following her…does she like that interaction. I’m not assuming she does—some, if they feel ignored or undervalued, might enjoy this. It creeps me out. I don’t like to have people stare at me normally—I mean why all the scrutiny? I would feel awkward. I think of anger when a flame is too hot, not passion. I don’t like to be over stimulated and “lose myself.” I don’t like the thought of burning up and being watched because I had a seven year stalker. My personal experience of uncontrolled attraction was not fun.

so maybe she is feeling passion, maybe fear of unmatched, unequal desires and is afraid? Or uncomfortable under a gaze to intense to tolerate.

Then she talks about him waiting on her to notice he likes her and to like him back. As a literal person seeing patience after passion, this too may be irritating. As I would feel patience to be understood before developing passion. Other people would equate passage on to intense physical intimacy before discovering a secret admiration by viewing the first and second in order. Sexual desire, then true love. or is it feeling seen, then appreciated. Or my version of feeling uncomfortable, quit stalking me, then seriously just say it and don’t make me guess what you are thinking!

And the third, if you follow the supposed 3 stages of romantic love that psychologists identify. Attraction giving away to feeling in love when it is returned to finally not feeling that burning sexual stuff anymore and just liking each others company… the song symbolizes burning attraction, understanding and respect, and the familiarity.

But like the first 2 passages. I like to throw my own experience in. To me passage 3 is when they finally reach equity. They have passed through stages of intensity, truth finding, then acceptance.

What ever you write, preface it by explaining your own emotions about the poetry. If it doesn’t mean anything to you. Maybe it’s because you don’t know what she really thinks, understand that while each culture has biases and experiences that define symbolic words, you are cool enough to not tell others how to feel. So you can just say how it makes you feel. Do you like the idea of green eyes and flames, like to feel the sexual attraction that is too hot to handle or an endorphins high, or do you prefer a lover who has mutual respect and like to say it straight.

Pick your emotions, sell the story. In this assignment choose want you want as a result, an understanding of your self, the stranger who wrote the song, or what your teacher wants to read that will land you a grade. Make your answer match your goal and be happy with you choice.

After all, some art is meaningless to one person and causes a cacophony of emotions to bubble up for others. Say your thoughts, support it with reasons, and hope your teacher understands and respects your unique perspective.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

So I sang it today for my voice teacher and she was very impressed with the emotion I put into the song. I, of course, have no idea what I am doing, but apparently managed well.

Thank you all for your help. I would have been quite lost without you all.

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

Write a short piece on Autism and your experiences with it, and your difficulty in reading emotion in other people. Rather than a rant, try to make it an informed essay, with an addendum at the end asking for accommodation for your disability. Turn that in to the teacher, with the assignment.

 

[Mr. Stevens]

So I sang it today for my voice teacher and she was very impressed with the emotion I put into the song. I, of course, have no idea what I am doing, but apparently managed well.

Thank you all for your help. I would have been quite lost without you all.

Awesome! I was wondering how things would turn out. I didn't know you were doing it for a voice lesson (sorry if I missed that in your initial post).