Love-Hounds-request@GAFFA.MIT.EDU (08/29/89)
Really-From: motcid!marble!meadley@uunet.UU.NET (A. Meadley) Whilst playing "The Dreaming" to an Asian friend recently, he commented that the section (which sounds like) "Dagga dagim da da, daggim da da", is in fact derived from an Indian dance discipline called the Rhag (this spelling may be incorrect). It is a very formal dance in which the instructor chants and the students perform the intricate dance to this chanting. Exactly where Kate picked this up and just what the precise significance of this is to the song, we can merely conjecture. (Or ask IED's KT knowledge bank :-) ), but I believe Kate does listen to quite a bit of ethnic material. Ant in Chicago.
jsd@gorn.santa-cruz.ca.us (jon drukman) (03/30/91)
Gee, the rape reading works so well... all sorts of double entendres come to life. But, if you're gonna be a bummer about it, read it any way you want to. The mule line does in no way ridicule the victim, in fact it strengthens her image. The stubbornness is the major trait we're trying to get across here anyway - why would someone want to change into something STUPID? Yeah, I can see it now: here I am being chased by a powerful entity and to evade it, I turn into MC Hammer. "You can't touch me!" /j/ "i locked myself out of my apartment..." - nurse with wound
jsd@gorn.santa-cruz.ca.us (jon drukman) (04/02/91)
OK, so maybe the rape interpretation is a little over your heads. Take a course in literary symbolism and extreme pretension, it will help. Someone said that the lines "this house is full of my mess" etc didn't make sense in this context. Well, if you take the house of the song to metaphorically represent the heroine's body, it will make a lot more sense. And you'll get an unexpected payoff because the lines "I wash the panes/I clean the stains" now have multiple meanings. And anyway, how do you make sense of "My home, my joy/ ***I'M*** barred and bolted" otherwise? Besides, "this house is as old as I am, this house knows all I have done..." What does this suggest if the house isn't equivalent (metaphorically) to the heroine? They just happened to build the house on the same day she was born? Of course the rape thing just amplifies most of the song, it doesn't take away from the 'primary' reading. I personally think it adds an extra little frisson (on top of the already exquisite sensations produced by listening to this song at full blast in a dark room). If you don't like it, tough! And remember: just cos Kate hasn't said explicitly "this song is about rape" doesn't mean it ain't true. Look at all the untouched imagery in "Under The Ivy"! White roses, indeed! /j/ PS to Jenn Turney: you're entirely welcome, of course!
rjc@cstr.ed.ac.UK (Richard Caley) (04/03/91)
In article <9104011521.aa18846@gorn.santa-cruz.ca.us>, jon drukman (jd) writes:
jd> Someone said that the lines "this house is full of my mess" etc didn't
jd> make sense in this context. Well, if you take the house of the song
jd> to metaphorically represent the heroine's body, it will make a lot
jd> more sense.
Nope, no connection there for me.
jd> And anyway, how do you make sense of "My home, my joy/ ***I'M*** barred
jd> and bolted" otherwise?
Metaphorically.
jd> Besides, "this house is as old as I am, this house knows all I have
jd> done..." What does this suggest if the house isn't equivalent
jd> (metaphorically) to the heroine? They just happened to build the house
jd> on the same day she was born?
Woman =/= body.
Agree with you about playing it loud thoug.
In fact, given that only the cleaners are in at this time and they
already think I am round the twist...
--
rjc@cstr.ed.ac.uk Letting the weirdness in.