Love-Hounds-request@GAFFA.MIT.EDU (08/22/89)
Really-From: tracyr@uunet.uu.net (jane smallberries)
first of all, welcome back to ied. i thought that perhaps
you were getting absorbed in your thesis, but i should've
known better--a wedding is a Much more noble excuse.
RUTH was playing in my office when a coworker walked in (the only
song he recognized, ofcourse), and he asked what the song was about.
he wondered why she wanted to swap places with god, and indeed that's
what i thought the interpretation was until i actually read the tiny
print on the cassette insert. it seems she wants god to swap places
with her _and someone else_. probably an ex-lover, who she's trying to
convince that she's unharmed ( "do you want to know that it doesn't
hurt me"). but why she would want to swap places with him (?) is
a puzzle--and that she'd somehow be _stronger_ if she did ("be
running up that hill with no problems"). and the symbolism of
going uphill--usually this is used to express progress. and
_running_ up a hill implies even more drive and determination yet.
but why would she need to swap places with the object to be able to
_run_ up a hill? is the object somehow stronger, more immune to weakness?
sorry if this song's too trivial to analyze (in the face of the 9th
wave). %^)
other notes: i have now viewed my special video gift from a very
special frIEnD several times now. i must say, that breathing piano
solo is something to behold. i had the pleasure of sharing this
with ant in chicago, whom i had the happy opportunity to meet wednesday
night while he was in town (hi ant!). he ofcourse, agreed.
modern woman with a pleasant attitude,
-tracy
uunet!sco!tracyr,
tracyr@sco.comLove-Hounds-request@GAFFA.MIT.EDU (08/24/89)
Really-From: Doug Alan <nessus@athena.mit.edu> > From: tracyr@uunet.uu.net (jane smallberries) > it seems she wants god to swap places with her _and someone else_. > probably an ex-lover, who she's trying to convince that she's > unharmed ( "do you want to know that it doesn't hurt me"). but why > she would want to swap places with him (?) is a puzzle--and that > she'd somehow be _stronger_ if she did ("be running up that hill > with no problems"). She wants to switch places with her lover (temporarily) so that they will know what it is like to be each other. Then they will understand each other better, having worn each other's shoes, so to speak. Of course, this is impossible, so the song is also a lament that we can never truly know anyone to the extent that we would like. "See how deep the bullet lies," |>oug
Love-Hounds-request@GAFFA.MIT.EDU (08/24/89)
Really-From: timelord%TARDIS.CS.ED.AC.UK@mitvma.mit.edu Organization: UNIX Anarchy, Edinburgh University I'm working from memory here, but the phrases "C'mon baby, come on come on darling, let me steal this moment from you now" "C'mon baby, come on come on darling, let's share the experience" suggest to me that something more intimate than an ex-lover is being written about here....'course that's only my interpretation. --Rick. "How could you leave me when I needed to posess you?" Newsgroups: rec.music.gaffa Subject: Re: RUTH interpretations References: <3214@scolex.sco.COM> Sender: timelord@tardis.cs.ed.ac.uk (Rick Innis) Reply-To: timelord@tardis.cs.ed.ac.uk (Rick Innis) Distribution: Organization: UNIX Anarchy, Edinburgh University Keywords: I'm working from memory here, but the phrases "C'mon baby, come on come on darling, let me steal this moment from you now" "C'mon baby, come on come on darling, let's share the experience" suggest to me that something more intimate than an ex-lover is being written about here....'course that's only my interpretation. --Rick. "How could you leave me when I needed to possess you?"
brianw@microsoft.UUCP (Brian Willoughby) (08/26/89)
In article <3214@scolex.sco.COM> Love-Hounds@GAFFA.MIT.EDU writes: >Really-From: tracyr@uunet.uu.net (jane smallberries) > >RUTH was playing in my office when a coworker walked in (the only >song he recognized, ofcourse), and he asked what the song was about. >he wondered why she wanted to swap places with god, and indeed that's >what i thought the interpretation was until i actually read the tiny >print on the cassette insert. it seems she wants god to swap places >with her _and someone else_. probably an ex-lover, who she's trying to >convince that she's unharmed ( "do you want to know that it doesn't >hurt me"). but why she would want to swap places with him (?) is >a puzzle--and that she'd somehow be _stronger_ if she did ("be >running up that hill with no problems"). and the symbolism of >going uphill--usually this is used to express progress. and >_running_ up a hill implies even more drive and determination yet. >but why would she need to swap places with the object to be able to >_run_ up a hill? is the object somehow stronger, more immune to weakness? >sorry if this song's too trivial to analyze (in the face of the 9th >wave). %^) > >modern woman with a pleasant attitude, >-tracy Your signature indicates that you're a woman, so I'm surprised that you didn't make the same conclusions I did (especially since I have to look at things from the opposite viewpoint as you and KaTe). But, then again, there are so many interpretations to any work of art. I see "Running Up That Hill" as a symbol of the struggle between the roles of the opposite sexes, particularly from KaTe's view of trying to succeed as a woman in what has often been called "a man's world". I think she is expressing how common it is for men and women to misunderstand each other. Exchanging places would be the solution; to actually "know" what it is really like to be (fe)male. More than that, though, I also see it as being somewhat negative from KaTe/the female's point of view. That's why there are the references to being stronger if the roles were switched. RUTH is indeed about success, and how its easier (in general) for the masculine gender. Its true that KaTe didn't have to switch roles to acheive her success (she certainly has the "drive and determination"), but I see this song as her portrayal of the average woman's thoughts: not indicating that the weakness is actually there, but that the social expectations and barriers are the limiting factor. Most writers only loosely base their works on their own experiences. I got exactly the opposite impression as you from the line "do you want to know that it doesn't hurt me?". I saw that line as sarcastic, as if her partner would have been surprised to *really* now what kind of sensations he was inducing/inflicting. Of course you can take that either way, depending upon whether KaTe has had good or bad experiences with men and sex. Perhaps you were just testing to see if any of the men on this net could analyse this song from such an unfamiliar point of view :-) P.S. ^ That's definitely a joke on my part, please no flames... P.P.S. Re: KaTe's sexual experience(s) - please no more claims from the net of having slept with her! Brian Willoughby UUCP: ...!{tikal, sun, uunet, elwood}!microsoft!brianw InterNet: microsoft!brianw@uunet.UU.NET or: microsoft!brianw@Sun.COM Bitnet brianw@microsoft.UUCP