Sandy's Lyrics, Part 3, Discussions
Subject: Sandy�s Lyrics, On The Flow, Again: After Halloween
From: [email protected] (BEKAERT DENIS)
Date: 17 Jan 1998
Thinking about the Sandy's lyrics evolution through the years.
I've listened the Fotheringay album a lot these times... (I love it a lot). Then I remembered our view exchanges about the sea in Sandy's songs. What about "This" Sea, in Fotheringay?
I told you my feeling that there was a link between tears and sea in this song, as it appears more evidently - I concede - in After Halloween. Going more far into this feeling that seemed first so tenuous and inexplicable, I got the clue as standing out the flow (and look, I'm trying here a double sense image...) because it's actually this word that evoked me tears. But why?
OK! She seems to have some reproaches counter to people who didn't understand or didn't care about what she felt or thought or did. Tears are never so far when you feel that way, isn't it? And as tears flow, seas grow... Nobody knows, and you feel angry because they only can't see, thinking you're hiding because they only see a shell that could be empty. Then the anger grows, as the flow is growing, and should they be all drowned in the downpour...
Tears, sea, and downpour. Well, you could think it's late at the end of the week and I must be exhausted by taking care about people's feeling and understanding of life as doing my job too seriously and may be in vain utopia hopes but... I really see her waiting for the land, after the sea will end...
I come again in the dream'n'reality sway point. I think this is why I love Sandy although her voice and singing are so moving. She is like a little girl (a psychologist would have say "a child" but I prefer "little girl" as I'm one too I think) still owning this marvellous chilhood's magic thought...
By the way she seems to be, at the Fotheringay period, in a constructive view, looking back with a kind of serenity: no matter of past errors, they were fallacy as all is vain, just believe and wait, trust your dream ...
One guitarist listmember asked before Christmas about if Sandy was depressive or not. I think people like her become depressive when they loose their natural hability to question life and I think alcool (that we know she used a bit) is a way for some to entertain this way of thinking , in opposition of those who prefer to watch life as drawned in the marble of certainty and become depressed when questions appear (then, alcohol becomes a symptom, isn't it doctor?).
Well it's late, really! and I have some more message to send.
So, cheers to you all.
Emmanuelle (french but not dumb)
Subject: Sandy�s Lyrics, On The Flow, Again: After Halloween
From: [email protected] (BEKAERT DENIS)
Date: 18 Jan 1998
Thinking about the Sandy's lyrics' evolution through the years. [About the sea] I really see her waiting for the land, after the sea will end... By the way she seems to be, at the Fotheringay period, in a constructive view, looking back in a kind of serenity: no matter of past errors, they were fallacy as all is vain, trust your dream...
Then, Helge and I had an exchange about the images weared by the sea in After Halloween. And thinking about what we said I reminded having red something in a Sandy's interview on the absolutely welcomed "golddust" site ( Interview by Jerry Gilbert in Sounds, 08/09/73)
(... about a preoccupation with sea, in her earlier solo albums ..) ...I dunno, I just love things like that. When I write songs I often picture myself standing on a beach or standing on a rock or promenade or something like this (...) and I find myself describing what I am looking at and often it's the sea. (...) I really can't anywhere that's nicer than that.
So when she says, in After Halloween:
Oh the sea has made you cry
And I love her too
So may be I love you too.
I think it may be a private reference to her personal life and the easier guess is about Trevor and her ( then, I join here John Russel, and it's becuase I tried to crosscheck the dates I had here or there about Sandy's life and recording ). It's possibly a reference to a real event of their life and remember the Fotheringay had been recording just one year before : Late November in automn 1970, ( AH recorded in spring 72 must have been wrote in autumn 71). Looking back to her airplane fear wich she recognizes to be the source of Late November, can't we imagine that the sea, wich is in the heart of this song too, remains her in this alone anniversary of Halloween 71 (Trevor's with FC in US, isn't he? Please correct me if I mistake) all they share a year before. May be they laughed about this fear...
across the waves the sound of a laughter...
Now, alone she thinks about it, and about the sea can separate people so definitively sometimes even if the era of shipping is ended because airplanes can fall as ship could sink...
Ultimately, this song is a real love song about wondering what IS love. Is it when you miss somebody as a kind of jealous asking - "does he think about me just now?". Is it when you're move by those leasts remindings ? Does she know ?
I come again in the dream'n'reality sway point. I think this is why I love Sandy although her voice and singing are so moving. She is like a little girl (a psychologist would have say "achild" but I prefer "little girl" as I am one too I think) still ovning this marvellous childhood's magic thought...
At this time she seems to be in another mood than serene secure feelings. Life gave her some grain to mill... But she stays so cristalline for all that... So lovely... I think now to her two first solo albums... Well, enough words for today.
So, cheers to you all.
Emmanuelle (french but not dumb - oh! God what a chatter!)
Subject: Sandy�s lyrics, song interpretations
Date: 6 May 1998
From: Ellie Leonard
I thought I'd mail you all to see what you thought of something I've been thinking about a lot recently. I know Sandy said herself that the meanings of her songs are meant to be obscure, and that it's very hard for us now to appreciate why and how she wrote them. But I was interested in hearing how other fans have interpreted her songs in a personal way. I don't mean by trying to guess what she meant in the first place, but by applying them to personal situations. I'd be especially interested to hear from people who have been helped by the strong positive meanings in some of the songs. So I guess I ought to start the ball rolling...
To me, "No more sad refrains" spoke about thinking more positively, and encouraged me to make an effort to recover from a couple of bad depressions. On a bad day it seemed like there was no way out and that thinking positively wasn't going to help, but on the better days the message of this song ("I won't linger over any tragedies...") seemed so relevant and full of hope.
"Full Moon", although directed at someone identified only as "lover", has connotations of a spiritual discovery and I found this quite positive too, that we never need be alone.
During one of my worst times, I made a compilation of favourite songs (mostly Sandy, FC & Runrig), starting with slow reflective ones like "Sloth" and a couple of my more gloomy self-compositions, and working towards these songs which I found to be very positive. This tape helped to improve my mood every time I listened to it.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Ellie , (currently in the middle of finals, but just rediscovered "Heyday" :)
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