TALULA

[miceL]

Here's a cool interpretation I found of TAlula\
Okay, this song is just so totally about abortion. I mean, think of it.

"Congratulate you" - It's custom to congratulate someone after learning
she's pregnant.

"Said you had a double tongue" - This implies 2 tongues, hence, Tori's
(or whoever the character is) tongue and the fetus's potential tongue.

"Balancing cake and bread" - Well, bread is the younger form of a cake,
just like a baby (bread) is a younger form of an adult (cake). So the
woman has to balance the baby (bread) along with her own self (cake).

"Say goodbye to a glitter girl" - The abortion has taken place and the
baby (glitter girl) is gone.

"Talula, Talula, you don't want to lose her / it / him." - First off,
Tori chose the word "Talula" to refer to the fetus, or the feeling of
aborting a fetus or something. Anyway, when the chorus comes up again
in the song, the gender changes from "lose her" to "lose it" to "lose
him". This is referring to the fetus again. You don't want to lose the
fetus. And since it's a fetus, you don't know yet if it's male, female,
and sometimes we just refer to the fetus as "it" since its gender is not
yet known.

"Talula, Talula, she's / it's / he's barnd new now to you now" - Notice
the gender change again, and the "brand new" means that the fetus can
only be aborted within the first few months of conception, the thing is
relatively new to you.

"Wrapped in you papoose, your little Fig Newton" - I have NO clue what
the Fig Newton thing here is about, but the papoose I think refers to
the placenta of the fetus. The placenta covers and nurtures the baby
until it's born.

"Ran into the hencmen that severed Anne Bolyn, he did it right quickly,
a merciful man / She said 1+1=3D2, but Henry said that it was 3 / So it
was, here I am." - This whole allusion to King Henry and Anne Bolyn.
Anne Bolyn was killed for not giving the King sons, or something along
those lines. Thus, another baby reference.

"And Jamaica / Do you know, do you know what I have done?" - Um...for
some reason, Jamaica was significant here, but I can't quite remember
why. But what she's done is had an abortion.

"Mary M weaving on / Said 'What you want is in the blood of senators.'"
- Mary M has something to do with the Virgin Mother and serves as a
reference to the religious stance on abortion (They're against it), so
she guides the girl to the senators. Politicians are all corrupt and
evil. Therefore, their blood would have the strength to carry out the
cruel and evil act of abortion.

"I got my rape hat on" - Yes, Tori was raped, but this character was
raped as well, which is why she's seeking the abortion in the first
place.

"I know right now, honey / That it's in God's hands / Oh, but I don't
know who the father is" - Double meaning is in this one. Aside from
recognizing the religious aspects of abortion, this is quite literal
when broken down. This rape victim really DOESN'T know who the father
of this potentially aborted baby is!

[.:|L a u r e n|:.]

wow thats a pretty good interpretation!

[mandy]

Wow! That is an amazing interpretation...

Thanks for sharing it.

[♥Mary♥]

micel ~
What was the source of the interpretation? I'm curious. Thanks.

[miceL]

Bee i dont remember... I did it from a public computer so i dont have on my history....Damn!!!

[Foo]

MMM, hi here's my go at Talula,

I think its a look at women in power or with power. She mention a few of some very important women - Anne Boleyn and Marie Antoinette, As Tori hereself says (its a riddle or a nursery rhymne thing are not what they seem!)

Here's some fantastic quotes from www.yessaid.com (Thanks Jason!)

BALANCING CAKE AND BREAD:



GLITTER GIRL:

“That’s my little moment of Ziggy Stardust, my Gary Glitter moment. An homage. It’s one thing to be a glitter girl, but it’s another thing to be all woman. And that’s what Marie Antoinette desperately wanted.”

YOU DON’T WANT TO LOSE HER...:

“This person walking out the door, this affects me-at least I’m not so numb. And if you’re numb, you can’t dance. So it became this thing about celebrating loss. Because I value it and it’s touched my heart and I’m hurting that it’s going. At least it meant something to me. When Trent Reznor wrote Hurt - ‘I hurt myself today, to see if I could feel’ - I thought,’ Hey, this girl feels, man.’”

PAPOOSE:

[Native American word (from the Algonquin tribe) for baby. Also used to describe an infant’s sling.] “It’s the Indian reference. It’s the whole idea of the cycle, the rebirth. There’s something being born within, which is the ability to let go. When a man you love walks out of your life, and you have that ache, you feel not only can you love again, but can love a son. The son or the daughter is the rebirth of the soul.”

FIG NEWTON:

“Fig Newton is a term of endearment. It’s not the Oreo Cookie. It’s certainly not the politically correct cookie. It’s not a commercial cookie. It’s the one with the jelly in the middle.”

ANNE BOLEYN:

[Married Henry VIII in 1533, aged 20. Henry changed religion and divorced his previous wife, Catherine, because she couldn’t provide him with a male heir. When Anne gave birth to female (the future Queen Elizabeth), Henry had her beheaded, supposedly for adultery, in 1536.] “As I went back into the bloodline of western women, I began to see the fragmentation. For example, with Anne’s daughter Elizabeth - “The Virgin Queen” - if you had respect and a certain power, you didn’t have your sensuality and sexuality as well. There has been this division in ‘Christian women’. I went after those archetypes that have been so misunderstood. With Anne Boleyn’s relationship with Henry VIII, he’d manipulate the truth. That’s why he says one plus one is three. Whatever the patriarchy says goes, and you’ll burn for it.”

HENCHMAN:

[The executor who chopped off Anne’s head.] “I heard stories that they brought in this henchman from France, and I really aligned with him. He had Anne move her hair over (before the execution) and he made her look away. He did it when she didn’t know. Even though his job was a bit brutal, he had more compassion than the king. The riddle in Talula is things are not what they seem.”

The executor did come from France and he would use a Sword rather than an axe which would deliver a clearner blow, he was much nicer than Henry

"She received news that an expert swordsman from Calais had been summoned, who would no doubt deliver a cleaner blow with a sharp sword than the traditional axe."

"She wore a red petticoat under a loose, dark grey gown of damask trimmed in fur. Over that she was a mantle of ermine. Her long, dark hair was bound up under a simple white linen coif over which she wore her usual headdress. She made a short speech before kneeling at the block. Her ladies removed the headdress and tied a blindfold over her eyes. The sword itself had been hidden under the straw. The sword cut off her head with one swift stroke."
(biggest thickest ever sky site)

JAMAICA:

“A lot of writing on this album is about association. Jamaica, to me, represents the mysteries. If you go back to that culture, they had belief in the spirit world. Some call it voodoo. Voodoo became something different once the Christians came in. Before then, there was an understanding of other worlds we have chosen to disrespect. When I say ‘Do you know what I have done’, I haven’t honored that world.”

MARY M:

[According to the bible, Mary Magdalene was a prostitute who washed Jesus’ feet and dried them with her hair.] “A lot of scholars believe that she was, in her own right, a High Priestess. People believe that Mary Magdalene became the High Priestess when Jesus was being crowned “King” of the Jews. The weave of Magdalene represented woman. Not virgin, not mother, but WOMAN - which wasn’t passed down. Certain fragments have been lost, theologically. There are secrets in the blood that get passed down.”

SENATORS:

“The men in power, patriarchy. It’s about domination, yet that’s not where real power is. It’s in the blood, the feminine. The old programming of domination is never just about ‘Go, dance, and let me dance, and I’ll let YOU.’”

BIG BIRD:

[Feathered creature in Sesame Street.] “Big Bird is a play on what he represents. Whether it’s a Big Cheese, or whether it’s Jesus or whether it is Big Bird. It’s just the big guy. At this point in the song it’s going after that patriarchy domination thing.”

HOOKER:

[Jesus sought some of his disciples from fishing boats. He promised he would make them “fishers of men” - ie, hookers.]

I KNOW ABOUT HIS ONLY BRIDE:

“That’s about a reference to Jesus and Magdalene, the theory that they were married.”

THE RUSSIANS DIE ON THE ICE:

“It’s really about covert operations. About secrets. It’s a riddle.”

RAPE HAT:

“Even at a certain point, if you’ve been ‘dominated’ by the patriarchy, you become a slave to it by buying into the victim side.” [Vox – April 1996][]

“Pele’s a really pure work, like it or hate it. There are no ‘trying-to-be’s on this record. No one is trying to be anyone. They are all stretching forms, particularly with Talula, where it starts and stops again, and then she finally dances. So everything was a reflection of what was really going on with the characters. I tried to make that happen with the music...” [B-Side – May/June 1996]

Love
Foo
xxx

[Koalapupu]

OK this is an old thread but I had to comment on it cos I was laughing so hard: bread is a younger form of cake? ? ? ? Obviously the person who thought of this has never baked anything in his/her life! You have to be a kitchen wiz to grow a cake out of a bread.

What if balancing cake and bread meant balancing two lives: like, cakes are all sweet and sometimes have lots of sprinkles (ie. make up) and cream (lotions) and even the simplest cakes have spices such as maybe cardemom (perfumes) but then breads are sturdy, combined from basic ingredients (a plain woman). So maybe the metaphor is about the life of a hooker who tries to lead a plain life too?
Just kidding! I would never think of that... I always thought of Marie Antoinette in this one.

[lollipopgestapo]

you guys are hilarious, i love your interpretaions thats awesome, i am not a devout christian, i am christian, though and until just a few months ago i believed that mary magdelene was a prostitute as well, funny thing is it never states anywhere in the bible that she was, and if its not in the bible i odnt know here it could have been written, Mary had been possessed by 7 demons and in the bible she was known as the woman who had 7 demons driven form her. She did wash jesus feet with what was very expensive ointment back then and dried his feet with her hair. Mary Magdalene did hang out with Jesus almost as much as the disciples did. which is why people tend to believe that they had an intimate relationship, plus she was the only one at the cross when jesus was crucified besides his mother
i am not trying to be preachy at all
just htought it would be interesting to tell you guys lol
not trying to start an argument
but i do enjoy your interpretations they are areally cool

[lollipopgestapo]

so how come one version of the song starts as "hes chasing tornadoes( tomatoes) whatever the hell she says.. chasing her hey

and the other says congratulate you... blah blah blah

[Luckita]

bread is a younger form of cake? ? ? ? Obviously the person who thought of this has never baked anything in his/her life! You have to be a kitchen wiz to grow a cake out of a bread.

LMAO LMAO !

I love the interpretations u posted, guys, thanks

[Aims]

lollipopgestapo said:

so how come one version of the song starts as "hes chasing tornadoes( tomatoes) whatever the hell she says.. chasing her hey

and the other says congratulate you... blah blah blah

Well I don't know if this is correct or not, but the "chasing tornados" one is from the Twister soundtrack??
Lol that might sound really wrong and screwed up though - it's just that I downloaded that remixed version and that's what the filename said.. that it was from the Twister soundtrack.

I'd appreciate it if someone in-the-know would clarify that for me? heheh

[Koalapupu]

Hm I don't know anything for sure, but I've heard something like that, too. That they wanted to have a Tori-song in the movie, but it should suit the film somehow. So she just added the hurricane thing Am not sure, wiser people on this matter please come to the rescue!

[lollipopgestapo]

lol the first time i heard it i thought she said chasing tomoatoes and i was like wtf? but yeah i am pretty sure too its the twister version, that totally slipped my mind, i dont even remember that song being in twister, oh yeah i wanst paying attention... i had a boyfriend then lol ;D

[Koalapupu]

Hahahaha chasing tomatoes! That's excellent! I can imagine your facial expression when listening to it...Hehehe. "OK Tori you're not making any sense right now!"

[Luckita]

lol the first time i heard it i thought she said chasing tomoatoes and i was like wtf?

LMAO !!!!!!!
u r always so funny, girl!

[lollipopgestapo]

koalapupu
seriously i was, i already thought Tori had her issues but i was like now, shes just gone wacko, then after listening to it i was like oh... whos the crazy one here

[Koalapupu]

Aahahaha Lollipoppy that's so funny! I don't know what you look like, but I have a very vivid image of you frowning and looking at the stereo with your mouth open in disbelief, hehe.

[Aims]

Chasing tomatoes... I love the hilarious mental image I got of that.

[lemonmerchant]

LOL! (picturing tori chasing tomatoes)

[Luckita]

Chasing tomatoes... I love the hilarious mental image I got of that.

LMAO !