Post by Julie on May 31, 2005 18:38:28 GMT -5
PARASOL when I come to
terms to terms with this when
I come to terms with this when I
come to terms to terms with this my
world will change for me I haven't moved
since the call came since the call came I
haven't moved I stare at the wall knowing on the
other side the storm that waits for me then the
Seated Woman with a Parasol maybe the only one you
can't Betray if I'm the Seated Woman with a Parasol I will
be safe in my frame I have no need for a sea view for a sea
view I have no need I have my little pleasures this wall
being one of these when I come to terms to terms
with this when I come to terms with this when I
come to terms with this whip lash of Silk on
wool embroidery then the Seated Woman
with a Parasol may be the only one you
can't betray if I'm the Seated Woman
with a Parasol I will be safe in my
frame I will be safe in my frame
in your House in your frame
I think this song is about that depression you go through when you are realizing that you have been betrayed so deeply. Sometimes it takes a while for a person to open up their eyes and realize that someone you loved has just broken your heart and it all comes rushing in at you. You start to close up because you don't want to feel that pain ever again so you never let anyone get close to you again. You do not want to feel vulnerable anymore. So if you can make the point to people that you are incapable of hurting and be silent at the same time, you have achieved your sad conclusion - not necessarily the right one, but who's to judge after that kind of heart ache? She is protecting herself but in the lonliest way possible.
Here's Tori's description of it:
"I saw a painting by Seurat - Seated Woman With A Parasol - in a book on Impressionism. I was drawn to it and I started to think about Victorian women and then some women today, the type of women who don't want to intimidate their partner and so allow themselves to become reduced so the other person can feel confident."
-- Tori; Tori Amos: Piece by Piece
I: Men are often described negatively in your stories. Is there no divineness in them?
TORI: I think the man is as divine as the woman. But I can only go from my own perspective and own experiences. The masculine divineness is pretty ok. Like in the song 'Parasol'. Here a woman has to fight for her way of life. And it's not about a war against terrorists, but a war against a friend, a lover, or a colleague. He doesn't want to respect the choices she makes, the evolution she goes through or the freedom she seeks. He wants to attack her on every level and tries to put her down. This is the problem she has to deal with.
-- Tori; OOR Magazine (Dutch), Mar 2005
"Parasol is a song about deep betrayal and how this woman survives this experience without becoming victimized in the end, by being able to transform herself. And as the song says "If I'm the seated woman with the parasol I'll be the only one." There will always be someone who feels trapped in a situation like the seated woman with the parasol."
-- Tori; The Beekeeper Limited Edition Bonus DVD
"I like the idea that a modern woman of today felt a kindred spirit in the seated woman with a parasol. Because although our woman has a bank account, has a job, isn't forced to marry anybody. She's been in this relationship and she doesn't want to lose it, on one level, but realizes that she must because she's not valued or appreciated by this person. She realizes that she has to face this."
-- Tori; Diary Entry @ Toriamos.com
"I was drawn to this woman in this painting, even though we're so different in so many ways as far as, now if you're a woman in 2005, if you're in the west, then you don't have to um, be told who to marry and you can go work and you can have a child without being married and all those kinds of things. But still, I was relating to her because she seemed to be able to weather the storm. And the character in Parasol, our female character who, I sing from that point of view, is trapped. Whether she's going through a divorce or what's happening to her, there is an end of a relationship, that's how the whole album starts. It starts with the end, the end of a relationship. And she knows that in order to survive this relationship so that she's not completely erased - there are parts of herself that she's had to leave behind in order to stay in it - and she realizes that she has to confront it. So she looks to the Seated Woman with the Parasol, this Victorian woman, for clues on how to not be erased. So she looks to the painting and the painting helps her to see that she has to shape-shift, she has to be able to walk in and out of paintings in such a way that he won't be able to reach out and control her anymore..."
"In Parasol, she was a possession for him, and he could not see her independent, he wanted to destroy her. If he couldn't control her and have her all to himself and decide what she would or wouldn't do, then nobody else would get to enjoy her..."
"I enjoy that melody a lot, and she wraps herself around me." [Behind the Beekeeper - March 10, 2005]
terms to terms with this when
I come to terms with this when I
come to terms to terms with this my
world will change for me I haven't moved
since the call came since the call came I
haven't moved I stare at the wall knowing on the
other side the storm that waits for me then the
Seated Woman with a Parasol maybe the only one you
can't Betray if I'm the Seated Woman with a Parasol I will
be safe in my frame I have no need for a sea view for a sea
view I have no need I have my little pleasures this wall
being one of these when I come to terms to terms
with this when I come to terms with this when I
come to terms with this whip lash of Silk on
wool embroidery then the Seated Woman
with a Parasol may be the only one you
can't betray if I'm the Seated Woman
with a Parasol I will be safe in my
frame I will be safe in my frame
in your House in your frame
I think this song is about that depression you go through when you are realizing that you have been betrayed so deeply. Sometimes it takes a while for a person to open up their eyes and realize that someone you loved has just broken your heart and it all comes rushing in at you. You start to close up because you don't want to feel that pain ever again so you never let anyone get close to you again. You do not want to feel vulnerable anymore. So if you can make the point to people that you are incapable of hurting and be silent at the same time, you have achieved your sad conclusion - not necessarily the right one, but who's to judge after that kind of heart ache? She is protecting herself but in the lonliest way possible.
Here's Tori's description of it:
"I saw a painting by Seurat - Seated Woman With A Parasol - in a book on Impressionism. I was drawn to it and I started to think about Victorian women and then some women today, the type of women who don't want to intimidate their partner and so allow themselves to become reduced so the other person can feel confident."
-- Tori; Tori Amos: Piece by Piece
I: Men are often described negatively in your stories. Is there no divineness in them?
TORI: I think the man is as divine as the woman. But I can only go from my own perspective and own experiences. The masculine divineness is pretty ok. Like in the song 'Parasol'. Here a woman has to fight for her way of life. And it's not about a war against terrorists, but a war against a friend, a lover, or a colleague. He doesn't want to respect the choices she makes, the evolution she goes through or the freedom she seeks. He wants to attack her on every level and tries to put her down. This is the problem she has to deal with.
-- Tori; OOR Magazine (Dutch), Mar 2005
"Parasol is a song about deep betrayal and how this woman survives this experience without becoming victimized in the end, by being able to transform herself. And as the song says "If I'm the seated woman with the parasol I'll be the only one." There will always be someone who feels trapped in a situation like the seated woman with the parasol."
-- Tori; The Beekeeper Limited Edition Bonus DVD
"I like the idea that a modern woman of today felt a kindred spirit in the seated woman with a parasol. Because although our woman has a bank account, has a job, isn't forced to marry anybody. She's been in this relationship and she doesn't want to lose it, on one level, but realizes that she must because she's not valued or appreciated by this person. She realizes that she has to face this."
-- Tori; Diary Entry @ Toriamos.com
"I was drawn to this woman in this painting, even though we're so different in so many ways as far as, now if you're a woman in 2005, if you're in the west, then you don't have to um, be told who to marry and you can go work and you can have a child without being married and all those kinds of things. But still, I was relating to her because she seemed to be able to weather the storm. And the character in Parasol, our female character who, I sing from that point of view, is trapped. Whether she's going through a divorce or what's happening to her, there is an end of a relationship, that's how the whole album starts. It starts with the end, the end of a relationship. And she knows that in order to survive this relationship so that she's not completely erased - there are parts of herself that she's had to leave behind in order to stay in it - and she realizes that she has to confront it. So she looks to the Seated Woman with the Parasol, this Victorian woman, for clues on how to not be erased. So she looks to the painting and the painting helps her to see that she has to shape-shift, she has to be able to walk in and out of paintings in such a way that he won't be able to reach out and control her anymore..."
"In Parasol, she was a possession for him, and he could not see her independent, he wanted to destroy her. If he couldn't control her and have her all to himself and decide what she would or wouldn't do, then nobody else would get to enjoy her..."
"I enjoy that melody a lot, and she wraps herself around me." [Behind the Beekeeper - March 10, 2005]
