Source: Page 102 of White Noise Keywords: "coffee," "hand," "which," "spoon"

From: "Rob Jones" <gunned.down@home.com> Subject: Re: my interpretation of 'spoon'... Date: 20 Jan 2001 Newsgroups: alt.music.dave-matthews

Wonderful interpretation, and I see where you get the stuff, but I always thought this song was about dying. My thoughts are below yours, sorry about how long a post this makes. "John Salerno" <johnj...@tamu.edu> wrote in message news:t6i9iug2to5ec3@corp.supernews.com... - Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - > the meaning of this song has always bothered me, mostly because i couldn't > figure one out! but i think i might have gotten somewhere.....but after > thinking over it some more, it seems like it was way to obvious to figure > out for it to have taken me this long, so maybe none of this will be new to > some of you.....but here goes.... > in general, i imagine it's about a guy sitting at his kitchen table in the > morning (i see him alone), and he's stirring his coffee (duh!) while he > tries to figure out the meaning of life.....perhaps something has happened > to him recently that has caused him to lose faith in people, or god, or just > life in general, so he's sitting there wondering what it's all for.....so > here is a sort of verse-by-verse interpretation..... > >Spoon in spoon > >Stirring my coffee > this is the setting of the song that i just explained above..... I agree that it's making a setting, but I believe it is setting up a surreal, contemplative environment, and the pace of the song supports this. Stirring your coffee is generally done in a slower manner than other, cooler beverages. I think "spoon in spoon" means that God is wrapping himself around you to take you away. - Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - > >I thought of you > >And turned to the gate > >On my way came up with the answers > >I scratched my head > >And the answers were gone > i think it's our first inclination to assume the "you" is a woman he is in a > relationship with, but i think it might also be god, and this song is sort > of like a conversation with god that the narrator is having, whether real or > imagined by him......so he turns to the "gate", which is a confusing word, > but i looked it up in the dictionary and an archaic sense of it is the "way" > or "path" to something, so i figure it could mean he turned to the gate as > in he faced a possibility for why the world is the way it is......the "way" > (jesus?)......and of course he says because of this that he has the answers, > but just as soon as he has them, they are gone, making you wonder if what he > had really WERE the answers, or maybe just some vague ideas....hard to > explain this part, but you might know what i mean if you've experienced this > yourself........ As someone else pointed out, the gate is really the gate to heaven. The way is your journey through life, during which you find out the answers to many of life's questions. Then, God revelas himself to you, and you find out that all you have figured out is wrong, and you now see the truth. > >From hand to hand > >Wrist to the elbow > >Red blood sand > >Could Dad be God > >Crosses cross hung out like a wet rag > >Forgive you why > >You hung me out to dry > and of course we all agree this is the narrator thinking about jesus dying, > so it sort of follows from his above thoughts about what the real meaning of > life is, if there's a god, was he just a human after all and killed and that > was the end? Agreed on Jesus. I think an alternative interpretation would be this is the Old Testament. "From hand to hand, wrist to the elbow" would represent the creation of Adam (and humankind) by God as painted by Michelangelo on the Sistine Chapel's ceiling. Red blood sand, brings to mind the exodus from Egypt. Then Jesus is created and crucified. Is Dave doubting God's intentions? > >Maybe I'm crazy > >But laughing out loud > >Makes the pain pass by > >And maybe you're a little crazy > >But laughing out loud makes it all subside > ok, i'm not sure who the "you" is in this part.....possibly somebody else, a > real person......but basically i see this as a moment of relief from > thinking about such heavy things (and so early in the morning, at that!) > :) I think Dave sees the humor in how important we make our lives out to be, but it's insignificant with respect to the rest of the world and our soul's immortal existence. Humor eases the pain. > >Holding I'm holding > >I'm still falling > he's still pondering...... Agreed. > >Spoon in spoon > >Stirring my coffee > >I thought of this > >And turned to the gate > >But on my way > >Crack > >Lightning and thunder > >I hid my head > >And the storm slipped away > pretty much a similar situation to the one above that has similar > lyrics......things happen that block his full comprehension of what he > thinks are the "answers" Dave's doubt of God's intentions has been erased by the truths shown him as he is dying. - Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - > >Well maybe I'm crazy > >And laughing out loud > >Makes it all pass by > >And maybe you're a little crazy > >And laughing out loud > >Makes it all alright > >Laughing out loud > same stuff again....... > >From time to time > >Minutes and hours > >Some move ahead while > >Some lag behind > >It's like the balloon that > >Rise and then vanish > >This drop of hope > >That falls from his eyes > personally, i find this the most beautiful verse in the song......the > imagery is amazing.....what i take this to mean is that from time to time, > meaning random moments in life, our time can either be happy or sad, which i > see as a parallel of the fast/slow theme in the 3rd and 4th line > above......sometimes we look to the future at bright prospects, other times > we are caught in the past with guilt and regret........and then there's the > awesome balloon image.....it took me a while to figure this out, and i still > think it will be hard to explain, but basically i picture this as a red > balloon (i have no idea where 'red' came from, but it stuck with me) that is > floating up in the air, and all of a sudden it bursts (and when a balloon > bursts, it practically "vanishes" from our sight).....so that is meant to > symbolize all the things we lose in our lives, specifically, in this song, > how the narrator has the answers he's looking for and then they suddenly > vanish.....as a result, we/he cries (drop of hope) from sadness but also > from knowing that it will be ok (laughing out loud)..... > one weird thought i had about this verse (alanis) was that maybe this is > god's answer to the narrator....god is speaking about him as he watches him > from a distance....he sees the answers rise and then vanish within him, and > he sees him drop a tear as a result......and of course god would know all > about the workings of time in our lives...... Throughout life, some move ahead in gaining God's favor, while others lag behind. Mentioning minutes and hours so quickly makes me think of how quickly time is passing, in the grand scheme of things. The balloon is the narrator's soul, going up to heaven and then vanishing, just like watching a rogue helium balloon disappear at the county fair (and, from my experience, I always watch the balloon while other, generally more entertaining things go on right in front of me...maybe Dave's making a social or personal comment?). God's shedding a tear as he's calling one of his own to him. - Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - > >Spoon in spoon > >Stirring my coffee > >I think of this > >And turn to go away > >But as I walk > >There're voices behind me saying > >Sinners sin > >Come now and play > "turn to go away"? commit suicide? my first impression of that phrase would > be that he is giving up his wonderings, but not in a good way.....because > the use of "but" shows that there is a contrast from his giving up and then > the following reaction, which is "voices" (perhaps god addressing him) > saying "stop worrying about trying to figure this out, just enjoy life > now"...sort of along the lines of "forget about being guilty, we are > innocent instead"........ The narrator's finally at the gates to heaven. I think this verse is about being judged at the gates. Or it may be Satan and other undesirables telling him that everyone sins so have a good time and don't worry about the consequences. > whew! i typed way more than i had planned, but i'm glad i finally came up > with SOME kind of answer to this song! if you got this far, thanks for > reading.......i'm hoping we can sort of get this kind of thing back on the > newsgroup and stop talking about some of the other topics that are so > popular these days....... ;) I couldn't agree with you more. We spend too much time bickering about petty things and not realizing how good it is to be constantly bombarded by the best lyricist of this era.

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