Lyrics
Suppose I should hate it so
Yet I can smell saliva
Palamino set afloat
Yet I can smell saliva
Hides it very well
As a baby
Has a playmate
Yeah baby
Yeah guess it’s blown
Hides it very well
As a baby
Telling me words in Turkish
Your nosiness, your belly
Frantically or mimicly
Your nosiness, your belly
Has your mother gone
As a babyas a baby
Has a playmate
We are helpless as babies
As a baby
As a baby
Hides it very well
As a baby
Has a playmate
Has your mother gone
Reach out your hand
He seldom will
And a memory
Go out
He seldom will
Go out
He seldom will
Smart you should heal soon
An eagle spares your bedroom
Palominoes as we flow
An eagle spares your bedroom
Some forget where to go
They know fear again
Beyond the lush soundscapes and ethereal vocals of the Cocteau Twins lies ‘Serpentskirt,’ a track where the lyrics, much like the serpent’s coils, wrap around the listener in enigmatic layers of meaning. As the song slithers through cryptic verses and metaphoric choruses, it is a testament to the band’s knack for creating music that resonates on a deeply emotional level, even when the words defy straightforward interpretation.
Listening to ‘Serpentskirt’ is akin to witnessing an evocative dance between language and sound, a performance where words are both veils and beacons into the track’s soul. With Elizabeth Fraser’s voice as the guide, we embark on an exploration of one of the band’s most enigmatic offerings, delving into its poetic oddities and whispered truths.
The Loom of Obscurity: Unpicking Fraser’s Lyrical Threads
Elizabeth Fraser’s diction in ‘Serpentskirt’ is like a sibyl’s trance; the words both reveal and conceal their truths. ‘Suppose I should hate it so / Yet I can smell saliva’—the song opens with a paradox, the opposition of expectation and sensation. It sets a mood that is mirrored in the recurring motif of ambivalence and the intertwining of care and apathy.
The choice of ‘saliva’ as a central sensory detail is visceral and intimate, fostering an immediate, almost uncomfortable closeness. This word alone manifests an organic, vibrant connection to the raw, instinctive aspects of human nature, which is often sanitized or hidden beneath the surface of social mores—much like the serpent beneath its skirt of scales.
A Siren’s Whispers: The Baby as Metaphor and Muse
‘Hides it very well / As a baby’—Fraser repeats these lines with a lullaby’s cadence, evoking innocence and the universal experience of the hidden self. Infancy is traditionally a time of pure need and emotion, unveiled to the world. Yet even a baby ‘hides it very well.’ Perhaps it speaks to the artifice we learn and display as we grow, or our tendency to mask our vulnerabilities despite our inborn nature.
');var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; })();The track spins a cocoon of curiosity around its listener, prompting questions about what it means to be tenderness concealed, to balance openness with secrecy. This verse acts as a siren song, pulling us further into the depths of the track’s ocean of emotion and the subconscious.
Cryptic Cartography: Charting the Song’s Hidden Meaning
Among the thicket of Fraser’s seemingly impenetrable words are directional cues towards ‘Serpentskirt’s’ core. The invocation of geographical motifs—a palomino set afloat, an eagle, a bedroom—presents us with a terrain that is both dreamlike and disorienting. The palomino, free and untethered in its journey, contrasts with the bird of prey sparing the bedroom, implying refuge within vulnerability.
The song navigates through themes of protection and exposure, the domestic and the wild, compounding the central tension between what is hidden and what is revealed. ‘Serpentskirt’ may not be easily mapped, but its terrain is rich with the hillocks and valleys of introspection, each verse a landmark to be interpreted by the traveler’s own compass.
Melodic Alchemy: The Convergence of Sound and Sentiment
In ‘Serpentskirt,’ there exists an alchemical transformation as Fraser’s voice—a masterpiece of tone and texture—melds with the music to evoke meaning beyond words. The synergy of Robin Guthrie’s guitar and Simon Raymonde’s bass forms a tapestry that enshrines the lyrics in a shimmering cloak of sound, allowing even the inarticulate to speak volumes.
The auditory voyage through ‘Serpentskirt’ is one of mood and feeling. Listeners are invited to engage with their own emotional lexicon, with Fraser’s voice as the keystone orchestrating a communion between the tangible and the ineffable.
Enshrined in Elegance: The Song’s Memorable Lines Evoke Timeless Emotions
‘He seldom will / And a memory / Go out’—the repetition of these phrases towards the song’s conclusion serves as an incantation, a refrain that is a signal flare for closure. Yet there is an open-endedness, a sense of something lingering—like a persistent memory unwilling to ‘go out.’
The choice of the word ‘memory’ whispers to the persistency and the difficulty of letting go, suggesting both a cherished recollection and an unshakeable presence. These lines crystallize the haunting beauty of ‘Serpentskirt,’ ensuring that, like a poignant memory, the song refuses to be extinguished from the minds of those who experience it.
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