Re: Jig Of Life

[harvard!topaz!jerpc.PE.UUCP]

Well, no point in *arguing* about this here, I think it is just
2 different interpretations of the song, but:

> But Kate *doesn't* look in a mirror!  The old lady says to her "*I* will
> be in your mirror".  And in 50 years, the old lady *will* be in Kate's
> mirror because the old lady *is* Kate -- 50 years from now.

No, it says "I'll be sitting in your mirror", which could as
easily mean, "I'm not going anywhere."

> No, it doesn't.  That line means "Now is an important moment in time
> because you are either going to drown or not, and it's up to you which
> one."

But, that would be a fork in the road, like in the Robert Frost
poem, not a "crossroads".

> No, it doesn't.  The old lady is part of Kate's life, because she is
> what KB will become.  And she is saying "Don't say goodbye to my part of
> your life -- don't say goodbye to your future -- don't let yourself
> drown."

But the idea of saying goodbye to the future doesn't make much
sense, since the person wouldn't be living any more if she
didn't have any future; so how could she say "goodbye"?  Doesn't
goodbye imply going away?

> >> 		       And the one hand clapping
> 
> > See, I think this is a key line.
> 
> Yeah, it's saying "Your life is not complete yet, so don't let
> yourself drown."

But "what is the sound of one hand clapping" is usually used in
the same context as "no man is an island".

> >> 		  Where on your palm is my little line
> >> 	     When you're written in mine as an old memory"
> 
> > However, I don't fully understand the above two lines at present.
> 
> That's because you ignored my definitive explanation!  These two lines
> are saying "To you, I'm only a possible future, but to me, you are an
> old memory."

But if it was the same person's line, wouldn't the line be a
long one?  I would think there would only be a "little line" if
it was another person's life intersecting hers.  (This,
incidentally, is where my original, wrong interpretation came
from).  Besides, the Kate Bush that existed when her mother was
the age of the "old woman" in the mirror now would indeed be an
"old memory".

> 
> 			"Will we look into the future?"
> 

I just merely think there are more than one interpretation
possible.  Also, the two seem both fairly consistent, so I guess
this means it is what I had said before was a "good ambiguity,"
maybe...