Interpretations of "Gaffa"

[greg@BEACH.CIS.UFL.EDU (Greg O'Rear)]

I have read the furious battles over various interpretations of
"Suspended In Gaffa", from Kate lamenting that she can't be as good as
Pink Floyd, and her record company not appreciating her lack of
big-time commercial success, to discussions of whether or not Kate is
talking about recording studios and old pump-organs.

Personally, I believe the song is about her own personal spiritual
development.  Someone pointed out that "SIG" talks about the same
things as does "Sat In Your Lap", and I agree.  What follows is my
interpretation, with my comments enclosed in square brackets [].

                              SUSPENDED IN GAFFA
                                  (Kate Bush)

Out in the garden, there's half of a heaven
  [An incompletely realized state of perfection, maybe a metaphorical
  reference to the garden of Eden.]
And we're only bluffing
We're not ones for busting through walls
  [We just pretend to advance ourselves spiritually.  For example, we
  go to church, but do we really think about the words we read and
  apply them to ourselves, to guide us in our spiritual development?]
But they've told us unless we can prove
That we're doing it
We can't have it all.
  [Unless we have something to show for our supposed efforts, we can't
  have it all, e.g. eternal life, spiritual enlightenment, the keys to
  the kingdom.]

He's gonna wangle a way to get out of it
  [The average man can come up with many reasons why he hasn't spent
  more time trying to advance spiritually.]
She's an excuse
  [Maybe his excuse is his wife he must work to support.]
And a witness who'll talk when he's called,
  [But there is no good excuse.  When he is called to answer for his
  lack of progress (in the hereafter, on judgement day, by his own
  conscience, or whatever), she cannot be used as an alibi.]
But they've told us
Unless we can prove that we're doing it
We can't have it all.

CHORUS

Suddenly my feet are feet of mud
It all goes slow-mo.
  [Now from Kate's point of view at trying to improve herself: she is
  disappointed at her apparent lack of progress.  She spends a lot of
  time studying and learning, but doesn't see much progress.]
I don't know why I'm crying
  [Sometimes she gets so frustrated she feels like crying.]
Am I suspended in Gaffa?
  [Is there some agent holding her back against her will?]
Not until I'm ready for you
Not until I'm ready for you
Can I have it all.
  [But spiritual enlightenment will not come before she is ready for
  it.  Compare this with the legend of the Great Struggle of the
  Buddah, the young prince Gautama Sakyamuni.  Spiritual development
  is ultimately a personal struggle, one which must be accomplished in
  stages.  There is no shortcut.  One must be prepared, and Kate
  recognizes that she can't have enlightenment until she is ready.]

I try to get nearer,
But as it gets clearer
There's something appears in the way
  [She tries, makes some progress, but just as she thinks she is doing
  good, her progress is arrested.]
It's a plank in me eye
  [A reference to the New Testament saying, in effect, "Do not attempt
  to pluck the mote from the eyes of your enemies; first pluck the
  beam from your own eye."]
With a camel who's trying to get through it
  [A reference to the New Testament quote "It is easier for a camel to pass 
  through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of 
  heaven."]
Am I doing it?
Can I have it all now?
  [She needs reassurance that she is actually making progress, and
  reiterates her impatience.]

I pull out the plank
  [Now she is back on track, having dealt with the distraction.]
And say thank you for yanking me back
To the fact
That there's always something to distract
  [She doesn't feel ashamed that she was distracted from her purpose;
  she knows that distraction is natural and to be expected.]
But sometimes it's hard
To know if I'm doing it right.
  [But she still would like someone to tell her that she's doing a
  good job, that she is making progress.]
Can I have it all?
Can I have it all now?
We can't have it all.
  [She realizes that, as a human, she will never know all there is to
  know about spiritual development, that she will never be spiritually
  enlightened while she clings to mortal humanity.]

I won't open boxes that I am told not to.
I'm not a Pandora
  [Even though she experiments with different philosophies and
  religions (they read her Gurdjieff and Jesus, remember?), she has a
  feel for what is good and right, and doesn't wish to experiment with
  the darker sides that are also paths to follow.]

I'm much more like
That girl in the mirror,
Between you and me
She don't stand a chance of
Getting anywhere at all,
  [She feels like she is still that young, naive girl, with no idea of
  how to develop spiritually.  She has made much progress from then
  until now, yet she feels as if she has made no progress at all,
  since the road to perfection is so long.]

Not anywhere at all
No, not a thing
She can't have it all
  [She knows that spiritual development is a life-long work.]
--

Greg O'Rear
University of Florida
greg@beach.cis.ufl.edu