Re: NotS Landing...(& Re: many an aborigine's mistaken for a tree

[whisnant@iastate.edu (Kerry L Whisnant)]

Mary.Elisabeth.Whittington@um.cc.umich.edu writes:

>>"Night of the Swallow" is probably my all time favorite Kate song, but I've 
>>not a clue what it's about -- what do you think this situation is that she's
>>describing?  Don't you love the line, "wings fill the window, and they beat
>>and bleed".....

And vickie@pilot.njin.net (Vickie Mapes) responds:

>Absolutely! NotS is my all-time favorite Kate song too.

Ditto!

>What it's about?
>[Long and interesting interpretation omitted to save space]

This agrees with my intuitive feeling about the meaning of the song,
although I never sat down to actually think about it. But reading your
description made me think of an alternative interpretation...

I haven't thought it through completely, but perhaps the adventure the
husband is going on is *taking* illegal drugs, not smuggling them. The
flying would then be simply a metaphor for getting high. There is
still the danger of getting caught by the authorities, and it also
fits in with the idea of someone using drugs to escape from a
miserable life. And some people think they can control their habit,
too, even when it is obvious to a friend or loved one that they have a
problem.

On the other hand, when Kate uses "fantastic" situations (i.e., those
that are out of the ordinary), I guess she usually does mean them
literally. But it's always fun to speculate, and a good storyline often
has more possible meanings than even the author intended.

>It's quite an amazing song musically and vocally. The drums and
>Irish instruments send shivers up my spine. Lyrically, it's (to me)
>one of Kate's most vivid and "filmic" songs. (hey, if she can say
>it so can I)
>
>All in all: <Sigh! Wow!)  

Ditto again!
-- 
Kerry Whisnant                  High Energy Physics Group
whisnant@iastate.edu            Department of Physics and Astronomy
whisnant@alisuvax.bitnet        Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011