Re: Under the Ivy (longish)

["Ronald W. Garrison" <rwgarr@intrex.net>]

Boots wrote:
> 
> >But "Under The Ivy" is, of course, about marijuana.
> 
> Whoa!!!!! Cooolll!!!
> 
> >Just kidding.
> 
> Darn!
> 
> Ok, so, seriously...
> For a long time I've been wanting to run this theory by everyone.
> "What is Under the Ivy about?"

Hey, I'd love to believe the Pot Theory. Maybe we can get together and
get stoned, and then it'll probably seem really like a stroke of
incisive genius. But there are a couple of other interpretations that
make more sense to my more-or-less straight brain...

The first is, just simply, that it's a sad love song from the viewpoint
of a very shy young woman who would rather meet her lover in private
than out in the glare of social life. This interp seems to make very
good sense, and is in keeping with the very personal kinds of songs that
Kate writes.

The other one, which is my personal pet theory, arises from a few key
phrases in the song:

  "go to the white rose"
  "away from the party"
  "it's not easy to give away a secret (or is it your secret)"

Those things could easily be pure coincidence, but I'm just familiar
enough with my history to know of the White Rose movement against Nazi
Germany. So could this song be about some covert conversation, about the
White Rose *group*, and about getting away from the *Nazi* party, rather
than a social gathering. I don't know. The fact that, from what I read,
Kate doesn't seem to remember clearly herself what the song is about,
argues against my theory. But I still wonder...

--Ron

--
http://www.intrex.net/rwgarr/