He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
Babooshka
Babooshka
She wanted to test her husband
She knew exactly what to do
A pseudonym to fool him
She couldn't have made a worse move
She sent him scented letters
And he received them with a strange delight
Just like his wife
But how she was before the tears
And how she was before the years flew by
And how she was when she was beautiful
She signed the letter
All yours
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya
All yours
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya
Babooshka
She wanted to take it further
So she arranged a place to go
To see if he
Would fall for her incognito
And when he laid eyes on her
He got the feeling they had met before
Uncanny how she
Reminds him of his little lady
Capacity to give him all he needs
Just like his wife before she freezed on him
Just like his wife when she was beautiful
He shouted out
I'm all yours
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya
All yours
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya
All yours
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya
Babooshka-ya-ya
Babooshka
Babooshka
Babooshka
Babooshka
She wanted to test her husband
She knew exactly what to do
A pseudonym to fool him
She couldn't have made a worse move
She sent him scented letters
And he received them with a strange delight
Just like his wife
But how she was before the tears
And how she was before the years flew by
And how she was when she was beautiful
She signed the letter
All yours
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya
All yours
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya
Babooshka
She wanted to take it further
So she arranged a place to go
To see if he
Would fall for her incognito
And when he laid eyes on her
He got the feeling they had met before
Uncanny how she
Reminds him of his little lady
Capacity to give him all he needs
Just like his wife before she freezed on him
Just like his wife when she was beautiful
He shouted out
I'm all yours
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya
All yours
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya
All yours
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya
Babooshka-ya-ya
Babooshka
Babooshka
Babooshka
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
‘Babooshka’ is a song of love and hate. Her husband has, one suspects, lovingly stood by her for years, weathering her moodswing tears and frigid temperament (her neurotic depression?). If ‘Babooshka’ calmed down, she would know this! She knows him exactly! Just like she knows exactly the type of woman he would fall for (someone just like herself all those years ago!) Yes, if only she calmed down! … But she is self-destructing on jealous delusions, mid-life boredom, idle fantasy, etc. etc… She can’t be nice with him. Instead, she recklessly uses her ‘insight’ to test his fidelity, scheming the perfect trap! … “Exactly! A pseudonym to fool him!” … She wants him to fail the test. Why? I doubt she could answer that. Maybe she just ‘wants out’… But she is too reckless to consider impact… She wants drama… She couldn't have made a worse move…
The husband is excited by the scented letters. But they only arouse in him feelings and longings for his wife all those years ago! He is bewitched by her charm all over!
The wife is similarly seduced and aroused by ‘Babooshka’… So she wants to take her own trap further… The alter ego works on them both like a Circean drug… Indeed, the wife both is and is not ‘Babooshka’… So is the husband ever tempted to commit an infidelity? …
The denouement? … He is left with confused longing for what she is not and only too aware of what she has become… And the hard-won lesson fills her with a shattering fury…
The song reminds me of the myth of Jason and Medea … that is, before he went off with Creon's daughter! :o)
It is a tragic reflection on the breakdown of communication and the foolish consequences of a distorted sense of reality.
This is exactly the interpretation I had from the first time I heard it. I don't think it's too hard to figure out.<br /> <br /> Since the song ends with him telling Babooshka he's all hers, you don't get to hear what came after when he finds out it's really his wife. But I like to think that such an encounter has a positive ending, along the lines of, "Hey, it's actually you all along! What happened to our live together? Why can't you be this way as yourself?"<br /> <br /> If she couldn't, then the relationship is over. If she can, well, it opens up a new chapter in their lives.<br />
From Kate:
"The games we play -- boredom breeds suspicion."
Am I overly optimistic, or is there a hint of a bittersweet happy ending here?
When he shouts out "I'm all yours, Babooshka!", is it in a final betrayal of his wife, or in realization that it is, in fact, her?
I prefer to think the latter. :)
@jasin When I was younger and my English wasn't as good as it is today I thought she wanted to test if he finds HER attractive anymore, or just stays because he is married to her.<br /> So for a long time the song had a happy end for me. He still loves his wife, but longs for a more playful relationship.
This song is how about people take things for granted and, as soon as the 'novelty' of the good things they have wears off, forget how valuable they really are. Be this a friend, a lover, family, or material possessions such as a car or a house perhaps, human nature is to inevitably get bored of what they have and go after something else. It may be identical to what they once had, but it looks better just because it`s 'painted new'.
Based on this principle, the woman in the song 'paints herself new', to test her husband`s reaction.
this song is just a dark version of Escape, Jimmy Ruffin's pina colada song.
Not Jimmy Ruffin, Rupert Holmes, and yes, I AM ashamed to know that. It is indeed a darker version, but after watching the video recently, there is a great reason to love the song besides the artistic merits. rrrrowr!
Whilst most people would have little sympathy for the man as he is, or seems like he is, cheating on his wife - I believe Kate wrote it thinking that the wife was the manipulative one here. Her husband loves her but it was her who went cold on him. Yes - relationships can't keep the same passion/lust as the beginning but they can deepen over time into real love. It's a shame the woman here didn't put enough energy into her relationship in an open honest way as she did into tricking her husband. Their relationship has all but died and this stunt has only backfired and made them both seem like fools.
well it's fairly obvious that this song is about a wife that tests her hubby to see if he would fool around on her, and he falls in love with her pseudonym. So yeah bad move!
babooshka means old woman/grandmother in russian
The happy ending? … She rediscovers the ‘Babooshka’ within herself!