So this has been.my favorite song of OTEP's since it came out in 2004, and I always thought it was a song about a child's narrative of suffering in an abusive Christian home. But now that I am revisiting the lyrics, I am seeing something totally new.
This song could be gospel of John but from the perspective of Jesus.
Jesus was NOT having a good time up to and during the crucifixion. Everyone in the known world at the time looked to him with fear, admiration or disgust and he was constantly being asked questions. He spoke in "verses, prophesies and curses". He had made an enemy of the state, and believed the world was increasingly wicked and fallen from grace, or that he was in the "mouth of madness".
The spine of atlas is the structure that allows the titan to hold the world up. Jesus challenged the state and in doing so became a celebrated resistance figure. It also made him public enemy #1.
All of this happened simply because he was doing his thing, not because of any agenda he had or strategy.
And then he gets scourged (storm of thorns)
There are some plot holes here but I think it's an interesting interpretation.
Time it took us
To where the water was
That's what the water gave me
And time goes quicker
Between the two of us
But oh my love, don't forsake me
Take what the water gave me
Lay me down
Let the only sound
Be the overflow
Pockets full of stones
Lay me down
Let the only sound
Be the overflow
And oh, poor Atlas
The world's a beast of a burden
You've been holding on a long time
And all this longing
And the ships are left to rust
That's what the water gave us
So lay me down
Let the only sound
Be the overflow
Pockets full of stones
Lay me down
Let the only sound
Be the overflow
'Cause they took your loved ones
But returned them in exchange for you
But would you have it any other way?
Would you have it any other way?
You couldn't have it any other way
'Cause she's a cruel mistress
And a bargain must be made
But oh, my love, don't forget me
When I let the water take me
So lay me down
Let the only sound
Be the over flow
Pockets full of stones
Lay me down
Let the only sound
Be the overflow
Lay me down
Let the only sound
Be the overflow
Pockets full of stones
Lay me down
Let the only sound
Be the overflow
To where the water was
That's what the water gave me
And time goes quicker
Between the two of us
But oh my love, don't forsake me
Take what the water gave me
Lay me down
Let the only sound
Be the overflow
Pockets full of stones
Lay me down
Let the only sound
Be the overflow
And oh, poor Atlas
The world's a beast of a burden
You've been holding on a long time
And all this longing
And the ships are left to rust
That's what the water gave us
So lay me down
Let the only sound
Be the overflow
Pockets full of stones
Lay me down
Let the only sound
Be the overflow
'Cause they took your loved ones
But returned them in exchange for you
But would you have it any other way?
Would you have it any other way?
You couldn't have it any other way
'Cause she's a cruel mistress
And a bargain must be made
But oh, my love, don't forget me
When I let the water take me
So lay me down
Let the only sound
Be the over flow
Pockets full of stones
Lay me down
Let the only sound
Be the overflow
Lay me down
Let the only sound
Be the overflow
Pockets full of stones
Lay me down
Let the only sound
Be the overflow
Lyrics submitted by KatherineKissMe, edited by Mellow_Harsher
What the Water Gave Me Lyrics as written by Florence Welch Francis Eg White
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
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A clear allusion to Virginia Woolf and Frida Kahlo. Perfect! The death of Virginia with pockets full of stones and the name of the Frida's painting "O Que La Agua Me Dio" (What The Water Gave Me). Simplicity is perfection.
I saw the whole song as exploring death.
'Time it took us To where the water was That's what the water gave me'
Thinking of the future and fearing death means you don't enjoy life when it happens. Florence clearly accepts death in this song, and even welcomes it. Accepting that death does happen and living in the present moment gives you the ability to appreciate the full beauty of life as it happens.
I feel 'water' is used because it's both bringer of life and a bringer of death. Maybe it gave Florence the realisation!
@dgas1992 I agree water is both protector (too late) and death, on one’s own terms. Brave and chicken shit. Finally engulfed, returned to water.
What you have as
"And don't _____ The world's a beast of a burden"
is actually
"And oh, poor Atlas The world's a beast of a burden"
I think that the water represents turmoil, at first it's about a relationship: "time, it took us to where the water was" -> trouble in the relationship, "and time goes quicker between the two of us" -> it's end is nearing, "oh, my love, don't forsake me" -> don't quit on me, "take what the water gave me" -> past turmoil gave her experience in this sort of thing and she knows it can get better; then the chorus sets in, and the bit about pockets full of stones, I know it's about how V. Woolf killed herself, but I also know that in the dark ages there was this method of telling if someone's a witch by tying stone's to the woman's legs and throwing her in a lake, and if she floated she was a witch, and if she drowned she wasn't and her soul was free, I know it's a stupid idea but that's how it was back then; anyway, Florence is wearing something similar to a witch's hat in the video and that's what made me think that maybe putting stones in her pockets and jumping in water is her way of proving she's truthful, and instead of words, the overflow of the water, her actions alone will prove her innocence; And then Atlas is mentioned, the titan that holds the world on his shoulders and the world is a "beast of a burden" - I think it's simply an expression, saying that it's a "big burden", and that Atlas has been holding on to it for a long time -> again, water is turmoil, the shields are left to rust -> it corrodes your strength and defence, and you're in pain, that's what turmoil gives you, pain so let go of it. And then the chorus sets in again and then there's the bit about they took your loved one's but returned them in exchange for you, and water here seems to be elevated to the status of death -> I think it's about the feeling we get when we lose someone we truly love, we wish we could have done something, we wish we could give ourselves in exchange for them, but in the end we realize that even if we could have had it any other way death still is irreversible, and a balance needs to be kept, the bargain must be made, some die and others live, but we must not forget the lost ones "my love, don't forget me, I let the water take me". I know it's a pretty unorganized chain of thoughts here, but it's my own subjective opinion and that's why it looks like this :P
Learning about Virginia Woolf was rather interesting and the painting that inspired the title was pretty cool.<br /> <br /> <br /> The reference to witches is rather interesting but for saying, "that's how it was back then." Yeah, back in the 17th century perhaps, during the Salem Witch Trials. Perhaps centuries before in rural Europe. These superstitions quickly faded away as the industrial revolution clouded the skies with black smog and littered the streets with poverty stricken families(forced out of rural lifestyles by land owners and the agricultural revolution) and trash. Again, interesting, but I find it to be irrelevant as Woolf lived during the turn of the century and died during WWII.<br /> <br /> Additionally, the overflow of water, in my honest opinion, is simply referring to the water displaced by the person drowning with pockets full of stones. Volume is the measure of how much an object displaces when placed into a fluid object, be it a liquid or gas. <br /> <br /> <br /> I would prefer to not repeat anything that has been said thus far but I would view this as the ever ironic death by water. To die by that which has kept us alive for so long. <br /> <br /> I also find that drowning oneself with a pocket full of stones to be tragic yet eerily romantic, reminiscent of a lover's suicide.<br /> <br /> Ignoring the fact of death, I draw that emphasis of the fact that life is overwhelming like aspects of nature. Everything seems to cause stress and leads us into crippling depression and uncomfortable insanity. Her, the character embraces water, a liquid commonly associated with calmness and destructiveness. In the sense of the former, she engulfs herself in the soothing and restorative powers of water and becomes one with nature. She lets the water take her; take her to the dark and frightening path of death.<br /> <br /> A path with no known end or destination, a path where angels fear to tread.<br /> <br /> <br />
my interpretation is that water represents both life and death...'time, it took us to where the water flows'- i think it means time goes by, you age you die...but it may also mean that it took us some time to realize that death is inevitable so we should just surrender to it. In fact in line with the latter meaning she is saying to her loved one don't forsake me, take what the water gave me, accept death as it is the only way out.
also when she says and time goes quicker...every day you live is a day less in your life so you're closer to death and the closer you get, the faster time will go by (it's like when you're in a holiday and the first days go by slowly but the last couple of days just fly away).
lay me down, let the only sound be the overflow:- the sweet surrender to death, its no use fightin it
pockets full of stones:- its a clear reference to virginia woolf. she suffered from bipolar depression, she kept fighting the voices in her head until she gave up, filled her pockets with stones and jumped in a river, its a bitter sweet end. She just surrendered to death.
then there is the reference to atlas, the titan who was punished by zeus by having to hold the weight of the world on his shoulders for eternity. its a metaphor obviously. it means how long do I have to hold the weight of the world on my back, i am tired i just want it to be over, i just want to die, i'm giving up on life.
and the shields are left to rust:- another metaphor, the water has a corroding effect on metal. we are born innocent yet life corrupts us, it bends us and it breaks us- that's what the water gave me
cause they took your loved ones:- again people you love die or go away and you're left behind missing them and you're aching.
but returned them in exchange for you:- now this is a bit enigmatic. maybe it means when you die you'll see them again or maybe it means that you need to make sacrifices for the people you love to see them happy even if then you're the one who will be suffering.
in fact it says would you have it any other way:- even if you're miserable its a small price to pay for the ones you love cause you know you'd do anything to see them happy.
she's a crueller mistress and the bargain must be made:- you're giving up on life, its too cruel. you're making the bargain, you're letting death take you because you want to be freed from life
my love, don't forget me, remember. remember that i have lived, that i have loved you, i just lost the fight and gave up, i'm letting the water take me...i'm letting death take me away
Florence Welch elaborated on the title and meaning of the song: "It's a song for the water, because in music and art what I'm really interested in are the things that are overwhelming. The ocean seems to me to be nature's great overwhelmer. When I was writing this song I was thinking a lot about all those people who've lost their lives in vain attempts to save their loved ones from drowning. It's about water in all forms and all bodies. It's about a lot of things; Virginia Woolf creeps into it, and of course Frida Kahlo, whose painfully beautiful painting gave me the title."
digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a336706/florence--the-machine-debut-new-track-what-the-water-gave-me-video.html
"And oh, poor Atlas The world's a beast of a burden You've been holding on a long time"
I'm pretty sure is
"And oh, poor Atlas was a beast of burden You've been holding up a long time"
Atlas is the beast of burden, not the world.
I don't think that makes as much sense. If Atlas was the one holding the Earth on his shoulders, it would make sense that the Earth was his burden. It's hard to tell though :)
"Was a beast of burden" is correct. "The world's a beast of burden" doesn't make any sense. The world is the burden, and he's the beast that carries it.
And incidentally, Atlas was forced to bear the weight of the heavens, not the world.
I think it's a play on words.<br /> The world is a burden, yes, but it's a rather LARGE burden at that. You might even say it's a BEAST of one.<br /> Just as I might call Bruce Lee a "beast of a man"<br /> In other words, "beast of" in this context just means "formidable".
I was wrong on this. The lyrics are "A beast of a burden". It makes sense either way, but those are the official lyrics.
I have to agree with other posters. This song, and Florence in general, is simply the best. I love the Virginia Woolf reference, makes the song that much more haunting, to me at least.
Florence, herself, on the meaning, "It’s a song for the water, because in music and art, what I’m really interested in are the things that are overwhelming. The ocean seem to be natures great overwhelmer. When I was writing this song I was thinking a lot about all those people who've lost their lives in vain attempts to save their loved ones from drowning. It's about water in all forms and all bodies. It's about a lot of things; Virginia Woolf creeps into it, and of course Frieda Kahlo, whose painfully beautiful painting gave me the title."
The reference to Atlas is to exemplify the burden of living; since Atlas held the entire world upon his shoulders.
Meant to reply to someone with this one. Whoops.
I think it's about suicide. Virginia Woolf committed suicide by filling her "pockets full of stones" and jumping into a nearby river. The line "let the only sound / be the overflow" would point towards the fact that the only thing Woolf would have wanted would be for it all to end; something the water gave her.