Hey, just curious as to people's interpretation of "Throwing Off Glass". I've always found this song extremely relaxing, but the lyrics equally perplexing. What's a "car-full of haircuts"? What kind of "barbarous threats"? Why did she hear the word irredescent?
I love that song, and I always wondered those same things, I havent a clue myself, I remember GD when the hip site was IVL, he gave little insights into each song. I cant remember exactely what he said about it. The "car full of haircuts" line really perplexed me as well...hmm
cratch: Sorry but thats all I got! I love that opening lyric: "why is the world so creepy she asked?" Great song :thumb:
Throwing Off Glass was one of my favorite songs from IVL.
The singer recounts to his wife a conversation with their daughter. Disturbed by events, she declares the world "creepy," and he responds that the world is exquisite but threatening, just as love is exquisite but threatening. And in his address to his wife we can sense that their relationship may be threatened, which lends a sad overtone to his insistence to his child that life is exquisite.
The title, and the car full of haircuts (or people who may be defined by their haircuts, "the boys"), seems to be a reference to an incident that happened in southern Ontario in which a beer bottle thrown from a passing car struck a Mennonite girl in the face, disfiguring her. News of this incident (barbarous, indeed) might well make a child declare that the world is creepy. No, he insists; like love, the world is exquisite.
In the second verse he turns to addressing his wife directly, admitting that "I know I'm losing you/and I know what that means." Following this directly with a repetition of his denial to his daughter -- "I told her that it isn't" -- Downie undercuts the insistence that life is exquisite by calling into question exactly what he's denying.
How do we know that the third person here is their child? By the childish diction (why is the world so creepy?) and by the behavior described in the bridge, where she learns new words and reuses them. "Exquisite" takes the place of "iridescent" as her word of the week.
The third verse gives us a picture of intimacy, which may indicate hope (if you use the "official" lyric, "once you've said") or further underscore that things are going south (if you use the lyric I hear, "Once we said"). So notice that the song -- a man talking to his wife about their daughter -- has veered quickly from the daughter to the condition of their marriage, all underscored by his insistence that life and love remain exquisite in the face of threats.
That places Throwing Off Glass firmly as an example of one of Downie's major themes.
LizardKing51 Wrote:I remember GD when the hip site was IVL, he gave little insights into each song. I cant remember exactely what he said about it.
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It's why I'm here, lol...
Though not much was said about it...
DAMN SKIPPY!
Do you mind if I take that post of yours and put it on my site?
That's what I'm looking for; fan opinions on the songs...
No problem.
I live to serve.
:lol:
Man's best friend. I know who to call the next time I fall down a well?
What name should I put under it? Skippy The Wonder Dog?
Wow, great analysis. Skippy the professor....I'm gonna go listen to that song.
I pictured the song about a man and his daughter too, but nothing about a wife.
"I know that I'm losing you, I know what that means' to me just represented how children grow up, and you have to let them go......
"Brazle? Brazle's fallen down the well? Let's go, boy!" :lol:
No, dammit, that's LASSIE, LASSIE the friggin' wonder dog! All my life I've toiled in that bitch's shadow....
Re whether there's a wife/partner/girlfriend or not, another interpretation is that he knows he's losing his daughter.
GD has three persons in the song, the singer, a she, and a you. Perhaps he's being sloppy, and she and you are one and the same, making it a simple conversation between father and daughter. Could be, and places the song along with songs like Into the Night in another of his major themes.
I take the view that he's never sloppy like that, and that every word is deliberate. Which opens a whole can of worms when you look at a lot of songs, like Nautical Disaster in which he addresses Susan as "dear" right off the top.
That's a spot on assesment as near as i can tell skippy--really insightful----and thanks-------------if i were to sugest anything to further the post--it would be from my own feelings for the song as a father.-------- indeed and hopefully, anyone who's a father who loves his kids can attest they ask some interesting questions--and we all to often fall short in putting things into perspective for our kids---I personally cant help but seeing my oldest daughter who's nine and at that wonderful crossroad of curiosity and dreams where the world is still completely magical but different in the most eye opening ways---she still thinks i'm superman and I'm still clinging to the illusion that she'll never grow up and break my heart-----this is the place the songwriter is writing from i believe-----"the car full of haircuts" represent mindless punks who seemingly have no concern for anyone else in the world --no originality or identity of their own outside of their little gang--known only as a nickname and/or a haircut.---------------in the writers car -the back seat has the male children and the front has the curious girl--..little girls mature faster than boys obviously and as such shes prone to asking more thought provoking questions---the father wants to intone ---that the world is beautiful but still can be dangerous.--he marvels at her innocence of learning a new word "irredescient" and takes heart that now she knows another --------"exquisite"--the father hopes in time his daughter comes to understand and believe that life is in fact "exquisite"--no parent wants crushed dreams for their child.----just my 2cents
I think "I know I'm loosing you" means he knows his daughter doesn't understand what he's saying.
True; "I'm losing you" can mean "I'm losing you," or it can mean, "I'm not getting through to you." Both work, since the question is (if we're addressing wife/partner), if I can't get through to you, can I get through to anyone? The threat our relationships face may simply be not being able to communicate, i.e emotional isolation as much as physical isolation.
Re whether it's the wife or daughter being addressed, note also that it's not simply a shift from third to second person, but from past to present tense. I don't think a close reading allows us to confuse "she" with "you," but of course that's a matter of opinion.
Re haircuts, what does it mean when you call people a bunch of haircuts? Are you saying these people are defined by their haircuts? What kind of people are defined by their haircuts? Skinheads are perhaps the most obvious group.
skippy the wonder dog Wrote:True; "I'm losing you" can mean "I'm losing you," or it can mean, "I'm not getting through to you." Both work, since the question is (if we're addressing wife/partner), if I can't get through to you, can I get through to anyone? The threat our relationships face may simply be not being able to communicate, i.e emotional isolation as much as physical isolation.
Re whether it's the wife or daughter being addressed, note also that it's not simply a shift from third to second person, but from past to present tense. I don't think a close reading allows us to confuse "she" with "you," but of course that's a matter of opinion.
Re haircuts, what does it mean when you call people a bunch of haircuts? Are you saying these people are defined by their haircuts? What kind of people are defined by their haircuts? Skinheads are perhaps the most obvious group.
Well, if someone has a mohawk, they are definitely trying to make some sort of statement. I shaved every hair on my head a few years ago. It didn't mean I was in a gang or anything but people do draw conclusions from a haircut. Knowing this, I think it's fair to say that if I shaved my head completely again, in a way (since I know what people think) I would be making a statement. I don't want to make statements. Normal is fine.
You are responsible for how you look. I think if girls wear next to nothing they shouldn't be surprised when they get hit on by every warm blooded heterosexual male. If I see a guy walking down University Ave with an orange mohawk, I'm going have an opinion on him. I'm not going to want to be his friend. It's fine to have your own style but people shouldn't be surprised when other people act a certain way toward them. Have your own style but accept the consequences too.
If I saw a car full of mullets or mohawks, I'd either stay the hell away from the skanks or try to beat the crap out of them.
When IVL first came out and they had the snippets on the official site, they had little desciptions of the songs from GD. I do believe he did say "Throwing Off Glass" was about a conversatioin between a child and a parent.
skippy the wonder dog Wrote:Re haircuts, what does it mean when you call people a bunch of haircuts? Are you saying these people are defined by their haircuts? What kind of people are defined by their haircuts? Skinheads are perhaps the most obvious group.
Jocks always come to mind when hearing that line. Jocks and their arrogant and often hostile group mentality, particularly towards women.