Quiet World Of White & Gold?
 

Curious what everyone thinks that lyric means?
"You'll become his legacy,
His quiet world of white & gold?"

Before I ponder this, I have to ask a question and please forgive my ignorance: did Stevie or Tom write "Insider" or both? I know, I'm a bad Stevie fan!!:shrug:

Tom wrote it for Stevie.

Reference to someone's badly decorated house in the Hollywood Hills circa 1980.:thumbsup:

I always think of quiet world of white and gold as indicating purity of some kind, perfection, also something a untouchable and away from the fray, a kind of emotional refuge. I dunno, in the context of the verse and song, I feel like I really understand what it means, but obviously white and gold isn't something literal, it's what white and gold connotes to me. Especially with the preceding "I bet you're his masterpiece. I bet you're his self control."
The lyrics are fantastic. That isn't part of my interpretation, I am just constantly amazed by this song. :p

ok. I have my own speculation about this song (which is probably totally wrong, but here goes :) )

I think it's def about stevie, but I also think it is about Liddy too.
It's mostly from the first verse-
"yeah you're the dark angel" (of course...stevie, in black..whatever *L*)
"it don't show when you break up" Stevie was the one that broke off the relationship, but she was the one that got all of the support from fans. oh..poor stevie. Look-she's writing all these sad songs, she's so depressed...blah blah.

Anyway..back to the question at hand *L*

"yeah-you'll become his legacy"
Lindsey is remembered largely to his relationship with stevie. People will remember his music, but they will also remember the legacy of the two of them

"His quiet world of white and gold" maybe the white is the love-the relationship, and the gold is the stardom..?? the money??

yeah-that's about all I have..which isn't much:shrug:

^^^

Has anyone ever said it was about Stevie? I hadn't heard that, only that he wanted her to sing on it right away. :shrug: I can see how it could be about her, especially since it was slated to go on her album...but I don't know, it doesn't quite fit, in my mind.

I imagine it meaning something along the lines of what Amber was saying. I can't really put it into words, but I think it's more about the big picture imagery of that verse than the specific lines... "he" wants to put "her" up on a shelf, i.e. to be this passive lover/supporter, and in return he'll dote on her and give her material things, but she'll still be miserable. The connotation is calm and sort of regal - "silent," "quiet," "legacy," "white and gold," - but in a melancholy way. Like she's some gorgeous exotic bird that will sit in a gilded cage and waste away.

i was thinking about that, but I can't gel how it fits with the rest of the lyrics, which seem to me to say the girl is the "dangerous" one. Is there a transfer in the middle verse? By that I mean - the first verse seems to describe the girl...then "it's a circle of deception...it's a hall of strangers...it's a cage without a key..you can feel the danger" - does that describe what the girl is getting into, or again describing being involved with the girl? And of course (depending) then the last verse seems to switch it up and describe the girl like you said...in a more passive way...

Do you think the last verse described what she became because of the effect of whoever/whatever the "circle of deception, hall of strangers, cage without a key" is?
This is hard, I prefer my vague emotional understanding, rather than trying this literal interpretation...:laugh:

The middle verse always connotes the nature of fame and money and coke (hee) to me. Not that that is what he meant, but it seems still a good description of the nature of fame...

In some weird way it still fits to me. I think of the "circle of deception" verse as describing what she's getting into. It's a warning, and the speaker says he's "the one who ought to know" because he's the friend/spectator/Insider (a role he's not happy with) and can see things clearly where she cannot. The whole song is kind of bitter though, because she spurned him or at least led him on in some way when she really only wanted him to be her friend/confidant ("I've been burned by the fire/crawled trough the briars/yadda yadda"), hence the reason she is also the dangerous one. So he gives her this warning and says "fine, go with him, but I'm the one who cares and I can see it coming that this is what'll happen to you..." God, this sounds really stupid :laugh:. I don't mean to make it so literal because I don't think it is, but I don't know how else to communicate the feeling I get from it. Whatever, it's a great song, the end!

Hi Amber!
Loved reading your thoughts on Insider.
It is just such a perfect song! Love those Lyrics!!!
I dont think it is about Stevie necessarily. Just a song he wanted to record
with her. I think it about the man's point of view (Tom). It is the ol' Love's A Hard Game To Play Theory. I think "his quiet world of white & gold"..is his secret way of coping in the aftermath of his loss..white (coke) & gold (booze)....hmmmm. You know numbing out to escape the pain.

Yeah, what he said.

But I love the symbolism in this!

Yes, that is what I meant about the second verse...or rather, one of the two interps I was asking your opinion about. I think that friend/confidant thing is good - especially as the friend is always the Insider - they know the real story of how it would be that lovers don't - ...wait - exactly what you said in your second sentence is what I was going to say. :p But also in addition to your reason of why she's the dangerous one (she spurned him), I think the first verse connotes that she's dangerous in general for any lover - that she's very desireable but they won't know what they're getting into - she gets everything she wants, and...well, essentially the meaning of the phrase Dark Angel (something beautiful and therefore the danger (dark) is hidden).
I also always thought "It don't show when you break up" meant the girl has a certain emotional freedom (heartlessness is not right, but along those lines), she can let go of lovers easily and come out unscathed, whereas her lovers will be very scathed (:laugh: )
Along with the "Insider" view of the danger she is in that you spoke of, he also knows the dangers the lover could be in, or someone who desires her.
Now then - do you think it is about Stevie? I never got the sense that Tom wanted to date her, but I definitely think the lyrics could be an apt description of her. :shrug: But I'm sure lots of women are like that. And as far as I can tell, he would definitely be an Insider in her life. It's also hard for me to imagine that anyone wouldn't want to date Stevie - but that is bias, and wasn't he happily married?

Hey Kiddo!
Thanks for the PM a few weeks ago..I tried to respond but it said your box was full (pun intended)!
I like my "white & gold" theory too!:nod: :D

Hi!
But then how would that interpretation go with the lyrics before it? If she was his masterpiece, his self control, and was going to become his legacy - he wouldn't really need "white" and "gold" as drugs. Quite the opposite, I would say.

Legacy annd masterpeice go hand & hand. doesn't necessarily mean perfection or success...just that big love that mattered! the one that got away. we all have them..we choose people in life sometimes that are our biggest teachers. if you give someone your power or "self control" - that means you are weak and powerless to that person. so..not a healthy situation. the girl is dangerous..the prices paid were enormous..
"Ive been burned by the fire / crawled through the briars" people in control dont crawl. hence my "white & gold theory".....:shrug:

^^^

Those are good points, about legacy et al, but I think the grammar of white and gold is written in a way that groups it with masterpiece, self control, and legacy - not as something different than those things. "You'll become his legacy, his quiet world of white and gold" - it's basically one sentence, one theme, with two descriptions of said theme.
I appreciate your interp, though - I agree about the big love and the effects.

Yea..I'm open to hear everyone's interpretations!
Of course mine is dramatic...:lol: The line is gorgeous!!!!!!:rolleyes:

That's good, I'd agree with all of that. Nice reading of the "Dark Angel/break up" part.

I wouldn't rule it out. At the same time I don't think it definitely is. Stevie fans are too quick to assume any song she's associated with that was written by a guy is about her. Case in point Life In The Fast Lane, which I don't think has anything to do with Stevie. I don't know what Tom has said about it, if anything. I've never heard that he wrote it for her as someone else noted, although that could mean he wrote it about her, or just as a song for her to sing. And even if it was about her, it could still just be a story. Like how Rick Vito commented in the lyric index on BuckinghamNicks.net that "Desiree" was sort of based on Stevie, but not really (http://www.buckinghamnicks.net/sn/guest/desiree.html). I don't know, the whole issue of whether Stevie & Tom had a thing has always been a curious one and a magnet for speculation. I'm not sure what my opinion is. I'm waiting for her to spill all in her autobiog (hee, fat chance.) I can see how it could fit though... do you think it's about her?

If I ever hear this idea coming out of Tom Petty's mouth, I will instantly climb to the top of the nearest building and toss myself off of it. On the way down, I will puke. If the fall doesn't kill me, I will hope to have choked to death on my own vomit before I hit the ground.

AMber, where have you been ?

Thanks. I recently saw an interview with Stevie (although it wasn't a recent interview) where she said something like "It was easy for me to break up. I always had to leave on a tour, and I could use that as an excuse." That kind of added weight in my mind to what I thought "don't show when you break up" meant, even if the song isn't about Stevie.

I can't decide. I guess if pinned down, I would have to say...nope, I don't know. Tom is so very circumspect, and no one, including Stevie or anyone else, has never even hinted they had anything other than a musical relationship. (right? You know more stuff). It sure does remind me of Stevie, though. Maybe it is based on her, but he wrote the "I'm the one you couldn't love" and all those parts not from his own perspective? you know, just to make the song more evocative and personal sounding? That doesn't really jibe, though.
But, if it was about her, who would the other guy be? :confused: Were they both working with Iovine right then? That doesn't make sense. I was thinking maybe the other guy wasn't a specific guy, just a general guy - but the language seems more specific to me.
My feelings about Tom and his personality lead me to believe it isn't about her. Only just. I never even started thinking about it in connection to Stevie until recently.
Also, do you think Stevie wouldn't have dated Petty if he wanted her too? Doesn't it seem like she would have? It appears she was attached to his hip for a few years there. :laugh: I think he was married at the time?

What do we know for certain? We know from that old documentary on the Heartbreakers that Stevie asked Tom to write her a song for her first solo album & so he wrote "Insider." She decided for some reason not to sing the melody but to sing a harmony to Tom's lead vocal. Tom & Jimmy both loved the track with the harmony so much that Tom gave off a very forlorn vibe about giving the song away. Stevie noticed this vibe & told Tom, "You keep it. I can tell you love it. Just write me another song." Tom thought how cool it was for her to give it back to him.

Stevie said that she wanted to meet Tom Petty in 1979. I guess he went backstage at the Forum when the Mac played there in December. Stevie talked to Jimmy at that point about wanting him to produce her solo album if she ever started working on it. Stevie later said she didn't necessarily want Tom to write her a ballad for her album because she had plenty of ballads--she wanted him to write her more of a rocker, so she was glad to get "Stop Dragging My Heart Around." Stevie & Heartbreakers recorded some stuff during tour breaks in 1980 & again in 1981.

If Tom wrote "Insider" in 1980 or so, he & Stevie were still fairly new to each other. I don't think he knew Lindsey at all at that point. In fact, he admits to having had an anti-Fleetwood Mac bias at the time, agreeing with the newer acts & the punks that Fleetwood Mac was corporate & bland. The Heartbreakers were on the fringes in 1979 & 1980, despite having had a big hit with "Damn the Torpedoes," so it makes sense they wouldn't have thought much of Fleetwood Mac. In fact, I can see that anti-Mac bias spilling over into his tentative relationship with Stevie: she wanting a closer friendship & working relationship, & he & his Heartbreakers essentially wanting to distance themselves from this wacky, spacy woman.

I think the Heartbreakers grew to like Stevie a lot, but I bet it took awhile. And I doubt Tom Petty was writing songs about the Buckingham/Nicks relationship. I figure he probably didn't care at all about that.

:lol: I honestly never connected the lyrics with Stevie until very recently, as well.

Around. :shrug: I've been reading. I noticed I would post, and no one would answer me or say anything. Also, someone called me names. So I didn't feel like posting. It's really not as fun to post in a void, with no response. Although it is more fun than if the response is someone calling you a name. :laugh:
Hey, you should go to Chico next weekend and hang out at the river with me! And the bars. :woohoo: Bring your bike, 'kay? You know the old movie Robin Hood with Errol Flynn? That was filmed in bidwell park, the biggest park west of the mississippi in Chico. You can ride your bike way, way far. The park is two blocks from my friends house. So, see you there, right? :wavey: :p

But seriously, do you have any fabulous fun planned for the holiday weekend? (The holiday being my birthday, of course! :laugh: )

Yes..he was/is married.
I think she just took the high road and kept it a professional friendship!
Plus Jimmy Iovine was so there too....she was with Jimmy and he was producing both of them..too complicated. If they had both been single...MOST DEFINITELY!!!:cool:

DAVID:
You are spot on! 100%

Especially now that David clarified the time line. Whew, I'm back to my original opinion, with no conflicting doubts! :woohoo: Thanks David! :cool:

Amber,
Ignore the jerks!
Who gave you a hard time???

Doesn't matter, he knows what he did. And, like someone said on another thread, or millions of times here, everyone is allowed their own opinion. After, I gave him my opinion on why he was wrong...:laugh:

I got your back......:xoxo:

Oh, thanks. No need, though, I have my own back. :laugh:

If I ever find out who that was, I'll shoot that bastard.

:laugh: How sweet.

..and I will load the gun!

I have been reading too. I seem to recall some spat you got into on chit chat.
Don't be self conscious, people ignore my posts all the time. Though I rarely get called names. That can actually be kind of fun.

Great idea, and thanks, but my job is killing me 6 days a week. And I certainly don't need any more sun. You will love this - two people on another forum thought I was black because of that armpit picture !:laugh

No plans at all. Maybe the pool.

I'm not sure I'm self conscious, it just isn't fun.
Who ignores your posts? not me.



:laugh: :laugh:
Yes!!! I've been vindicated!! Told you, RaShawn. :cool:
yeah, but it's a holiday. C'mon, it's a short flight! And, even better, the temp is going down from the 107 that it was this week to only the mid/high nineties!!!! On second thought, can I just come to your pool? That way I can avoid all the other PWT river rats and their annoying children. :laugh:

I have to see my friend's tummy tuck, though. I'm probably as excited as she is.



See you there! :p
Having no plans on holidays when everyone else is running around being crowded is awesome. It's like having a quiet world of white and gold. :nod: I'm only going somewhere so I can go swimming in the sun, and if you already have that...:shrug:
You have to have a drink (margarita) Friday night and lift your glass and say, to no one, "Happy Birthday, Amber! I hope you're getting laid as I speak!" And use good tequila, I'll probably be ordering well drinks.
:wavey: :wavey:
Good to see you. :xoxo:

:laugh: :laugh:
Oh yeah, that was hilarious.

Well, but it's just not as fun. I might as well bop around my house talking to myself, like usual. :laugh:
Obviously, I'm still posting though.
I think some of the new people just don't know some people, or understand what they are talking about. Especially if it's dry humour, like what you were doing. :laugh: (that was so funny).
Which is fine, but when even my friends don't say anything, then it is really boring. :D
Well, also there aren't as many threads I have something to say about.

I've always thought that particular line was a reference to marriage. :shrug:

"It don't show when you break up" reminds me of someone that has a lot of internal emotion----turmoil or passion on the inside, contained behavior to the rest of the world, with just a hint of what's going on beneath the exterior. Maybe that fits w/ the later lyrics about being kept apart or idealized. TP's persona seems to have that insight into her character, whereas the other guy is apparently clueless.

^^^^

Those are both good, too! I hadn't thought of either thing. Wow, this song is deep. :laugh: That is totally what "It don't show when you break up" could mean, even though it is the opposite of what I thought before. And duh, white and gold - marriage. Even if that isn't the intent, the connection is spot on, white and gold have long been images representing marriage...

I sure wish Tower would weigh in on this one...he's good at interpretation.

uh oh!
Could be his marriage..hmmm.....????
I like it.