Okay, I had fun with Sorcerer, so I'm gonna try Bombay Sapphire.
I'm going to run down my general impressions, then, later, I'm going to try to track down some quotes that I
know I've read, but I just can't find right now...
You--beloved
Were to me--everything
That love stood for
Stevie had a lover who she was consumed by...he was everything to her.
One note: I'm not going to attempt to figure out specifically
who this song is about. I'm guessing Lindsey, but it could be any of Stevie's lovers. (The only reason I'm leaning towards Lindsey is because she said she wrote the bulk of the TISL songs, including this one, while on tour for The Dance in 1997.) In the end, it doesn't really matter who the "beloved" is...because this song is not about them, it's about Stevie and one of her strongholds.
To love one another for awhile
Was enough--
It was all that I lived for
Stevie and her lover had some time together, but not much. Still, the little bit of time they had together was enough. Again, it was all consuming.
How can I go on without you
Can I go on--without you
Their affair is over. At first, she simply wonders how she will be able to continue her life without him. Then, very subtley, by dropping the "HOW", she says "Wait a minute...i'm assuming I
can continue on in my life without him. What if I can't? This man was everything. Can I even continue living?"
I tell myself--this time
I'm going to have to--
Move on
Stevie has been burned by love before. She's let it get her down, but this time, she's going to have to be stronger. She's going to have to make it out...but how??
The rest of the song, especially the chorus, picks up the true them of the song. Stevie has mentioned in several interviews how she loves the sea. She, like many people, feels drawn to it. In the May 2, 2001 In News Weekly, Stevie says:
"I got the idea many, many, years ago when we were talking about jewelry and stones, about tile and rubies, Bombay sapphires.It's like a blue - gray kind of star sapphire thing, it's the color of the ocean, and that's what I wrote it about."
So, we get the chorus:
It's like
Bombay sapphires
Hey I can take you higher
Whatever you desire
I can mend your heart
The color of the sea itself is like the sapphires...Stevie is in pain, so she heads to the sea, which can lift her spirits. No matter what has happened, no matter what you need, the sea can fix whatever is wrong. The sea is singing to her that everything will be alright.
The sea
is a magical place. If your are alone on the beach, looking out to the vastness, sometimes you can put things in perspective. Stevie has obviously done this often.
It is green
It is aqua marine
It is colors I have never seen
The water on the ocean, depending on the tides, the sunlight or moonlight, is constantly in motion and rippling with shades of color. She stands before it and watches, reflecting.
I can see past you--to the white sand...
The sea allows her to get over her lover. She can see the pure white sand, next to the sea, and knows that she
will go on without him.
It is blue
It is not about you
The sea has nothing to do with him...that is why it is helpful to her. Stevie's lover had made her forget everything else. She needed to stand before the ocean and realize that life is bigger than just this one person.
It is all true
You know--who I am
The sea does not lie. She is very clear headed and comes to her senses here at the sea. The sea knows her like no one else. (Maybe...I'm having a little trouble with the pronoun "You" in the last part...Okay, alternate theory on the last line - the man knows how she feels about the sea, knows that she must go to it.)
The sea never changes--not really
It is the constant in my life
I always return here
To the flash of those colors
No matter what, she can count on the sea to be there. Sure, the tides may rise a little higher, the sand might erode away a bit, but it is the one thing that she can always count on to be there for her. When things are bad, she goes there and watches the colors.
Through every window
The wind through the night
Her house on the beach is her stronghold. She lets the sea breeze blow through at night.
Here I am dramatic
Here I am not waiting
Here I am not listening
For the call of the wind
This is where things can seem monumental to her. She can get realizations that she can't find elsewhere. Maybe here, at the sea, she really gets a feel for what is important in her life. Everywhere else, she waits...she listens...but she can't hear that sea wind blowing, telling her that everything is okay.
It's like purple haze
It's there every day
Its passion never fades
You know what I mean.
Again, more colors flashing. And again, the sea will always be there for her. Unlike another person, the ocean will always make her feel passionate and will always be powerful to her. And unlike another person, the sea will always understand her.
Well, that's my stab at it. I'll try to dig up some more Stevie quotes about the sea. I
know I've read somewhere that she specifically called the desert and the ocean her strongholds.
I really love this song and I'd be interested to hear what others say about it.
Mike B