The Ledge

Go Back   The Ledge > The Penguin > Lyric Interpretations and Articles
User Name
Password
Register FAQ Members List Calendar Mark Forums Read


Make the Ads Go Away! Click here.
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 05-13-2003, 02:26 AM
Tim Robinson Tim Robinson is offline
Junior Ledgie
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Posts: 27
Default Interpretation: MIRANDA

Miranda

At the end of the day
The end of the light
She keeps the remains of all of her foes
Miranda is dying with all of her might
She never comes
She always goes

She sticks the camera right into her arm
Anything to forget what the trouble's about
It causes her pain
That's part of the charm
She's down for the count, then finally out

Miranda is taking the stars down
A little something to call her own
But the lion still rules Miranda
And Miranda is always alone

She sees her face in another magazine
And the walls all close in as the fancy takes flight
Can't stand to be loved
But she loves to be seen
She slips down headlong into the night

Miranda is taking the stars down
A little something to call her own
But the lion still rules Miranda
And Miranda is always alone

And then all at once the sun starts to rise
She sees her father holding her down
Oh, the daylight is poison to her eyes
She slips down the shade and lets herself drown

Miranda is taking the stars down
A little something to call her own
But the lion still rules Miranda
And Miranda is always alone

The lights shine down the marina
All across her safety zone
But loneliness follows Miranda
And Miranda is always alone
Miranda is always alone
Miranda is always alone

Reply With Quote
.
  #2  
Old 05-14-2003, 11:21 AM
Lee's Avatar
Lee Lee is offline
Addicted Ledgie
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Delaware
Posts: 1,444
Question Ok, here what I think.

I don't know if Lindsey is talking about a real person here or not, but I think Miranda is a model, as in "she sees her face in another magazine". I think Miranda is haunted by her father, who abused her, either physically or sexually, as in "And then all at once the sun starts to rise, She sees her father holding her down. Oh, the daylight is poison to her eyes. She slips down the shade and lets herself drown." She obviously needs help, i. e. counseling, b/c she's having problems like in relationships, " The lights shine down the marina. All across her safety zone. But loneliness follows Miranda. And Miranda is always alone. Miranda is always alone. Miranda is always alone." This is JMO.

It's a good song, but tragic in a sense.

Lee
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 05-14-2003, 05:54 PM
Les's Avatar
Les Les is offline
Addicted Ledgie
 
Join Date: May 2000
Posts: 1,207
Default The lion rules Miranda...

My guess would be that this is an amalgam of traits in women who Lindsey has known, or it is a fictional tragic starlet kind of character. In either case, it's someone who doesn't quite live in the real world; someone who may be present in a situation without really being there with you in coversation; someone who finds intense pleasure in, but ultimately is drowning in her own fantasies & self-absorption; someone who is ruled by the need for love & attention without being able to accept any kind of real intimacy.

I'm particularly fond of this verses --

She sticks the camera right into her arm
Anything to forget what the trouble's about
It causes her pain
That's part of the charm
She's down for the count, then finally out

It's a wonderfully drawn image of someone who needs attention in such a way that it's, in essence, the drug that she injects to get high. Of course she also comes crashing down when it's over. The onlooker can both pity and marvel at the sometimes painful efforts she'll put into these endeavors.

She sees her face in another magazine
And the walls all close in as the fancy takes flight
Can't stand to be loved
But she loves to be seen
She slips down headlong into the night

It evokes the image of a woman fascinated by her own fame. Indulgences in it don't seem to quench her thirst as much as it sends her reeling ever faster into fantasies bigger and better. The fantasy of being adored by anonymous throngs takes over, pushing out any attempts by anyone in her life who may truly want to know and love her.

And then all at once the sun starts to rise
She sees her father holding her down
Oh, the daylight is poison to her eyes
She slips down the shade and lets herself drown

Slipping "headlong into the night" in the verse above seems to represent a time when reality drops away entirely and she can indulge the fantastic. The daylight would seem to represent the stark realities of her life confronting her, which she's unwilling and unable to deal with.

And for the chorus:

Miranda is taking the stars down
A little something to call her own
But the lion still rules Miranda
And Miranda is always alone

The lion could represent all sorts of things that haunt a person. I tend to see it as a neediness, an insecurity that drives Miranda to continually seek more of everything to excess as she tries to fill whatever void exists. But that hole always drains faster than she can fill it, so Miranda continually awakes to find herself alone and again on her quest for "a little something to call her own."

The song paints a sad woman, but it's not exactly a sad song. You're not really sure what's going to become of her. She's somewhat like Mary Lee Jones from Lindsey's first solo album. But there is a certain pluck in her to appreciate, a fascination with her journey, and a certain empathy for her misguided quest.

I really dig this song.
__________________
madness fades
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 05-15-2003, 01:59 AM
glitter_fades glitter_fades is offline
Addicted Ledgie
 
Join Date: Feb 2001
Posts: 923
Default

I love your interpretation of this song, Les. BRAVO!

Anybody in particular you think is Miranda? Nobody/Everybody?
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 05-15-2003, 03:49 AM
Tim Robinson Tim Robinson is offline
Junior Ledgie
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Posts: 27
Thumbs up Dying with all of her might

Les says "The song paints a sad woman, but it's not exactly a sad song. You're not really sure what's going to become of her. "

Thanks for that.

I agree with your general analysis (Miranda is a model, etc.), but perhaps your conclusions are a bit optimistic.

I fear her fate is all too clear.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 05-15-2003, 03:53 AM
Tim Robinson Tim Robinson is offline
Junior Ledgie
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Posts: 27
Question What is the lion?

...she sticks the camera right into her arm...

Here, "camera" clearly stands for "needle".

But what is the lion that rules Miranda?

Is it the street name of some drug?
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 05-15-2003, 01:18 PM
Les's Avatar
Les Les is offline
Addicted Ledgie
 
Join Date: May 2000
Posts: 1,207
Default

Quote:
Originally posted by glitter_fades
I love your interpretation of this song, Les. BRAVO!

Anybody in particular you think is Miranda? Nobody/Everybody?
Hey thanks. Honestly, my thought is that Miranda is probably a little bit of everybody from Lindsey's past.
__________________
madness fades
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 05-16-2003, 02:21 AM
Lori Lori is offline
Ledgie
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Dayton, PA
Posts: 72
Default Re: Interpretation: MIRANDA

Hi there,

I had to come check out the interp on this song; it is one of my fave songs on Say You Will. I think it is SUCH a rockin' tune. I wish they'd worked out a live version for the concert tour, but it may not have done well performed live - who knows? I just love Stevie's and Lindsey's vocals in it, and the beat and bass are just kickin'. However, I feel guilty everytime I'm dancing around having a blast while listening, because the lyrics are SO not lyrics that inspire one to "have a blast." The music/beat and subject matter are so contradictory to each other.

Okay, I really think a lot of this song could also be about Anne Heche (see my "Come" interp). I had my suspicions about that before, but having read some biographies of Ms. Heche on the web, I am fairly convinced. Here is the link to a Rolling Stone interview/article about Anne Heche:
Anne Heche Rolling Stone interview


At the end of the day
The end of the light
She keeps the remains of all of her foes
Miranda is dying with all of her might
She never comes
She always goes


This 1st verse makes me think that she basically sees everyone as her enemy (for what reason, we don't know), and holds that feeling within herself to the point that it is killing her inside. I interpret the last 2 lines "she never comes; she always goes" as her never really giving a piece of herself to anyone, never taking that chance. She leaves a relationship before it can get to that point.


She sticks the camera right into her arm
Anything to forget what the trouble's about
It causes her pain
That's part of the charm
She's down for the count, then finally out


In this verse, I think Lindsey is making an analogy, that she uses the camera as others would use drugs - to try and forget what is making them so unhappy or whatever. It hurts her to do so, but that is alright, because in a way she's also trying to punish herself for (a yet unknown) something that she feels could be her fault. Basically, the camera (like drugs) is a means of escape from reality for her...but because it is a camera, she ends up having to see herself and knows that everyone else is seeing her too, which is painful for her, but she feels she deserves the punishment.

Miranda is taking the stars down
A little something to call her own
But the lion still rules Miranda
And Miranda is always alone


Okay, if we interpret this as being about Anne Heche, to me the "stars" represent all of the celebrities she has been involved with - Lindsey, Steve Martin, Ellen. So "taking the stars down" could be her hurting them by making them love her, and then breaking up with them, bringing them down a peg or two. "A little something to call her own" - I interpret this as her not having much fame/fortune in her own right, so she is going to ride the coattails and break the hearts of these people, leaving them in the dust and gaining a small bit of fame because of it, which is the "little something" - little bit of something SHE alone can be known for. The "lion" thing is giving me difficulty...unless he is just using that as a reference to the "beast" of her past still affecting her life, and consequently keeping her from any serious commitments to anyone ("Miranda is always alone" - she never lets anyone get too close).


She sees her face in another magazine
And the walls all close in as the fancy takes flight
Can't stand to be loved
But she loves to be seen
She slips down headlong into the night


I think this is again a reference to losing herself in the fantasy world of celebrities and Hollywood. And again, she feels undeserving of love (for reasons that will be revealed in the song soon), but numbs herself with all of the attention, which makes things seem better for awhile. My interpretation of the last line about slipping "down headlong into the night" is just that the darkness, the nasty stuff of her past, is still sucking her down and not allowing her to live in the light of reality or happiness.


And then all at once the sun starts to rise
She sees her father holding her down
Oh, the daylight is poison to her eyes
She slips down the shade and lets herself drown


I think in this verse, her past is finally revealed as the horrible thing that has affected her so badly and deeply. Whether it is actually a true episode of sexual abuse, or just metaphorical (that what her father did or was is keeping her life "held down"), I'm not sure. In the RS article, Ms. Heche claims her father sexually abused her from before she was old enough to speak until she was a teenager, so if the song is about her, then this could be a direct reference to that abuse. Or it could be just a reference to how her father's life and death affected her whole world (her father was a closeted homosexual who died of AIDS and never came out to his family). To me, in this verse, the "daylight" represents her being forced to see herself or her life for what it truly is, but she can't deal with it, so she immerses herself back in her fantasy world again in order to try and forget.


The lights shine down the marina
All across her safety zone
But loneliness follows Miranda
And Miranda is always alone
Miranda is always alone
Miranda is always alone


I honestly don't know what the significance of the marina is, unless it's a reference to where she lives or where she goes to try to escape her past for a while. Apparently she views it as a place where she can be safe for awhile, but the "lights" - or the reality of the situation - still can shine through there as a reminder of what she's trying to run away from, and it's still keeping her from experiencing love and companionship.


Okay then! I welcome any thoughts you all might have - please share! Now I'm going to drag myself off to bed...it's nice though; all of this thinking about Anne Heche and her tragic life makes one realize just how good his/her own life truly is! Take care, everyone!

Lori
__________________
The phrase "working mother" is redundant.
-Jane Sellman-
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 05-16-2003, 11:11 PM
lilyrockalittle lilyrockalittle is offline
Junior Ledgie
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 8
Default Mirnda interpretation

These are brilliant interpretations...Well done.
I did have an Epiphany of sorts regarding the "
"Lion"
In Astrology, the lion is Leo. Leo's tend to date people who do not fulfill their needs..there fore her relationships dont work out and " ...Miranda is always alone"

My second idea coes from the lion being a member of a "Pride" so her pride in "taking the stars down"(which also she could be a call-girl on the side for the Charlie Sheen's of the world) and having her private world, but then the ID/ego gets in the way and thats why she's "...always alone"

Just my two Cents!

Last edited by lilyrockalittle; 05-16-2003 at 11:13 PM..
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 05-17-2003, 03:53 AM
Tim Robinson Tim Robinson is offline
Junior Ledgie
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Posts: 27
Thumbs up Leo

The astrology angle is good.
Incidentally, what sign was Stevie born under?
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 05-17-2003, 04:34 AM
Tim Robinson Tim Robinson is offline
Junior Ledgie
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Posts: 27
Default Miranda is not a real person

I don't feel that Miranda is anyone in particular.
Rather, she is an idealisation of the needy, addictive, self deluding, self destructive woman who is all too common in Lindsey's world. He is, after all, exactly the kind of man such women would love, worship, hate and fear.

It is a cliche that all Lindsey's songs are about Stevie, but in this case, Stevie fits as well as anyone.
If her friends hadn't rushed her off to the Betty Ford clinic, she would not have survived the eighties.

But as I say, there must have been many Stevies in Lindsey's life.
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 05-17-2003, 12:23 PM
lilyrockalittle lilyrockalittle is offline
Junior Ledgie
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 8
Default Re: Leo

Quote:
Originally posted by Tim Robinson
The astrology angle is good.
Incidentally, what sign was Stevie born under?
She is Gemini, May 26, and her sign is the Twins. Anne Heche's b-day is May 25th...hmmm.

Aside:The twins actually suits Anne H.(see "Celestica", alter ego in her book) Stevie's "twin" must be Rhiannon.
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 05-17-2003, 08:47 PM
Tim Robinson Tim Robinson is offline
Junior Ledgie
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Posts: 27
Default "Lion" = "Fear"

The lion has many connotations in our culture,
but its most primal meaning is fear.

Why is Miranda always alone?
Would anyone choose to be always alone?
Pain is not her problem - she accepts pain, even welcomes it.
Quote:
It causes her pain, that's part of its charm
So it is fear that forces her to shun
daylight, humanity, and life.
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 05-19-2003, 04:56 AM
Moon Brother's Avatar
Moon Brother Moon Brother is offline
Ledgie
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 42
Wink

Well~
I love this song, it sounds like classic Fleetwood Mac, an out-take from the "Tango in the Night" album.
I hate to be the bearer of strange insights, though, on the other the hand the mere discussion of interpretation of this particular song is quite interesting on several levels. To begin, I firmly believe that our lonely little Miranda is quite simply- a famous Porn Star!

Having stated that, I will also state that the lion is simply a sign of power, and is something Miranda struggles with, and so uses sex to dominate and conquer the opposites, and so through this vice it becomes her addiction. One might think that She may have actually likened her profession of power exchanges to a hobby much like that of a womanizing man and how he may put notches on his belt after each conquest.

Miranda taking it to a deeper level, may have physically if not emotionally taken souvenirs with her after each encounter with the men (her on film co-stars) she really does consider her foes. On many levels her profession allows her to escape her emotions, and yet at the same time to briefly relive all of her unresolved childhood dramas played out with her father being a major figure being someone whose love and respect she could never win. To that end we really do find Miranda alone - in her heart. Never to find her ideal, someone that could never meet her highest expectations.

To read the lyrics again with this in mind it may shed some light, and without being to graphic let me point out for example that the entire first verse appears to be Miranda setting up her takes and scenes on film with the best angles which tend to be difficult and getting into it mentally and then losing herself when she does. All the while making it appear as if she is in pain, though knowing that's what her audience ultimately wants to see.

The word "marina" in this instance is a nickname.

I know...I know what your thinking! That this Moon Brother guy really does have his mind in the gutter tonight, but I'll also have you know that I stand by my interpretation on the mere fact that I read in an interview with Lindsey that there were songs written on the album with certain controversial topics, one of which being a Porn Star.

Lastly, I would like to point out how interesting it is that Lindsey said that Stevie refused to sing on The song "Come" due to the nature of the lyrics. Going so far as to calling her on the her hypocrisy of her conservative nature seeing as that she lived the lifestyle she lived during the eighties with all of her rock star excesses, it baffled Lindsey I believe. It would also seem, to me at least, that Stevie would have had difficulty singing on Miranda as well, given that its nature may just be about a famous Porn Star.
I guess she could not argue that it was a great song to record!

The most provocative line in the song:

"Miranda is dying with all of her might...............It causes her pain, that's part of the charm"

Life, Love, Magick~
Moon Brother
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 05-20-2003, 04:14 AM
Tim Robinson Tim Robinson is offline
Junior Ledgie
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Posts: 27
Thumbs up Porn star? Could be.

Thanks, Moon Brother.

There seems to be a general consensus that Miranda is a model or a film star, and "porn star" is perfectly compatible with that.

But is there anything in the lyrics themselves that supports this interpretation? How do you know she doesn't keep her clothes on?
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


Billy Burnette - Billy Burnette [New CD] Rmst, Reissue picture

Billy Burnette - Billy Burnette [New CD] Rmst, Reissue

$15.38



Billy Burnette by Billy Burnette (Remastered CD, 1980, 2023) Fleetwood Mac picture

Billy Burnette by Billy Burnette (Remastered CD, 1980, 2023) Fleetwood Mac

$10.98



Billy Joe Burnette  Standing In The Shadows / The Cheating Kind Palomino 1006 NM picture

Billy Joe Burnette Standing In The Shadows / The Cheating Kind Palomino 1006 NM

$8.00



BILLY BURNETTE - Gimme You (1981 Promo) - 12

BILLY BURNETTE - Gimme You (1981 Promo) - 12" Vinyl Record LP - EX

$10.79



Billy Burnette - Try Me OG Vinyl LP, MCA Records, 1985 picture

Billy Burnette - Try Me OG Vinyl LP, MCA Records, 1985

$5.24




All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:18 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
© 1995-2003 Martin and Lisa Adelson, All Rights Reserved