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Thread: can someone help me analyze this song,"never is a promise" by fiona apple :)

  1. #1
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    can someone help me analyze this song,"never is a promise" by fiona apple :)

    its such an amazing song, and i really need help analyzing it because i really dont have much of an idea of what it means. i would really emjoy hearing your thoughts and i'd appreciate and be extremely greatful of anything you guys could tell me. i need to find the meaning of this song as well as any poetic devices that may be present. thank you so much!

    Never is a promise

    Youll never see the courage I know
    Its colors richness wont appear within your view
    Ill never glow - the way that you glow
    Your presence dominates the judgements made on you

    But as the scenery grows, I see in different lights
    The shades and shadows undulate in my perception
    My feelings swell and stretch; I see from greater heights
    I understand what I am still too proud to mention - to you

    Youll say you understand, but you dont understand
    Youll say youd never give up seeing eye to eye
    But never is a promise, and you cant afford to lie

    Youll never touch - these things that I hold
    The skin of my emotions lies beneath my own
    Youll never feel the heat of this soul
    My fever burns me deeper than Ive ever shown - to you

    Youll say, dont fear your dreams, its easier than it seems
    Youll say youd never let me fall from hopes so high
    But never is a promise and you cant afford to lie

    Youll never live the life that I live
    Ill never live the life that wakes me in the night
    Youll never hear the message I give
    Youll say it looks as though I might give up this fight

    But as the scenery grows, I see in different lights
    The shades and shadows undulate in my perception
    My feelings swell and stretch, I see from greater heights
    I realize what I am now too smart to mention - to you

    Youll say you understand, youll never understand
    Ill say Ill never wake up knowing how or why
    I dont know what to believe in, you dont know who I am
    Youll say I need appeasing when I start to cry
    But never is a promise and Ill never need a lie

  2. #2
    Thinking...thinking! dramasnot6's Avatar
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    How bout you tell us some of your thoughts as to what YOU think it means and we can help from there.
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  3. #3
    X (or) Y=X and Y=-X Jean-Baptiste's Avatar
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    Welcome to the forums, Mr. Cool. I haven't heard this song, though I think she has some killer lyrics in other songs. Do you have any idea where to begin with this analysis? As a first guess, I might suggest that it's speaking of a rather shaky long-distance relationship; there seems to be enough specific imagery dealing with presence, and lack of contact to support such a claim. What do you think? As for poetic devises...hm. I'll have to think about that. I usually don't look for poetic devises in song lyrics, though I'm sure there are plenty. I don't think I would be the one to ask about that. Anyway, again, welcome.
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  4. #4
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    Hello,coolgu864.

    Nice lyrics! Don t know the artist or the song.

    I like "The skin of my emotions lies beneath my own"

    This appears to be (only my intuition) one of those reflective songs where the artist is talking mainly to her/him self. It does have the power of growth behind it ie realization and could even be aimed at a father, previous boyfriend-anyone who did not see the "I" properly.

    Devices: rhyme, rather loose and fluid as with lyrics

    alliteration: "shades and shadows" ; "swell and stretch"

    assonance:

    "Youll never feel the heat of this soul
    My fever burns me deeper than Ive ever shown - to you"

    "feel" and "heat" ; "fever" and "deeper"

    You ll find a lot of assonance on the "ee" sound.

  5. #5
    I am a fan of this song. I have an acoustic version where Fiona is playing it by herself on a piano - does anyone know if that is that the album version or a seperate one?
    As Kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame . . .


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