I feel like the person who made this video is onto what this song is about. I have loved Sister Janet since the 90s, but always assumed it is one of Tori's most stream-of-consciousness songs without necessarily having any rational explanation. Now I understand that the song is actually a very straightforward chronicle of an ayahuasca or similar transcendental experience. Tori the narrator goes to a master shaman with offerings or physical objects to assist in her mystical intentions. She understands, as one does through ayahuasca, that "I'm my mother/I'm my son/nobody else/is twisting the blade." In other words, we are all aspects of one another and interconnected, and as we may place blame on others, we need to acknowledge our roles in dark aspects of our lives. An apparition, Sister Janet, appears to her "from the woman clothed with the sun"--which is a reference to Mother Mary. So the transcendental psychological and metaphysical experience has now elevated to a religious one. "Your veil is quietly becoming none" must then refer to the so-called veil between worlds, what separates the Earthly physical plain from the spiritual realm. (This is a common theme among many religions/faiths and among new-age thinkers and even recently some scientists who are researching the effects of psychedelics, which are now thought to open access to perceptions that are normally filtered out by our brains as extraneous information--versus being products of imagination.) "Call the wanderer/he is gone/nobody else is slipping/the blade in easy" is a little more vague to me, but I interpret this as Tori asking this Sister Janet/holy mother surrogate to bring back an entity who exposed her to a bladelike pain--but in an easy, tolerable way. I'm making this wild guess because that is essentially the effect of ayahuasca: confronting extraordinarily painful experiences in a more objective, easy-to-accept way. When that goes away, you wish you had it back. In the song, she sees angels (divine, non-earthly beings) holding hands with wizards (or shamans, intermediaries who can connect this world with other worlds), and she can see "sweet Marianne," a childhood friend who killed herself. So the veil has dissolved, and Tori is able to connect with a spiritually divine world, a process through which she is processing the pain of living and the pain of loss. In the end, she comes out of it and says she thinks she could put herself through this experience once again. I don't feel there are nearly as many similarities between Tori Amos's and Kate Bush's work as others claim, but one similarity for me is that both write songs that sound almost comically nonsensical because they are about esoteric concepts--but as soon as you understand what they are saying, everything in the song makes perfect sense and can lead you to profoundly new ways of seeing this world.

@saralovesmetallicaandtoria7514

7 жыл бұрын

I love the eloquent way you have "translated" this beautiful piece of Tori's art. I think Tori would love your interpretation. It sounds spot on. I have been trying to explain to all those in my life who cannot fathom why I love her art, talent, story-telling and fierce (sometimes gentle, sometimes raw/uncensored), that she is not just another musician looking to make all the money. She follows her instincts and refuses to apologize for ANY PIECE of her extensive catalogue of songs. My opinion is that we have so few musicians out there that make it "BIG" and stay true to their fans and to themselves. I have always told those who do not like her music, that they probably haven't realized that she is a storyteller above all titles she's been given. It stinks that someday, fearless, truth-telling, Tori won't be here to tell her stories to the following generations. Thankfully, there will be recordings of a whole lot of her art and her special way she connects with others through her music will live on forever. I will be one of those who will know every word to every story/song. David, thank you for taking the time out of your life to translate "Tori's language" to all of us out there who sometimes come across a song that we cant understand the meaning of the lyrics. I have been waiting since her birthday show on august 22, 2014 to see her again. I have heard that a 2017 tour is in the works. Do you by chance know how I could hook up with her fan club. I heard it was out of St. Pete here in Florida near me. I need to arrange getting with others who will be traveling to all the U.S. shows. thanks again -s

I have no problem with getting plastic surgery except for body surgery. And face lift. But for botox or some browlift - if she likes, let it go...