100 Songs: 011
Click to viewTear in Your Hand by Tori Amos
Masterpost
Tori Amos is my favourite musician of all time. I mentioned this to a friend the other week, and my friend had never heard of her! I responded with, 'she was very big in the '90s', and thought how funny it is that I never got over her. If you asked me what my favourite genre of music was when I was younger, I'd automatically say, 'angry girl singer-songwriters', and it hasn't really changed that much. Sure, my taste has matured and I can appreciate different things now, but give me a beautiful angry woman with a piano and a story to tell, and I'll gladly listen for hours. I guess Tori is one of those seminal artists for me. Listening to her music in my teens and early twenties helped me to figure out what kind of music I liked, and she absolutely influenced everything I listened to from then on.
I've seen Tori live almost every time she's played Glasgow since around 06 or so. Hilariously, I saw Tori with my first serious boyfriend, and my deep deep love of her music has lasted way longer than that relationship did. I used to play Silent All These Years on repeat in his car, and he didn't understand what it was about (he thought it was about divorce - it's actually much darker than that), and he got pissed off at me for playing it all the time, but it just spoke to me. I still love that one, but I've definitely learned to appreciate her whole back catalogue. There are so many songs I love.
Bob and I both love Tori. I introduced him to her music and he loves her almost as much as I do now. He always wants to come see her when she plays. I feel like I could make a list of just Tori songs I love, but I had to pick one, and this is one often overlooked in favour of the bigger hits. My favourite little moment in this song is when she references her friend Neil Gaiman, one of my favourite writers -
If you need me,
Me and Neil'll be hangin' out with the Dream King
Neil says hi...
I adore their friendship and I adore Tori and Neil individually (Tori a little more than Neil because oh god, she got me through the abusive relationships of my early twenties and some seriously terrifying mental health scares, and for that, I will be forever thankful to her and her beautiful music.) I'm a much happier human now, so I don't need to get all self-indulgent with her music anymore, and I can appreciate a wider variety of songs and albums now, but this song will always feel important to me in some way.
All the world just stopped now
So you say you don't wanna stay together anymore
Let me take a deep breath babe
If you need me
Me and Neil'll be hangin' out with the dream king
Neil says hi
By the way, I don't believe you're leaving
Cause me and Charles Manson like the same ice cream
I think it's that girl
And I think they're pieces of me you've never seen
Maybe she's just pieces of me you've never seen, well
All the world is all I am
The black of the blackest ocean
And the tear in your hand
All the world is danging...
Dangling'...Danglin' for me darlin'
You don't know the power that you have
With that tear in your hand
Tear in your hand
Maybe I ain't used to maybes
Smashing in a cold room
Cutting my hands up every time I touch you
Maybe maybe it's time to wave goodbye now
Time to wave goodbye now
Caught a ride with the moon
I know I know you well
Better than I used to
Haze all clouded up
My mind in the daze of why it could've never been
So you say and I say
You know you're full of wish
And your "baby baby baby babies"
I tell you they're pieces of me you've never seen
Maybe she's just pieces of me you've never seen
All the world is all I am
The black of the blackest ocean
And the tear in your hand
All the world is dangin'...
Dangling'...Danglin' for me darlin'
You don't know the power that you have
With that tear in your hand
Tear in your hand