Operation: Drewing Around. Installment 2B: Soothing Tones (take 2)
Operation: Drewing Around
Installment 2B: Soothing Tones (take 2)
This is another look at Soothing Tones, prompted by two things. First, a conversation my brother and I had last night. Second, listening to one of Drew's gigs, when he thought Soothing Tones was the next song in his set, he said “I wrote this when I was in Berlin and met my wife - -” at which point he realized that he actually was supposed to be playing a different song, and cut off. When he got around to Soothing Tones, he never finished his thought. But it made me wonder. Is there a more charitable way of interpreting this song? I ended up coming up with one.
The only interpretation that really changes is the chorus, which is as follows:
She hangs up the phone
with a smile that I don't know
returns to conversations with soothing tones
and so on
left alone, don't know if I've found
soul or spite
who were you talking to tonight?
I'll tell you when the time is right.
I had always interpreted this as her being on the phone *with someone else* and, when she hangs up, he sees she is wearing a smile that he “doesn't know”, one he hasn't seen before. My brother suggested that, if they were on the phone with each other (which is what you folks seemed to think) the “smile that I don't know” could mean that she smiles, but he isn't aware of it, because of course he's on the phone with her, he couldn't see her.
In my previous interpretation, “left alone” referred to later on, when he had time to think about the situation, when his suspicions were no longer quieted by her soothing tones.
In the 2nd interpretation, being “left alone” would be after she hangs up the phone, and now he is alone in his house/apartment/hotel room, wondering what kind of conversation they just had.
In the first example, “who were you talking to tonight?” refers to either (1) who she was on the phone with (we never find out) or (2) him asking himself who he was talking to (who is she to him? Which goes along with the idea of “there might be 7 other people here” - that is, you don't really know who I am).
In the second example, it could be either (1) him asking himself who he was talking to (who is she to him?) or (2) the people around her, with whom she is having her conversations in “soothing tones”, asking her who she was just on the phone with (which is him), and her replying to them she'll tell them later.
I would really like this second interpretation better, except the idea of “soothing tones” doesn't make sense. It is the title of the song, so it must be the most important thing in the song. In the second interpretation, it doesn't have a place. It isn't explained. Which leads me to think I'm missing something.
Installment 2B: Soothing Tones (take 2)
This is another look at Soothing Tones, prompted by two things. First, a conversation my brother and I had last night. Second, listening to one of Drew's gigs, when he thought Soothing Tones was the next song in his set, he said “I wrote this when I was in Berlin and met my wife - -” at which point he realized that he actually was supposed to be playing a different song, and cut off. When he got around to Soothing Tones, he never finished his thought. But it made me wonder. Is there a more charitable way of interpreting this song? I ended up coming up with one.
The only interpretation that really changes is the chorus, which is as follows:
She hangs up the phone
with a smile that I don't know
returns to conversations with soothing tones
and so on
left alone, don't know if I've found
soul or spite
who were you talking to tonight?
I'll tell you when the time is right.
I had always interpreted this as her being on the phone *with someone else* and, when she hangs up, he sees she is wearing a smile that he “doesn't know”, one he hasn't seen before. My brother suggested that, if they were on the phone with each other (which is what you folks seemed to think) the “smile that I don't know” could mean that she smiles, but he isn't aware of it, because of course he's on the phone with her, he couldn't see her.
In my previous interpretation, “left alone” referred to later on, when he had time to think about the situation, when his suspicions were no longer quieted by her soothing tones.
In the 2nd interpretation, being “left alone” would be after she hangs up the phone, and now he is alone in his house/apartment/hotel room, wondering what kind of conversation they just had.
In the first example, “who were you talking to tonight?” refers to either (1) who she was on the phone with (we never find out) or (2) him asking himself who he was talking to (who is she to him? Which goes along with the idea of “there might be 7 other people here” - that is, you don't really know who I am).
In the second example, it could be either (1) him asking himself who he was talking to (who is she to him?) or (2) the people around her, with whom she is having her conversations in “soothing tones”, asking her who she was just on the phone with (which is him), and her replying to them she'll tell them later.
I would really like this second interpretation better, except the idea of “soothing tones” doesn't make sense. It is the title of the song, so it must be the most important thing in the song. In the second interpretation, it doesn't have a place. It isn't explained. Which leads me to think I'm missing something.