Mark said:
>We've gone over this one before.I still say(and will go to my grave
> saying it unless Siquomb herself tells me personally that I am dead
> wrong)that the man is referring to the room full of glasses from the
> previous line.Those glasses are 'your notches' like a gunfighter's
> notches on his gunbelt or notches on a bedpost. He's saying,"You
> made me a drunk with your independent, uppity, competitive
> (unfeminine) ways. You can chalk every glass of wine I drank up to
> your score.' They're your notches, liberation doll.' Liberation doll
> is a sneering & derisive name he's throwing at her. Men used to call
> women they were attracted to doll at one time. Just watch some of
> those old Humphrey Bogart movies.
Hi Mark,
First, I have to say this is one of my favorite JM songs of all time, as
well as a source of endless speculation for me.I also agree with much of your
very interesting interpretation of these lines, but I've wondered if the
'notches' also could refer to JM herself, as being just another 'notch' on his
bedpost, far more degrading to a woman than simply saying," You drove me to
drink with your independent ways".For a woman to be made to feel by the man
she loves as nothing more than a sexual conquest is even worse,
IMO.Since the last line of the song indicates he was cheating on her,( " it
takes a heart like Mary's these days when your man gets weak") But your
explanation also fits in with the crude " liberation doll " comment
he makes to her, attempting to make her feel responsible for his own
weaknesses. Interesting...
Now, about the line, " And he chains me with that serpent to that
Ethiopian wall ":
Could mean that she feels enslaved ( as the Ethiopians have been) to him ,
possibly by love, or perhaps by sex,or both. Remember the line," We walked on
the moon, you be polite"- it all ties in.
Maybe you or someone out there could help me with " Petrified wood
process tall timber down to rock".
I realize in the preceding lines she's finally getting up the courage to leave
this loser, proclaiming her independence("Since I was 17 I've had noone over
me"), but I've always struggled with this next line, so
* help* !! Thanks for your interesting post.
BW,
Megan
NP: Fiona Apple-- "On the Bound"
