Leslie, for me, this is the whole thought...
"See how that feeling comes and goes
Like the pull of moon on tides
Now I am surf rising
Now parched ribs of sand at his side"
Joni's talking about her ambiguous feelings for the strange boy, and says her feelings
for him come & go, ebb & flo, like the tides. She then uses the second line as a segue
to take her 'out of the city & down to the seaside' to take the metaphor one step
further.
Surf rising is a very active, physical motion, and the 180 of that would be to be
stretched out on the beach relaxing. Those are the extremes of her emotions for this
guy, and they're great contrasts! I've been in the ocean when it tosses me ass over
appetite, nothing I can do to control it, and when I stretch out in the sand I'm prone
to fall asleep because I get so relaxed.
Matter of fact, the first time I met Nikki was when she woke me up when I was coppin'
some Z's on the sand!
Bob
NP: Tracy Chapman, "For You"
