China all the way to New York
I can feel the distance getting close
you're right next to me
but I need an airplane
I can feel the distance as you breathe
sometimes I think
you want me to touch you
how can I when you build
the great wall around you
in your eyes I saw a future together
you just look away in the distance
china decorates our table
funny how the cracks don't seem to show
pour the wine dear
you say we'll take a holiday
but we never can agree on where to go
China all the way to New York
maybe you got lost in Mexico
you're right next to me
I think that you can hear me
funny how the distance learns to grow
I can feel the distance
I can feel the distance
I can feel the distance
getting close...
Tori Quotes
The fifths in the bass represent the beginning of an ancient ceremony. This ceremony took me to "China," took me to the kitchen table where most wars get nurtured. I've always felt "China" and secrets are good friends. This song was the first written on Little Earthquakes. [Little Earthquakes songbook]
I'm not playing "China" these days, guys. Do I look like a jukebox? It's nothing against "China," guys, I love "China," but I won't be able to play it. Because the person that I wrote it about, this wonderful human being, is not in my life anymore. And I can't play it until I can like, do it without choking up." [Las Vegas concert - August 20, 1994]
Love song. There's been a side to me that's always been drawn to heart-wrenching love songs. And sometimes I find that you don't get those necessarily just in the contemporary singer-songwriter world, but also with musical theater, Gershwin, classics. I think that "China" probably came after a big bout of listening to Barbra Streisand. Because you know, if anyone can break your heart, she could. [Rolling Stone - December 18, 2009]
Live Versions
"China"
January 29, 1992 - London, England Wogan
"China"
March 14, 1992 - Amsterdam, Netherlands 2 Meter Sessions (radio)
"China" (duet)
March 8, 1994 - Paris, France Taratata
"China"
November 6, 2015 - Basel, Switzerland Baloise Session
"China"
November 7, 2017 - New York, New York
China magazine ad
from NME (UK), January 25, 1992
t o r i p h o r i a tori amos digital archive yessaid.com
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