variation on: Schumann, Theme and variations in E flat major WoO 24, "Ghost variations"
Lyrics by Tori Amos
You've left your ghost
until tomorrow
and then he must be sent
to a strange address
in the Mediterranean
I've met your ghost
he has proposed
I've met your ghost, yes
he's proposed
he needs some time alone
then he'll stay with me
then he'll visit your seven seas
Please leave me your ghost
I will keep him from harm
Although I've learned that
you were wounded
My forest of glass
caused enough damage
as has your teal satin crashing
My ambers and my blues
could have another use
Your ghost has shown me
Our primroses could survive the frost
if a gentle rivulet of flame
is sustained tenderly
He'll play a Beatles tune
me, more a Bach fugue
Is this such a great divide
between your world and mine?
They both can purify
and heal what was cut and bruised
please leave me your ghost
I will keep him from harm
I understand that you've been wounded
My ambers and my blues
could have another use
please leave me your ghost
just leave me
your ghost
I will keep him warm
I will keep him warm
Tori Quotes
Tori is singing to "him" after having met his ghost. "Your Ghost has shown me our primroses could survive the frost if a gentle rivulet of flame is sustained tenderly." She acknowledges she created a forest of glass and that she understands now that he was also wounded in the shattering of their relationship. She also tells him that both of their forces have the power to "heal what was cut and bruised." [Night of Hunters commentary - July 2011]
I decided that it was important that we had characters, so Anabelle and the Fire Muse, we hear from them. And he, the man in the story, is very present. We hear him as the cycle goes on, through instrumentation and through quotations that he has made. And we meet him through his ghost [in the song, "Your Ghost"]. And also, I felt like we needed to bring myth into this. So there are forces -- he carries the force of water and she carries the force of fire. [NME - September 16, 2011]
I think Schumann went a bit bonkers, too. He tried to jump off a bridge when he was writing his piece, the one I do a variation of. A German musicologist said Schumann thought that he was hearing Schubert's ghost playing and he jumped off a bridge. He didn't die. He finished. I studied that, and what it told me was the form is very much about a personal crisis. The protagonist moves from that personal crisis into a worldly crisis. So that's what I had to sort of build this cathedral around. [Vanity Fair - September 22, 2011]
We began to see a sensuality and get a sense of what this world sounded like, smelled like, tasted like, felt like. "Star Whisperer" was our guide. But "Your Ghost" [based on a piece from Schumann's so-called 1854 "Ghost Variations"] was the one where the emotional side of their relationship came into focus. It's where she understands how she wanted him. You get to see their love for each other through this song. I had to understand that love in order to break it apart. Once I understood "Your Ghost," other things fell into place.
Those melodies from the ancient masters were driving this, because they're so romantic. You don't hear those melodic structures in a lot of contemporary music. They were giving me a huge gift, as if they were saying, "We're guiding you to what the drama could be, if you'll just listen to what we're telling you." Music has its own consciousness. If you listen to it and analyze it, it tells you all its secrets. It's all there, but you can't impose your will on it. [M Music & Musicians - November 2011]
Live Versions
"Your Ghost"
October 8, 2011 - Rome, Italy
t o r i p h o r i a tori amos digital archive yessaid.com
