Dave
Arthur Fitzjohn <a...@lupusfab.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:19990902....@lupusfab.demon.co.uk...
Here's what Gordon Lightfoot said about that song in the Songbook-booklet:
"The 'Same Old Obsession' is probably another person, maybe a triangle, or
maybe it's just about a person's need to be free. Anything that lurks out
there to detract from or to try to destroy a relationship is painted as evil
in this song - evil personified as a creature."
Now for my personal interpretation:
I imagine her to be a very shy and insecure person. She might have been
deeply hurt in a previous relationship and therefore has built protective
walls around her.
In the beginning of their relationship - when a certain distance was still
separating them and keeping her safe - they had happy times "I long to
recall every kiss, every kind word", and "I remember the taste of her lips
close to mine".
But as they spent more time together and the relationship intensified, they
came more and more closer. Their relationship went in a direction she wasn't
willing or capable to handle.
She had to make a decision - either open her heart completely to him or
withdraw. The fear of being unprotected and of getting hurt again began
creeping her heart. What if he indeed hurt her? Could she bear that a second
time? What if he weren't true to her?
"The Creatures of Evil" returned, and they "captured her heart".
She withdrew from the relationship, maybe she was even rude to him, they got
separated.
He is devastated by having lost her - "I miss her so much I could die". But
this is not the only thing that tortures his soul. He is unsure of whether
he could have done more to help her break the walls that surround her - "I
could do much better, If I could be strong".
But it seems as if he has lost the fight against the "Creatures of Evil" and
that he is not strong enough to help her overcome "That Same Old Obsession".
I guess many other interpretations will do just as well as mine -
but then that is part of the beauty that lies within the lyrics - this song
will mean a lot of different things to different people.
BTW, "That Same Old Obsession" is my favorite track on Old Dan's Records
(closely followed by It's Worth Believin')
--
-Corfid
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** Florian BODENSEHER **
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