"Cooling" - Tori Amos
Someone once asked me what I thought about one of Tori's infamous, not-on-any-of-her-album songs, she calls "Cooling"... I sing this to sleep a lot.
See, if you've never heard of Tori Amos or had never had the pleasure of listening to ANY of her many songs, then you're not going to get what it is about her that I admire the most. But...I'll write it anyway.
Tori is an amazing songwriter with so much material that she just can't squeeze it all into her albums so she has bonus tracks, b-sides, singles, live versions, acappella, and funky little snippets like "Whomp, There It Is" and "Sweet Home Alabama" that she scrambled together during on the spot radio interviews. She is just loaded with lyrics that it drains out of her brain, shoots out of her fingertips and pours all over sheets upon sheets of musical paper! There's just not enough time...or maybe I just don't have the energy to break her art down into itty-bitty pieces to study under a microscope.
Or maybe, I just don't see a reason to.
But...you would think that as a Tori fan I should know EVERYTHING there is to know about her and her music, yet I choose NOT to because anyone who loves Tori knows that her lyrics are personal and regardless of how we try to interpret it, we really wouldn't know exactly what it means unless we had the luxury of stealing her inner thoughts. I love "Cooling" because well...it fits. It's one of the few songs people actually get and can relate to, yet she chose NOT to place it on any of her official albums...funny, huh?
To introduce "Cooling" during a live performance at VH1 Hard Rock Cafe back on Oct. 15th, 1999, Tori said,
"This is sorta my goodbye to you."
Unfortunately, this was edited off the track I have on my playlist, but these 7 little words are how I feel about the song. And the word YOU can refer to a person I once loved, a relationship I once had, a place that carries a lot of emotion for me, a cherished keepsake I lost, a death of a loved one, growing up and getting older, and at times a memory I wish to forget...
LYRICS:
maybe i didn't like to hear
but i still can't believe speed racer is dead
so then i thought i'd make some plans
but fire thought she'd really rather be water instead
and peggy got a message for me, from jesus
and i heard every word that you have said
and i know i have been
driven like the snow
but this is cooling
faster then i can
this is cooling
faster then i...
but do i hate what she is
or do i want to be her
and don't we love something fresh
anything new, virgin
woman, you got too many brambles
hiding under these bushes
woman, you got too many brambles
but i always liked a good storm
always good for a storm
so then love walked up to like
said i know that you don't like me much
let's go for a ride
this ocean is wrapped around that pineapple tree
and is your place in heaven
worth giving up these kisses
these, yes, these kisses
and peggy got a message for me, from jesus
and i heard every word
that you have said
and i know i have been
driven like the snow
but this is cooling
faster than i can
hey...
faster than i can
cooling
this is cooling
this is cooling
http://www.hereinmyhead.com/collect/beesides/cool.html
Someone once asked me what I thought about one of Tori's infamous, not-on-any-of-her-album songs, she calls "Cooling"... I sing this to sleep a lot.
See, if you've never heard of Tori Amos or had never had the pleasure of listening to ANY of her many songs, then you're not going to get what it is about her that I admire the most. But...I'll write it anyway.
Tori is an amazing songwriter with so much material that she just can't squeeze it all into her albums so she has bonus tracks, b-sides, singles, live versions, acappella, and funky little snippets like "Whomp, There It Is" and "Sweet Home Alabama" that she scrambled together during on the spot radio interviews. She is just loaded with lyrics that it drains out of her brain, shoots out of her fingertips and pours all over sheets upon sheets of musical paper! There's just not enough time...or maybe I just don't have the energy to break her art down into itty-bitty pieces to study under a microscope.Or maybe, I just don't see a reason to.
But...you would think that as a Tori fan I should know EVERYTHING there is to know about her and her music, yet I choose NOT to because anyone who loves Tori knows that her lyrics are personal and regardless of how we try to interpret it, we really wouldn't know exactly what it means unless we had the luxury of stealing her inner thoughts. I love "Cooling" because well...it fits. It's one of the few songs people actually get and can relate to, yet she chose NOT to place it on any of her official albums...funny, huh?
To introduce "Cooling" during a live performance at VH1 Hard Rock Cafe back on Oct. 15th, 1999, Tori said,
"This is sorta my goodbye to you."
Unfortunately, this was edited off the track I have on my playlist, but these 7 little words are how I feel about the song. And the word YOU can refer to a person I once loved, a relationship I once had, a place that carries a lot of emotion for me, a cherished keepsake I lost, a death of a loved one, growing up and getting older, and at times a memory I wish to forget...
LYRICS:
maybe i didn't like to hear
but i still can't believe speed racer is dead
so then i thought i'd make some plans
but fire thought she'd really rather be water instead
and peggy got a message for me, from jesus
and i heard every word that you have said
and i know i have been
driven like the snow
but this is cooling
faster then i can
this is cooling
faster then i...
but do i hate what she is
or do i want to be her
and don't we love something fresh
anything new, virgin
woman, you got too many brambles
hiding under these bushes
woman, you got too many brambles
but i always liked a good storm
always good for a storm
so then love walked up to like
said i know that you don't like me much
let's go for a ride
this ocean is wrapped around that pineapple tree
and is your place in heaven
worth giving up these kisses
these, yes, these kisses
and peggy got a message for me, from jesus
and i heard every word
that you have said
and i know i have been
driven like the snow
but this is cooling
faster than i can
hey...
faster than i can
cooling
this is cooling
this is cooling
http://www.hereinmyhead.com/collect/beesides/cool.html
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