The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Not Waving" by the artist "This Heat"

Contents

1. The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Not Waving" by the artist "This Heat"
2. The original lyrics of the song - "Not Waving"

The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Not Waving" by the artist "This Heat"

This Heat's "Not Waving" carries a profound and multifaceted meaning that resonates with Stevie Smith's poem "Not Waving But Drowning." The lyrical hero, much like the drowning man in the poem, experiences feelings of loneliness, misunderstanding, and despair.

"Yes, I'll go there - / To where - / I know you won't be able to find me" - these lines speak to the hero's desire for isolation, for escape from a reality where he cannot find understanding. He seems to seek refuge in the depths of despair, where neither help nor sympathy can reach him.

"I held on too long / To this steel rail" - metaphorically depicts the hero's desperate struggle with life's hardships. The "steel rail" can symbolize both hope and what prevents him from moving on, preventing him from freeing himself from the burden of the past.

"Time to let go. / And here I am in the ocean - / Not waving, but drowning" - the hero decides to take a desperate step, he "lets go of the rail" and plunges into the abyss of hopelessness. The play on words "not waving, but drowning" refers to Smith's poem and emphasizes the tragedy of the situation: the hero is drowning, but those around him do not see or do not want to see his despair.

"It's just a nervous reaction... / Please don't save me" - these words demonstrate the hero's inner conflict. On the one hand, he craves help, on the other hand, he pushes it away, not believing in the possibility of salvation. The cold that engulfs his body ("So cold I can't feel my toes... / I let them go. / What good are they?") symbolizes the loss of hope and a feeling of complete hopelessness.

The image of water ("H20 chills you to the bone... / Learn to love the water") takes on a sinister connotation in the song. Water is both the element that consumes the hero and a metaphor for death, inevitable and all-encompassing. "Learn to love the water" sounds like bitter irony, like accepting one's fate.

The final lines "I'll love you like there's no 'tomorrow'... / There is no 'tomorrow'" - sound like a farewell, like a premonition of the end. The hero accepts his fate, realizing that there will be no "tomorrow" for him.

The original lyrics of the song - "Not Waving"

Yes I will go out there

Out there where

I know you can not find me

Hold on to the steel rail

Too long now

I know I must let go

Here I am in the ocean

Not waving but drowning

Just a nervous reaction

Please don't rescue me

So cold I can't feel my toes

I'll let them go

Who needs them?

Circulations stand still

H2O can freeze you to the marrow

Learn to love the water

It will love you like there's no tomorrow

There is no tomorrow

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