Bjork is one of those people whose music you either tend to love or hate. Personally, I think it's great, and my favorite piece by her is called Hyperballad from the album Post. Although I love the melody, it's the lyrics that I find particularly appealing. The first verse conjures up a peaceful scene of a women lingering at dawn by the edge of a mountain, while the second verse shocks you as the women casually contemplates her own death on the rocks below. Here are the words to the song:
We live on a mountain, right at the top
There's a beautiful view from the top of the mountain
Every morning I walk towards the edge
And throw little things off
Like car parts, bottles and cutlery
Or whatever I find lying around
It's become a habit, a way to start the dayI go through all this before you wake up
So I can feel happier to be safe up here with you
It's early morning, no one is awake
I'm back at my cliff, still throwing things off
I listen to the sounds they make on their way down
I follow with my eyes 'til they crash
Imagine what my body would sound like
Slamming against those rocks
When it lands, will my eyes be closed or open?
I go through all this before you wake up
So I can feel happier to be safe up here with you
Strangely enough, I find this song intensely romantic. It speaks to me of how life is fragile, and that relationships should never be taken for granted. However, based on these interviews, Bjork didn't intend for the song to be interpreted in this way!
That is definitely my favorite song. There is a really great cut of it on her acoustic album as well. After reading that interview, though, I feel like one of the unwashed masses, given the sentence:
"In June 2002 bjork.com organised a webvote, in order to compile the tracklist for the current 'Greatest Hits' cd, and 'Hyperballad' was voted as the most popular track."
I no longer have indie street cred (http://soyouwanna.com/site/syws/indierock/indierock.html)
Posted by: Jef Newsom | Feb 04, 2005 at 06:59 AM
If the woman is in her 30s Bjork's interpretation is more likely to be true. She is trapped in that relationship and is just trying to survive. Mid 40s to 50s then I can agree with your romantic view, but the destructive attitude used as an escape to get back to routine life is something that keeps the relationship on the edge...
Posted by: Teresa Van Dusen | Mar 02, 2005 at 10:35 AM