Traditionally a Classical Hindustani Musical instrument going as far back as the Middle Ages, the sitar appears in a few of the Beatle's songs, but in only one song in "Rubber soul". George Harrison, who would later become deeply involved with Indian culture and who would become a practitioner of "transcendental meditation", says in retrospect to recording "Norwegian Wood":
Norwegian wood is a type of cheap pine, which became quite popular in the 60's. McCartney explains the analogy between the attributes of Norwegian wood and the shallow character of a lot of the women that the Beatles knew.
For McCartney, the metaphor stopped there, but for Lennon, the song generally represented the many affairs he had with "cheap women". McCartney explains what the song meant to Lennon:
"When we were working on Norwegian Wood it just needed something, and it was quite spontaneous, from what I remember. I just picked up my sitar, found the notes and just played it. We miked it up and put it on and it just seemed to hit the spot."
Norwegian wood is a type of cheap pine, which became quite popular in the 60's. McCartney explains the analogy between the attributes of Norwegian wood and the shallow character of a lot of the women that the Beatles knew.
"It was pine really, cheap pine. But it's not as good a title, "Cheap Pine", baby. So it was a little parody really on those kind of girls who when you'd go to their flat there would be a lot of Norwegian wood."
For McCartney, the metaphor stopped there, but for Lennon, the song generally represented the many affairs he had with "cheap women". McCartney explains what the song meant to Lennon:
"So she makes him sleep in the bath and then finally in the last verse I had this idea to set the Norwegian wood on fire as revenge, so we did it very tongue in cheek. She led him on, then said, "You'd better sleep in the bath." In our world the guy had to have some sort of revenge ... so it meant I burned the place down."Burning a house down out of revenge reminds me vividly of "Jane Eyre" and "Wide Sargasso Sea". I think the stories can be compared. In the song, "Norwegian Wood", the woman belittles the man by leading him on and then making him sleep in the bath tub. The man, who feels taken-advantage-of, seeks revenge in the most destructive way he can think of, burning the woman's home down.
In Wide Sargasso Sea, (obviously the emotions are more intense and the reasons for revenge more founded) Rochester essentially cages Antoinette up like an animal in the attic, only attending to her most basic needs, and for that, he hires a servant. In Jane Erye, what the reader doesn't know until later, is that the ghostlike crazy woman in the attic is indeed Rochester's wife! I do not blame Antoinette Cosway for burning down the house, as it truly was her only escape to freedom, even though she perished in the flames.
Even as I examine the lyrics more closely, I can read deeper meaning into them as they relate to Antoinette Cosway's predicament.
She asked me to stay and she told me to sit anywhere,Isn't it true that Rochester asked Antoinette to come back to England with him from the Caribbean, promising her the life of a spouse? But when Antoinette got to England, she found no chair there for her--Rochester had already abandoned her in spirit--left her to sleep in the bathtub.
So I looked around and I noticed there wasn't a chair.
Rochester is just like Lennon's "Cheap Women". He fell in love impulsively not for genuine sentiments, but because of Antoinette's beauty in appearance. Just like Lennon must have found out during his affairs, such impulsive behavior leads you to something dark in the end--In rochester's case, a demon he was wed to for life.
No comments:
Post a Comment