What is the meaning behind the lyrics in the song Teardrop by Massive Attack?
First get the lyrics right and everything will make more sense: Fearless on my breath… It is about contemplating abortion – and thinking about the dissonance that runs through the two minds – between the mother who gave life and is now thinking about taking it away – and the baby – who is a most faithful mirror and the gentle impulse – a kick or a tumble in the womb – which shakes her and makes her lighter. In the music – the bass and the drums represent the baby’s heartbeat – that’s why the song starts out with no melody – the piano and the melody it adds represents fate, contemplation, and the decision that is being made – there is no turning back from it – and the chords are seeking resolution. The disturbing sampling going on throughout is the dissonance of the decision and the sudden movement of the baby. Nine night of matter – nine is the day – the ninth – that she has scheduled the abortion to take place – black flowers blossom on that day – also, because of it nothing is born
ok, this is my twist for the abortion theory: “Teardrop on the fire Fearless on my breath gentle impulsion” I think in the beginning, the woman was absolutely sure she wanted to have an abortion, no doubt in her mind. *teardrop on the fire- the fire being her desire to have the abortion and the tear of regretting it (the tear would be small and insignificant to stop a fire) *fearless on my breath- she was confident and fearless about the abortion *gentle impulsion- impulsion is when someone wants to move forward strongly or have a strong impulse to do something (she didn’t think much of having the abortion, as the hasty decision was disguised as being no big deal-gentle) then I think the ‘gentle impulsion’ becomes a secondary metaphor for the abortion taking place, as it leads to “Shakes me makes me lighter”, as the baby being aborted would ultimately, well, make her lighter, but in a physical and metaphorical sense. She would feel lighter from the stress of having a baby. “Nine night
In my opinion, this song is about a decision to have an abortion. If you listen to the rhythm of the song, it sounds similar to the beating of a heart. I will come back to this, but I wanted to make note of that before I started into the lyrics. Love, love is a verb Love is a doing word Fearless on my breath Gentle impulsion Shakes me makes me lighter Fearless on my breath The first two lines are an indication not of love as a feeling, but rather as an action (or verb). They refer specifically to coitus. “Fearless on my breath” seems to be a mantra. Evidence of this is the constant repetition throughout the song. Healing mantras have been used by many eastern cultures and can be very comforting in their repetition. In this instance the mantra is meant to help the person saying it to remain strong, and determined. That said, I will not come back to this as the meaning does not change over the course of the song. The “gentle impulsion” (or push) which “[shakes] and [makes] lighter” is re
