Hi! Good morning! LOL
Umm... So, I'm gonna drop this here.
This song makes it into some of our sets. I have performed this song many, many times - and not just with the new (if I can still call it that) band.
Almost invariably, it makes some of the audience members tear up. Sometimes, there's outright weeping. On a good day, even when it's just a gig and not a show, they'll do strange things like light lighters.
I have no idea why.
I'm happy to do it. My ego suggests that I also point out that I do it very well, though it's not really difficult. I love the emotional response. I love that the audience loves it. I love that people can, and do, feel comfortable enough and impacted enough to cry.
That's why I'm there. That's my job.
But... As I said, I have no idea why. None.
I've examined those lyrics, many times.
I know them, intimately. I know each and every lyric and inflection. I know how long each note should be sung for and I can seemingly replicate it with as much emotional response as the original artists. In front of certain crowds, the crowd just stops and sways in place - while a goodly number of them will have very wet eyeballs.
I haven't got a clue what those lyrics actually mean.
Not a fucking clue.
'Snot about anything, as far as I can tell. I thought maybe it was miscarriage, but it's not. 'Snot about death. 'Snot about reincarnation. 'Snot even really about motherhood - at least not from any logical interpretation of the lyrics that I can come up with - though it appears to impact people who are mothers, more than any other types of people.
I've concluded that it doesn't (probably) mean a damned thing.
And, that's okay.
People assign some of their own meanings to it. The song is so powerful (even as simple as it is) that it gets people to assign their own traumatic experiences (real or imagined) to it.
In conclusion, I love to perform the song. Dunno what it means, or even why it has the impact that it has. Still, I love to perform it. My job is well done, if I've enabled the audience to emote strong enough to both laugh and cry in the same show.
This was from my favourite album when it came out.