Honey or Tar by CocoRosie Lyrics Meaning – A Glimpse into the Mysterious Dualism of Desire
Lyrics
Maybe even raped you
In a dark and eerie corner of my mind
I tucked you there
And touched you in a dream last night
Pushed you aside when you entered
My thoughts at the wrong time
I have sat up upon your lap and
Saddled my thighs around your hips like ropes
I rode you on a chair and in the shower
And all the while I clung heavy to your back
My desire deeply harnessed in your spine
While I squeezed you like a tree trunk
You may have been one
Sexless and comfort in your mind
Even barer than a child’s
I’m riding recklessly through a thick and humid
Jungle growing anxious with the deep and primal
Yearning that stirs
Deeply pulsing up toward the surface
Like sap rising or honey or tar
In the vast spectrum of musical poetry, few songs articulate the nuanced contours of desire quite like CocoRosie’s ‘Honey or Tar.’ Bathed in esoteric metaphors and vivid imagery, the piece radiates with an emotional complexity that beckons a deeper examination. Through this enigmatic tableau, CocoRosie navigates the shadowed pathways of longing, obsession, and the rawness of human intimacy.
At first listen, the track might overwhelm with its stark intimacy, but beneath its surface is a literary labyrinth, rich with interpretations and symbolic resonance. The artist’s ability to weave together the sweetness and stickiness of desire, contrasting the organic with the sensual, establishes a song that is as bewildering as it is beautiful.
Unraveling the Conscious and Unconscious Desires
CocoRosie’s ‘Honey or Tar’ isn’t just a song; it’s a confession, an admission of the unsaid and often unexplored shadows of desire. The provocative opening lines, where the narrator undresses the object of their desire with their eyes and admits to imaginary violation, unapologetically confront the conscious and unconscious cravings that reside within the human psyche.
The song depicts the medium of dreams as a realm where suppressed longings manifest, a place unbound by societal norms or self-censorship. It is a daring exploration of the moral complexities embedded in human sexuality and the often-overlooked difference between thinking and acting upon one’s thoughts.
The ‘Sap Rising’ — Evoking Nature’s Raw Sensuality
Through its stirring lyrics, ‘Honey or Tar’ conjures depictions of nature’s sensuality – from the primal ride through a dense jungle to the climactic sap rising. This imagery resonates with an organic sexual undertone, drawing analogies between human desire and the pulsating life forces plain in nature’s most intimate processes.
The organic comparison here is soul-stirring as it throws light on the human appetite for intimacy being as natural and uncontrolled as the biological mechanisms of the flora. The sap that rises, akin to the human yearning that the song speaks of, becomes a symbol for the inevitable and uncontrollable essence of desire.
Embracing the Complexity of Intimacy
In ‘Honey or Tar,’ CocoRosie does not shy away from the complexities of a physical relationship. The lyrics are replete with the tension of intermingling rough and tender encounters, exhibiting the fragile dance between dominance and submission – or desire as both affection and something more wild.
It’s a compelling narrative that underscores the polarity of experiences within romantic and sexual encounters, pushing the listener to acknowledge the dichotomy of the sweetness and the stickiness, the honey and the tar, in their own relationships and inner landscapes of longing.
The Hidden Meanings: Symbolism of the Child and Tree
A striking element to CocoRosie’s lyrical genius is the use of symbols like the child and the tree. These images could be dissected to bring forth a juxtaposition of purity and growth, innocence and strength, thus navigating through the innocence of a child-like mind to the robust imagery of a tree trunk.
In the song, there might be an underlining commentary on the transformation of the innocent into the knowing, of the simplicity of a child’s mind bearing witness to the inherent complexity of adult desires. When considered, these images elucidate the growth from naivete to the acknowledgment of one’s personal and possibly dark desires.
The Memorable Lines that Define ‘Honey or Tar’
‘I squeezed you like a tree trunk / You may have been one / Sexless and comfort in your mind / Even barer than a child’s.’ These lines speak volumes, serving as the emotional fulcrum of the song. They encapsulate the themes of objectification, yearning, and the intrinsic need for touch and intimacy within the human experience.
While the precise interpretation might differ based on the listener’s experiences, these words echo with the intensity of wanting and the spectrum of emotions that accompany physical desire. The lines evoke an image of clinging to something, or someone, with a desperate need that is as sticky and trapping as tar, yet as desired and sweet as honey.
