Recordings:
* Leprechauns Are Upon Me (1959 as Dory Langdon)
* On My Way to Where (1970) - United Artists
* Reflections in a Mud Puddle/Taps Tremors and Time Steps (1971) - United Artists
* Mythical Kings and Iguanas (1971) - United Artists
* Mary C. Brown and the Hollywood Sign (1972) - United Artists
* Dory Previn (1974) - Warner Bros
* We're Children of Coincidence and Harpo Marx (1976) - Warner Bros
* "Dory & Andre Previn (1983)
* "Planet Blue" - (2002)
Angels And Devils The Following Day
Dory Previn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Equally well
Though they were diff'rent
As heaven and hell
One drove a truck
One would make love
The other would fuck
Each treated me
The way he knew best
One help me lightly
One bruised my breast
And i responded
On two diff'rent levels
Like children reacting
To angels and devils
One was a poet
Who sang and read verse
One was a peasant
Who drank and who cursed
Before you decide
Who's cruel and who's kind
Let me explain
What i felt
In my heart and my mind....
The artist was tender
But suffered from guilt
Making him sorry
The following day
And he made me feel guilty
The very same way
In his bed on the following day
The other would take me
And feel no remorse
He'd wake with a smile
In the bed where we lay
And he made me smile
In the very same way
In his bed on the following day
The blow to my soul
By fear and taboos
Cut deeper far
Than a bodily bruise
And the one who was gentle
Hurt me much more
Than the one who was rough
And made love on the floor.
In this song, Dory Previn sings about her experience of loving two men equally but differently. One of the men is an artist and the other is a truck driver. Despite their differences, she is drawn to both of them and finds herself responding to them on different levels. The artist is tender and gentle, but he is plagued with guilt and often makes her feel guilty as well. The truck driver, on the other hand, is rough and passionate, but he feels no remorse for his actions and makes her feel happy and alive.
The lyrics delve into the complexities of love and how it can take many different forms. Dory Previn’s experience with these two men shows that love can be both gentle and rough, and that it can bring both happiness and pain. She also explores the societal stigma surrounding sex and guilt, and how these taboos can impact a person’s emotional well-being. Ultimately, the song is a meditation on the different facets of love and how it can shape one’s life in unexpected ways.
Line by Line Meaning
Loved i two men
I was in love with two different men
Equally well
I loved them both equally
Though they were diff'rent
Even though they were very different people
As heaven and hell
As different as night and day
One was an artist
One man was a creative artist
One drove a truck
The other man had a more practical job, driving a truck
One would make love
One man was more romantic and preferred to make love
The other would fuck
The other man was more rough and preferred having sex
Each treated me
Both men treated me
The way he knew best
In the way that he thought was best for me
One help me lightly
One man was gentle with me
One bruised my breast
The other man was rough and sometimes caused me physical pain
And i responded
I reacted
On two diff'rent levels
In two different ways
Like children reacting
In the way that children react
To angels and devils
To people who were both good and bad
One was a poet
One man was a poet
Who sang and read verse
He was romantic and enjoyed singing and reading poetry
One was a peasant
The other man had a more rugged, rough background
Who drank and who cursed
He was a heavy drinker and often swore
Before you decide
Before you make a judgment
Who's cruel and who's kind
Who is good and who is bad
Let me explain
Allow me to clarify
What i felt
How I felt
In my heart and my mind....
Within my thoughts and emotions
The artist was tender
The artistic man was gentle and romantic
But suffered from guilt
However, he felt guilty after being intimate with me
Making him sorry
He felt regretful
The following day
The next day after being intimate
And he made me feel guilty
He projected his emotions onto me and made me feel guilty as well
The very same way
In the same manner
In his bed on the following day
After being intimate with him, the next day in his bed
The other would take me
The other man was more aggressive
And feel no remorse
He didn't feel guilty or regretful
He'd wake with a smile
The next day, he would wake up and be happy
In the bed where we lay
In the same bed where we had been intimate
And he made me smile
He would make me happy as well
The blow to my soul
The emotional damage that was done to me
By fear and taboos
Because of societal restraints and expectations
Cut deeper far
The damage was more profound
Than a bodily bruise
Than physical harm
And the one who was gentle
The man who was more gentle and romantic
Hurt me much more
Caused me more emotional pain
Than the one who was rough
Compared to the man who was more aggressive
And made love on the floor.
And didn't care about being intimate in more unconventional places.
Contributed by Makayla A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@melissadoordaughter5593
Dory Previn I salute thee!
@Pupiuable
I used to love this song like 7 years ago, now I suddenly remembered it and realized I still know all the lyrics. How I adore you Dory Previn!
@derekp3775
Dory’s song about her treatment from husband, Andre. The last verse is a killer and turns a good song into a great one. “The blow to my soul by fear and taboos, cut deeper far more than a bodily bruise, And the one who was gentle hurt me much more, than the one who was rough and made love on the floor”
@tanvideshpande3282
i'm 16 and i just discovered dory previn,she's amazing...
@rogerwilliams1602
Tanvi Deshpande how lucky you are, I only discovered her in my 40s
@dirtbone
Just discovered at 35. Highly unfortunate.
@belleepoque2544
Same!
@ZillMob
I'm 45 and just found her at goodwill. You are 24 now hope you found more good tunes
@mpsv8426
What a song!!!
@doryprevin1
Speechless ! She saves me everyday... Will see her I'm sure when my Body Dies .. Me, Dory & Diane in a Garden , Drinking Tea and Just talking <3 RIP Dory 3