Hoop has lived all over the map, and her rich life experience is reflected in her distinctive voice and natural gift for inventive song craft. She learned to sing at an early age, harmonising with her musical Mormon family in northern California. She began writing highly idiosyncratic songs at the age of 14 to keep her company on her long walks to school. At 16, Hoop broke away from her strict upbringing and began what she calls her 'life as a racoon', off the grid & close to nature. Rambling through the high mountain deserts of the Southwest and along the coastlines of the Northwest, she worked as a wilderness survival guide and chalked up skills in farming, surveying, and carpentry. Her songwriting continued throughout, shared on porches, in deep river canyons and around campfires.
In 2004 the desire to share these songs on a broader scale set in. She settled in Los Angeles, where she honed her songwriting craft and developed a reputation as a unique and beguiling live performer of real substance. Though she now resides in Manchester, England, Hoop returned to Los Angeles to record her third album, The House That Jack Built.
Jesca has quite the collection of fans in high places: Tom Waits described her music as being "like a four sided coin. She is an old soul, like a black pearl, a good witch or red moon. Her music is like going swimming in a lake at night". Peter Gabriel took her to South America to sing with him, and in recent years she has been hand picked to play as support on tour for Eels, Andrew Bird, Punch Brothers, Shearwater and Elbow: Elbow's Guy Garvey has even had her do stints as guest presenter on his BBC radio show, to great reception.
The follow up to 2009's critically acclaimed Hunting My Dress, "The House That Jack Built" displays a striking duality: light and dark, head and heart, it juxtaposes the macabre and visceral with a disarmingly candid intimacy. The resulting combination is powerfully evocative, with overarching themes of biology, nature and humanity - Hoop's stone-turning observations are mired in the equal beauty and violence of a nature that, for her, is clearly red in tooth and claw.
Tulip
Jesca Hoop Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your hair of fire and skin of snow
Have coursed me to the heights of the desert mountains
In search of the cure for a rampant fever
Your beauty's power, it plagues me now
I come and scour the land for the desert flower
For beauty and perfume I'd stake my house and my lands
With a paler leaf and a broken petal, I'll paint the king and queen
And to the goldsmith with my flower I'll buy your wedding ring
Tulip, tulip
With one word I'd a-buy
Oxen, sheep and wheat and rye
Land on the north seaside
Tulip, tulip
With one word I'd a-buy
The finest dresses man can buy
And a pearl for to pay my bride
Then with my rarest bowl to her father's garden
Like gold for lamb or wool for clam I gave that man a bowl for his daughter Ada
Your heart is mine and it's mine forever
And she replied, "my fate that lies on yon horizon's tethered me to the sky"
The match arranged, and vows exchanged and the dove flew away
The bells spilled out the hollow canyon on our wedding day
To me she gave her hand and to death do us part
But the bird will nest with one that she has promised her heart
Tulip, tulip
With one word I'd a-buy
The bed from which our sons will rise
And the window where she cries
Tulip, tulip
With one word I'd a-buy
A net to catch the birds that fly from the window where she cries
He reaches out and I withdraw
Spilling the flowering bribes from his paw
The broken petals climbing the walls
Stealing my oxygen, no air at all
From the bed I hear him call
But I answer cooing when the night falls
The cotton sword is storming the hall
Cutting my vision to no sight at all
I tied the tulip around her neck
Like a red lead sinker
And blindfold and spin around
And round and round
To the banks of the river and then walk
My true love into the rushing water
And by her long hair, bleeding red
Hair-pulled my love there under until she drown
For beauty and perfume I'd stake my house and my lands
My love is sleeping in the river but the flower's in my hand
With a paler leaf and a broken petal
I'll keep her all to me
And to the river with my flower
I'll hear my true love sing
Your water is still in my friend
Ready to drown
Water, water oh water my kin
Carry me out
This Eine river is mercy at last
Die as she laughs for
He's waiting with a dove's nest
My true love
Tulip, tulip
With one word I'd a-buy
A veil that parted o'er my bride
And the breath as my true love died
Tulip, tulip
With one word I'd a-buy
A veil that parted o'er my bride
And the blue from the bluest eye
The song "Tulip" by Jesca Hoop tells the story of Ada, a rare and beautiful woman who captures the attention of the singer. The singer is so enamored by Ada's beauty and the power it holds over her that she travels to great lengths to find the "desert flower" that will cure her fever. She is willing to give up everything she owns, including her house and lands, in exchange for the flower. She even offers the flower as payment for Ada's wedding ring.
As the story progresses, Ada and the singer get married, but the singer becomes jealous and possessive. She ties a tulip around Ada's neck and leads her to the river, where she drowns her in a fit of jealousy. The final lines of the song suggest that the singer is haunted by guilt and longing, as she hears her true love singing from the river.
The lyrics of "Tulip" explore themes of beauty, obsession, possessiveness, jealousy, and guilt. The desert flower and tulip are symbols of beauty and desire, while the river represents loss and regret. The singer's actions are a cautionary tale about the dangers of allowing desire and jealousy to overtake reason and empathy.
Line by Line Meaning
Ada, my rarest bud from the desert valley
Jesca is referring to Ada as the rarest flower in the desert valley, a unique and special individual.
Your hair of fire and skin of snow
Jesca describes Ada's appearance as striking and contrasting, with fiery hair and pale skin.
Have coursed me to the heights of the desert mountains
Ada has inspired Jesca to reach new heights and explore new places, like the desert mountains.
In search of the cure for a rampant fever
Jesca is on a quest to cure a fever that is plaguing her, likely caused by Ada's beauty and power.
Your beauty's power, it plagues me now
Jesca is overwhelmed by Ada's beauty and is unable to resist its allure.
I come and scour the land for the desert flower
Jesca is searching for the perfect flower to symbolize Ada's beauty and uniqueness.
For beauty and perfume I'd stake my house and my lands
Jesca would give up everything she has for beauty and perfume.
The gold is sleeping in the river but the flower's in my hand
Jesca values the flower more than gold, and considers it to be the ultimate prize.
With a paler leaf and a broken petal, I'll paint the king and queen
Jesca will use the flower, even if it's not in perfect condition, to create beautiful paintings of royalty.
And to the goldsmith with my flower I'll buy your wedding ring
Jesca will sell the flower to a goldsmith to buy a wedding ring for Ada.
Tulip, tulip / With one word I'd a-buy / Oxen, sheep and wheat and rye / Land on the north seaside
Jesca is highlighting the value and power of the tulip, which she could trade for many different things if she had just one word to convince someone to buy it.
Tulip, tulip / With one word I'd a-buy / The finest dresses man can buy / And a pearl for to pay my bride
Jesca again emphasizes the tulip's worth, and lists specific items she could buy with it, including luxury dresses and a pearl to give to Ada.
Then with my rarest bowl to her father's garden / Like gold for lamb or wool for clam I gave that man a bowl for his daughter Ada
Jesca is presenting Ada's father with a rare and valuable bowl as a gift to win his approval and permission to marry Ada.
Your heart is mine and it's mine forever / And she replied, 'my fate that lies on yon horizon's tethered me to the sky'
Jesca feels that Ada is now her forever, but Ada believes her destiny is out of her control and pre-determined by fate.
The match arranged, and vows exchanged and the dove flew away / The bells spilled out the hollow canyon on our wedding day
Jesca and Ada have been married and are sharing their joy with the world, represented symbolically by a dove and bells that can be heard throughout the canyon.
To me she gave her hand and to death do us part / But the bird will nest with one that she has promised her heart
Ada has promised her love to Jesca, but Jesca realizes that the bird (representing love) will only stay where it has been promised, meaning Ada's love may not stay with her forever.
He reaches out and I withdraw / Spilling the flowering bribes from his paw / The broken petals climbing the walls / Stealing my oxygen, no air at all / From the bed I hear him call / But I answer cooing when the night falls / The cotton sword is storming the hall / Cutting my vision to no sight at all
Jesca is struggling in her relationship with her partner, represented by a man who is trying to reach out to her but is causing her pain and taking away her breath. She responds by retreating and trying to distract herself from the problems by cooing at night, but her vision becomes limited.
I tied the tulip around her neck / Like a red lead sinker / And blindfold and spin around / And round and round / To the banks of the river and then walk / My true love into the rushing water / And by her long hair, bleeding red / Hair-pulled my love there under until she drown
Jesca uses the tulip to symbolically tie Ada to her, but ultimately murders her by drowning her in a river, pulling her by her hair.
Your water is still in my friend / Ready to drown / Water, water oh water my kin / Carry me out / This Eine river is mercy at last / Die as she laughs for / He's waiting with a dove's nest / My true love
Jesca is haunted by Ada's memory and the water that once surrounded her, and wishes for death to come. She envisions Ada laughing as she dies, with Jesca reuniting with her true love (symbolized by a dove's nest)
Tulip, tulip / With one word I'd a-buy / A veil that parted o'er my bride / And the breath as my true love died / Tulip, tulip / With one word I'd a-buy / A veil that parted o'er my bride / And the blue from the bluest eye
Jesca imagines what she would buy with the tulip if she could go back in time, including a veil for Ada's wedding and the ability to see her true love's eyes one last time before she dies.
Contributed by Anthony F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@virginiaeatchel
Gorgeous and poetic, but damn! What a story...... Creepy!!
@grootebraak
Pure Poetry
@SecksyMan
fantastic
@indiemusiclover1
Good sfdog and hope all is well with you... I'm back with new camera equipment and a new attitude. Stay tuned...
@johnqdarwin
what flower has a petal , paler than a tulip and can be used to make some kind of poison . one that can create great wealth ?
@CircuitDruid
For anyone else curious, I am prety sure the tulip thing is a reference to the dutch 'tulip mania' in the 15 hundreds. Hence a flower that can buy a house and a bride, but not her love :)
@sfdog1369
Hows Things Hangin Bro???
@runedharma22
Tiptoe through...
@joelodell2738
Find me Moe, 3/2019
@shadeslayer6374
So did he kill his love or not?