Mathilde Santing (born 24 October 1958 in Amstelveen, The Netherlands) is a… Read Full Bio ↴Mathilde Santing (born 24 October 1958 in Amstelveen, The Netherlands) is a Dutch jazz and pop singer.

Her self-titled debut album, Mathilde Santing, came out in 1982 and she gas released well over fifteen studio albums since, most of them sung in English, although she sometimes performs and records in her mother tongue as well. Known for her whispery and vulnerable vocal style, Santing is a prominent gay role model in The Netherlands. She sang at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1998 Gay Games in Amsterdam.

Santing's biggest chart success came in 1999 with the lush ballad 'Wonderful Life', which hit #6 in the Dutch Top 40. The song was taken from the 1999 album To Others To One, which is her highest charting album in her native Netherlands to date, reaching #4 in the Dutch album charts.

Beauty Of The Ritual
Mathilde Santing Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Here's a sad case, all my friends have let me down
There's no sweet taste when your luck is leaving town
I'll have to swallow it all
There's no shame when you lose, when you waver and fall

So all I've got is that simple routine
And the moves that I make are like a ritual to me
I had to find a way out

So I swallowed my pride and I made a new start

Can't you see the beauty of the ritual
A quiet concentration on the minimal
But is it pain or is it pleasure, you just don't know what to feel
'cause it's all in the ritual

No more sweet taste, it's supposed to be bitter
What would you say if your love was leaving town
I can't accept what is real
So I dream up a world that belongs just to me

Can't you see the beauty of the ritual
A quiet concentration on the minimal
But is it pain or is it pleasure, I just don't know what to feel
'cause it's all in the ritual

Never knew how lonely it could be
(never thought that it could get so lonely)
Now I've lost it all.
(I lost my fortune and my friends as well
Then it seemed to me there was one solution only)

There was one solution only
A tribute to the ritual

Overall Meaning

The lyrics in "Beauty of the Ritual" by Mathilde Santing express a sense of loneliness and loss, and the power of ritual as a way to cope with difficult times. The song begins with the singer feeling let down by their friends and facing the bitter taste of their luck leaving town. However, they find comfort in a simple routine that becomes a ritual. This ritual provides a sense of control and stability in a world that can often feel chaotic and uncertain. The singer speaks of "quiet concentration on the minimal," suggesting that finding beauty in simple actions can be a source of solace.

The song ends with the singer dreaming up a world that belongs just to them because they are unable to accept what is real. Santing asks the listener, "is it pain or is it pleasure?" – highlighting the ambiguity of emotions that can arise from ritual. Despite the uncertainty, the ritual offers a sense of identity and grounding to the singer, and it becomes a tribute to the power of finding meaning in the mundane.

Overall, "Beauty of the Ritual" offers a poetic reflection on the role of ritual in navigating life's difficulties. It suggests that, through routine, one can find a sense of control, meaning, and beauty in a world that can feel overwhelming and lonely.

Line by Line Meaning

Here's a sad case, all my friends have let me down
It's a pitiable fact that all my friends have deserted me in my difficult times.

There's no sweet taste when your luck is leaving town
When you are out of luck, everything feels bitter and unpleasant.

I'll have to swallow it all
I have to accept all the troubles and challenges that come my way without resistance.

There's no shame when you lose, when you waver and fall
There's no embarrassment in defeat because it's a natural part of life.

So all I've got is that simple routine
The only thing I have left is my ordinary daily schedule.

And the moves that I make are like a ritual to me
The actions I perform (routine) are like a ritual to me because they give me a sense of order and purpose.

I had to find a way out
I was trapped and had to come up with a plan to escape my situation.

So I swallowed my pride and I made a new start
I had to set aside my egoistic tendencies and begin anew without any shame.

Can't you see the beauty of the ritual
Can't you appreciate the attractiveness of following a routine that gives structure and meaning to life?

A quiet concentration on the minimal
A state of complete focus on the essential things while remaining calm and peaceful on the inside.

But is it pain or is it pleasure, you just don't know what to feel
You experience a mix of emotions that you can't categorize as either pain or pleasure.

'cause it's all in the ritual
Because all of your thoughts and feelings are tied to the sense of order and meaning you derive from your routine.

No more sweet taste, it's supposed to be bitter
The loss of something valuable (like a lover or a fortune) is meant to feel painful and bitter, not sweet.

What would you say if your love was leaving town
What would you do if someone you loved was moving away and leaving you?

I can't accept what is real
I can't come to terms with what's happening in my life because it's too painful to face.

So I dream up a world that belongs just to me
I create an alternate reality that is exclusively for me, where I can escape from the harshness of the real world.

Never knew how lonely it could be
I had no idea how lonesome life could get.

(never thought that it could get so lonely)
(I never anticipated that it could be so isolating.)

Now I've lost it all.
Now everything that mattered to me is gone.

(I lost my fortune and my friends as well
(I lost my wealth and all my companionship as well,

Then it seemed to me there was one solution only)
Then I realized that there was only one way out for me.

A tribute to the ritual
An expression of appreciation for the order and meaning that following a routine provides in times of chaos and confusion.

Contributed by Jayden I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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