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.
I Had A King
Mathilde Santing Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lately he's taken to painting the pastel walls brown
He's taken the curtains down
He's swept with the broom of contempt
And the rooms have an empty ring
He's cleaned with the tears
Of an actor who fears for the laughter's sting
You know my keys won't fit the door
You know my thoughts don't fit the man
They never can, they never can
I had a king dressed in drip-dry and paisley
Lately he's taken to saying I'm crazy and blind
He lives in another time
Ladies in gingham still blush
While he sings them of wars and wine
But I in my leather and lace
I can never become that kind
I had a king in a salt-rusted carriage
Who carries me off to his country for marriage too soon
Beware of the power of moons
There's no one to blame
No there's no one to name as a traitor here
The king's on the road
And the queen's in the grove
Till the end of the year
The song "I Had A King" is a story about a woman's relationship with a man whom she refers to as her king. At the beginning of the song, the king lived in a tenement castle, which was decorated with pastel colors. However, lately, he's changed the decor of the castle by painting the walls brown and taking down the curtains. He's also cleaned the rooms using the tears of an actor who fears for the laughter's sting. The woman cannot go back to the castle anymore as her keys won't fit the door, and her thoughts don't fit the man. She feels she can no longer be with him as he's become a different person.
In the second verse, the woman describes how her king used to dress in drip-dry and paisley but has now taken to call her crazy and blind. He lives in another time, where ladies wear gingham, blush, and listen to the king's songs about wars and wine. The woman can never become that kind, even though she's in leather and lace.
In the last verse, the woman talks about the king's salt-rusted carriage, which carried her off to his country for marriage too soon, warning people to beware of the power of moons. There's no one to blame, no one to name as a traitor. The king is on the road, and the queen's in the grove, waiting till the end of the year.
Overall, the song tells a story of a woman who looks back at her relationship with a man who has changed, leaving her feeling like she doesn't belong anymore.
Line by Line Meaning
I had a king in a tenement castle
I was with a man who acted like a king even though he was living in a small and rundown apartment
Lately he's taken to painting the pastel walls brown
Recently, he has changed and become negative about everything by painting everything brown
He's taken the curtains down
He has stripped away everything that made the place look nice and comfortable for me
He's swept with the broom of contempt
He has shown his disdain and disrespect for me and our relationship
And the rooms have an empty ring
The rooms now feel hollow and lifeless without happiness or joy in them
He's cleaned with the tears
He has cleaned the space with tears of pain, discomfort, and sadness
Of an actor who fears for the laughter's sting
Someone who is trying their best to be happy, but is too aware that things won't stay that way for long
I can't go back there anymore
I cannot return to the way things were before
You know my keys won't fit the door
Even if I try to go back, I know that things will have changed too much and I won't be accepted
You know my thoughts don't fit the man
My thoughts don't match his anymore and I can't stand being near him
They never can, they never can
My thoughts cannot be the same as his, they never were and they never will be
I had a king dressed in drip-dry and paisley
I used to be with a man who wore a particular style of clothing
Lately he's taken to saying I'm crazy and blind
Recently, he has started accusing me of being insane and failing to see things clearly
He lives in another time
He is not living in the current time and is stuck in the past
Ladies in gingham still blush
He still sings about old days where things were more innocent and carefree
While he sings them of wars and wine
He still loves talking about stories filled with dramatic battles and drinking
But I in my leather and lace
I like to dress differently and am more modern in my fashion choices
I can never become that kind
I can never go back to his way of thinking, I am too different now
I had a king in a salt-rusted carriage
I was with a man who was stylish but also rusty and falling apart
Who carries me off to his country for marriage too soon
He wanted to get married and start a family very soon, which I was not ready for
Beware of the power of moons
Be wary of the influence of outside factors that may affect the relationship
There's no one to blame
There is no one person or action to blame for the ending of the relationship
No there's no one to name as a traitor here
There is no one who deliberately sabotaged the relationship, it just didn't work out
The king's on the road
The man I used to be with has moved on and is traveling on his own path
And the queen's in the grove
I am now in a new place, trying to find my own way
Till the end of the year
This journey, and possibly the healing process, will take time
Contributed by Adeline P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.