The following is the story of the song related by someone that heard the story from Nico:
When Nico was a little girl, living with her mother in Berlin during the allied bombings of World War II, her mother decided that it was safer for the two of them to move out to the countryside and stay with Nico's maternal grandfather, who was the station master of a small train station.
One day, in the middle of winter, everything covered in snow, a train transporting Jews to a concentration camp stopped by the station. The captive Jews, in the freezing cold, unaware of the fact that they were being taken to be exterminated, saw Nico, a blonde, sweet little girl playing in the snow, and smiled and waved at her, through the breaks in the planks that covered the freight train windows. That's where Frozen Warnings comes from. A childhood memory lived in innocence, but recollected with the terrible knowledge of that human and historical tragedy.
Nico's songs often travel into the past (Julius Caesar, Ghenghis Khan, etc..) but this was a dramatic moment in history that Nico witnessed in person, with all the innocence of childhood, and the horror and drama of the mature artist who remembered the event, wrote the song, and performed it in that unique style of hers which sets her apart from everything and everybody in Rock music, and that makes her an artist - with a capital A - and not just another pretty face in "Pop" music.
I know all this because she told me, and now you have the privilege to know it too, and can appreciate even more fully this song in particular and Nico's artistic greatness in a wider sense, even if recognition for it came when she had already passed away. But that's the story of many a great artist, and the way of this world, and this world only.
Frozen Warnings
Nico Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The cloudy borderline
Frozen warnings close to mine
Close to the frozen borderline
Frozen warnings close to mine
Close to the frozen borderline
Into numberless reflections
Frozen warnings close to mine
Close to the frozen borderline
Frozen warnings close to mine
Close to the frozen borderline
Over railroad station tracks
Faintly flickers a modest cry
From without a thousand cycles
A thousand cycles to come
A thousand times to win
A thousand ways to run the world
In a similar reply
Friar hermit stumbles over
The cloudy borderline
Frozen warnings close to mine
Close to the frozen borderline
Frozen warnings close to mine
Close to the frozen borderline
Close to the frozen borderline
Close to the frozen borderline
Close to the frozen borderline
The lyrics to Nico's song Frozen Warnings evoke a sense of uncertainty, melancholy, and confusion. The mysterious words articulate a sense of separation and alienation from the world, as the singer describes a hermit friar who stumbles over the cloudy borderline. Frozen warnings seem to be a warning of the impending danger and an imminent collapse. The words "close to mine" hint at a sense of proximity and impending danger. As the lyrics develop, the singer describes the reflection of a smile in their eyes that rises from "numberless reflections". There is a sense of distance, fading memories, and a temporal dimension underlying these words.
In the latter part of the song, the lyrics become even more cryptic, describing faint cries and the cycles of the world. These words suggest an abstract sense of time and the constant, ongoing changes that occur around us. The song ends with a repetition of the chorus, which reinforces the idea of the frozen borderline, highlighting a sense of isolation and detachment from the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Friar hermit stumbles over
A person who has chosen a life of solitude and simplicity is struggling.
The cloudy borderline
The division between the familiar and unknown is unclear and hazy.
Frozen warnings close to mine
Signs of danger or potential harm are present, and are personally affecting the singer.
Close to the frozen borderline
The danger felt is closely tied to the unclear boundary between safety and risk.
Into numberless reflections
The eyes of the beloved are reflected in many places and angles.
Rises a smile from your eyes into mine
The beloved smiles joyfully, and this expression is reflected and shared between the couple.
Over railroad station tracks
A potentially dangerous area is being crossed, such as a place of heavy traffic.
Faintly flickers a modest cry
There is a subtle and small expression of sadness or pain being heard.
From without a thousand cycles
The source of the cry is from far outside the artist's experience or knowledge.
A thousand cycles to come
The repetition of this cry is expected to continue indefinitely into the future.
A thousand times to win
There are many opportunities for success or victory to be achieved.
A thousand ways to run the world
There are many ways to approach and change the world or its problems.
In a similar reply
The singer has a similar response, but on a personal or internal level rather than to the outside world.
Close to the frozen borderline
The danger felt is closely tied to the unclear boundary between safety and risk.
Close to the frozen borderline
The danger felt is closely tied to the unclear boundary between safety and risk.
Close to the frozen borderline
The danger felt is closely tied to the unclear boundary between safety and risk.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHRISTA PAEFFGEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@TitusPazmany
Friar hermit stumbles over
The cloudy borderline
Frozen warnings close to mine
Close to the frozen borderline
Frozen warnings close to mine
Close to the frozen borderline
Into numberless reflections
Rises a smile from your eyes into mine
Frozen warnings close to mine
Close to the frozen borderline
Frozen warnings close to mine
Close to the frozen borderline
Over railroad station tracks
Faintly flickers a modest cry
From without a thousand cycles
A thousand cycles to come
A thousand times to win
A thousand ways to run the world
In a similar reply
Friar hermit stumbles over
The cloudy borderline
Frozen warnings close to mine
Close to the frozen borderline
Frozen warnings close to mine
Close to the frozen borderline
Close to the frozen borderline
Close to the frozen borderline
Close to the frozen borderline
@greatsewing6061
One of the most haunting songs ever written by Nico and recorded by the genius of John Cale
@gemmamcclure4703
Great sewing - every album John cale touched was pure gold. He is an actual genius!
@gemmamcclure4703
I LOVE this song. Sounds like it could have been made today, totally timeless
@grimble6261
Nico was pure art, the voice, the music, everything.
@onnionfrance1227
NICO ICON
@hankmobley
Yes
@FrogJuiceJustice
So true grimble
@ForARide
John Cale's musical genius once more at display. This guy over the past five decades has always been creative and inventive, unlike anybody else.
@alastairwest5200
@@realplonk AWESOME
@p.n__
@@realplonk Even if that's true, it doesn't mean her music has any less artistic merit or can't be praised