Pearls Before Swine was an American psychedelic folk band formed by Tom Rap… Read Full Bio ↴Pearls Before Swine was an American psychedelic folk band formed by Tom Rapp in 1965 in Melbourne, Florida, United States. The group signed to ESP Disk and recorded One Nation Underground, a fairly successful release that was followed by the anti-war Balaklava (1968). In the next few years, Rapp often referred onstage, not quite seriously, to the group as "the house band for the SDS" (Students for a Democratic Society). They continued to release albums and to tour until the 1970s, but Rapp retired in 1973 and became a lawyer, practising in Florida. Tom Rapp died in 2018.

Snow Queen
Pearls Before Swine Lyrics

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Rapp

She's the snow queen
She knows the ways of ice
What they did to her in her young days
Wasn't often nice
With the sand run out before us
The seagulls are the chorus

All the sounds inside the roar
Must be so lonely
We must touch each other
In our blindness
I heard the seagulls say
She wears other people's clothes in magazines
Wears other people's images
That tell her what she's seen
My snow queen has no eyes
She will see me in her mind
All the things she's left behind
Must make her lonely
We must touch each other
In our blindness
I heard the seagulls say
The men who've used her spirit
They haven't loved her
The men who've used her body
They haven't loved her
My snow queen is not free
Touch her eyes and you will see
How it is that she can be so lonely
We must touch each other
In our blindness
I heard the seagulls say
It's the things we see
That make love hard
We make blessings and runaway miracles
In the dark
We must touch each other

In our blindness
I heard the seagulls say

Overall Meaning

The song "Snow Queen" by Pearls Before Swine is a hauntingly beautiful and introspective piece that delves into the psyche of a woman who has experienced a traumatic past. The lyrics depict her as the "snow queen," someone who is cold and distant, with a deep understanding of the ways of ice. What happened to her in her youth was not often nice, and the scars of those experiences continue to haunt and define her.

The song is filled with powerful imagery, such as "the sand run out before us, the seagulls are the chorus," painting a picture of a desolate and lonely landscape. The Snow Queen is someone who wears other people's clothes and images, someone who is living a life that is not her own. The singer recognizes that she has no eyes, that she is blind to the world around her, but that she sees him in her mind.

Throughout the song, the singer recognizes the Snow Queen's loneliness and the need for human connection, stating, "we must touch each other in our blindness." The seagulls serve as a chorus, commenting on the actions of the Snow Queen and the singer, and suggesting that it is the things we see that make love hard.

Line by Line Meaning

She's the snow queen
Referring to someone with an icy exterior, who seems to be in control and emotionally unavailable.

She knows the ways of ice
She is familiar with how to be cold, distant and detached.

What they did to her in her young days wasn't often nice
She has had a difficult past, possibly with traumatic experiences that have hardened her emotionally.

With the sand run out before us, the seagulls are the chorus
As time is running out, the natural world is the only comfort we have left to sing us farewell.

All the sounds inside the roar must be so lonely
In the midst of noise, it is possible to be completely isolated internally.

We must touch each other in our blindness
We need human connection even when we cannot see our way forward.

She wears other people's clothes in magazines, wears other people's images that tell her what she's seen
She is not connected to herself, instead relying on external images to shape her identity.

My snow queen has no eyes, she will see me in her mind, all the things she's left behind must make her lonely
She is disconnected from the present and carries baggage from the past, causing loneliness.

The men who've used her spirit, they haven't loved her, the men who've used her body, they haven't loved her
Her experiences with others have been empty and devoid of true affection or love.

My snow queen is not free, touch her eyes and you will see, how it is that she can be so lonely
She is trapped by her own emotional walls, unable to connect with others deeply.

It's the things we see that make love hard, we make blessings and runaway miracles in the dark
Our perceptions and experiences shape our ability to love and connect, often leading to unexpected moments of beauty in difficult times.

We must touch each other in our blindness, I heard the seagulls say
Connection with others is essential even when we cannot see a way forward, as the natural world reminds us.

Contributed by Lila V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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