Photojournalist
Small Black Lyrics

What had become of
The first line of the song sets a mysterious tone that suggests something important or significant has been lost, buried, or forgotten.

The woman who lingered around
The woman may have had a significant presence in the singer's life at one point, or perhaps she was a stranger who captured the singer's attention.

In the photo
The woman is known only through a photograph, emphasizing the theme of loss and the fleeting nature of memory.

The daughter of Diane
This line suggests a familial connection between the artist and the woman, adding more depth to the mystery and loss.

Would never ever be bound
The woman represents a free spirit, someone who refused to be constrained or held back by conventional expectations.

To the basic
The singer contrasts the woman's free spirit with the constraints and limitations of society's norms and expectations.

To rise up again
The repetition of this phrase suggests a desire for renewal, rebirth, or a fresh start.

Like a ghost
This simile emphasizes how the woman's presence feels intangible and haunting, like a memory that can't be fully grasped.

I saw it
This line adds to the sense of a hidden or obscured truth that is gradually being revealed.

Here with me
This line suggests that the woman's ghostly presence is most strongly felt by the artist, who may be struggling to come to terms with the loss.

You will stop
This command suggests that the singer is actively pushing away or trying to dismiss the woman's presence.

I'm not ready to know who she was was ooo oooh
This repetition of the same line underscores the artist's hesitance to confront the truth behind the woman's presence, suggesting a fear of loss or perhaps a reluctance to fully engage with the past.

There is a difference between
The shift in perspective here suggests that the singer is now speaking more generically or philosophically about the nature of truth and reality.

What you want them to know
This line references the idea that people can choose to present a certain image of themselves to the world, selectively curating their own identities.

And what they have to know
This line underscores the idea that there may be a discrepancy between the image people project and the reality of who they are.

There in the mirror
This line suggests that the artist is examining their own image, perhaps reflecting on their own identity or relationship to the past.

Reality never was found
This line suggests that the truth may be elusive or difficult to grasp, and that our memories may be colored by our own biases and perceptions.

From the waist up
This specific detail suggests that the woman may be partially obscured, emphasizing the sense of mystery and incompleteness surrounding her.

To rise up again
The repetition of this phrase reiterates the desire for renewal or a fresh start, suggesting a theme of transformation and growth.

Like a ghost
This simile returns us to the idea of the woman's presence as evanescent and haunting, highlighting the ethereal and intangible nature of memory.

It started to
The use of the impersonal pronoun underscores the sense of inevitability or fate as the woman's presence grows stronger.

Stop I'm not ready to know who she was ooo oooh
The repetition of this line signifies the artist's reluctance to face the truth or engage fully with the past, underscoring the theme of loss and the fragility of memory.