Rothery met Hannah Stobart during the Brave tour after a gig in Bristol with some fellow musicians. Shortly afterwards she sent him a tape containing her versions of a song by All About Eve together with "Me And A Gun" by Tori Amos. In her voice, he says, "I finally found what I had been looking for for years: a cross between Kate Bush and Tori Amos: vocal purity! On top of that Hannah's a very clever girl [she's studied French and Italian at a university in France], she doesn't have an ego, she looks enchanting and it's a pleasure to work with her."
The long awaited second album 'Ostara' will be released in march 2009. The Wishing Tree will perform at the Marillionweekends (see www.marillionweekend.com) in both CenterParcs Port Zélande (Netherlands) and Montreal Canada.
Starfish
The Wishing Tree Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You were a fisherman
Chucking up water
All undone me
Down on the beach
You showed me the starfish
You pulled their legs off
One by one
Oh what it is to be
So much nicer than you seem
So much nicer than you
Your aspidistra gave me asthma
I stayed for the weekend
All undone chinese laudry
Splishee spashee
At least I got my washing done
Oh what it is to be
So much cleaner than you seem
So much cleaner than you
We were the local
Joke of the nightclubs
Never a day
Without some scene
Who wrote the book of love
I wonder who wrote the lines
We read between
Oh what it is to be
So much wiser than you seem
So much wiser than you
You cheat on me and
I cheat on you and
All our friends pass
The message on
Down on the beach
I look at the starfish
Pull all their legs off
One by one
Oh what it is to be
So in love and so alone
Oh what it is to be
So in love with you
The Wishing Tree's song "Starfish" tells a story of a tumultuous relationship between two people from different worlds: the singer, who identifies as a princess, and their partner, who is a fisherman. The couple's differences are highlighted in various ways throughout the song. The fisherman's roughness toward starfish, reflected in his practice of pulling off their legs one by one, is juxtaposed with the princess's gentle curiosity towards the creatures. Additionally, the fisherman's unrefined lifestyle, represented through references to Chinese laundry and the aspidistra plant, which caused the princess asthma, is set against the princess's seemingly cleaner and more sophisticated existence.
As the song progresses, the couple's relationship disintegrates further, as they cheat on one another and become the source of gossip and drama amongst their social circle. Despite this dysfunction, the lyrics suggest a lingering love between the two: the princess muses about the wisdom and depth that comes from loving someone so imperfect and isolating.
Overall, "Starfish" is a poignant meditation on the complexities and contradictions that often accompany romance. The lyrics employ vivid imagery to capture the nuances of the characters' personalities as well as the beauty and brutality of their relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
I was a princess
I held myself like a royalty
You were a fisherman
You were a hardworking person, who earned a living from fishing
Chucking up water
You were pulling fish out of the water
All undone me
Your work made me feel weak
Down on the beach
We were at the seashore
You showed me the starfish
You pointed at the starfish in the sea, letting me discover their existence
You pulled their legs off
You grabbed the starfish and removed their limbs one by one
Oh what it is to be
So much nicer than you seem
So much nicer than you
I take pride in my kind personality that outmatches one's initial impression of me
Your aspidistra gave me asthma
Your aspidistra plant caused me to have an asthma attack
I stayed for the weekend
I was a guest for a couple of days
All undone chinese laudry
Splishee spashee
At least I got my washing done
I went to a Chinese laundry, which left me feeling messed up despite getting my laundry done
We were the local
Joke of the nightclubs
We were known as a laughing stock in the nightclubs around the town
Never a day
Without some scene
We always had some kind of drama happening between us
Who wrote the book of love
I wonder who wrote the lines
We read between
We question the author of the book of love, and the lines in it that we try to interpret
Oh what it is to be
So much wiser than you seem
So much wiser than you
I consider myself smarter than my initial appearance suggests
You cheat on me and
I cheat on you and
All our friends pass
The message on
We both cheat on each other, and our mutual friends share this secret between them
Down on the beach
I look at the starfish
Pull all their legs off
One by one
I revisit the beach and destroy the starfish one by one, as an act of rage
Oh what it is to be
So in love and so alone
Oh what it is to be
So in love with you
I realize that despite our issues and infidelities, I still love and care for you deeply
Contributed by Molly N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
nyvroalemap antness
I was a princess
You were a fisherman
Chucking up water
All undone me
Down on the beach
You showed me the starfish
You pulled their legs off
One by one
Oh what it is to be
So much nicer than you seem
So much nicer than you
Your aspidistra gave me asthma
I stayed for the weekend
All undone chinese laudry
Splishee spashee
At least I got my washing done
Oh what it is to be
So much cleaner than you seem
So much cleaner than you
We were the local
Joke of the nightclubs
Never a day
Without some scene
Who wrote the book of love
I wonder who wrote the lines
We read between
Oh what it is to be
So much wiser than you seem
So much wiser than you
You cheat on me and
I cheat on you and
All our friends pass
The message on
Down on the beach
I look at the starfish
Pull all their legs off
One by one
Oh what it is to be
So in love and so alone
Oh what it is to be
So in love with you
Stevek552
I love this song, I love this band... Thank you for the memories..