From the promotional CD Scarlet Stories:
"I think that there is a place where she [Scarlet] realizes that people come in and out of your life. Sometimes for a day, sometimes for longer. And all of them make you what you are. You can't separate these people out of you. They form who you are. Even the ones that you kind of say well... you know, I don't know if I wanna be formed by them anymore. (laughs) But you are in some way. You are. That's why, maybe, you don't have to look at them so harshly because they have affected you. At the end, though, you know... it's us as individuals with our... mm... with our love for the land. For something intangible, that when soulmates come and go, you're never alone even when you're standing just you in your shoes, because you carry them with you.
"A Sorta Fairytale" finds Scarlet back in LA with a man she has convinced herself is her life's soul mate.
They take the big trip in the classic car up the Pacific Coast highway and across the desert. But as they go on, the masks drop away and they discover the fantasy they have of each other isn't who they really are.
They end up back where they started and Scarlet leaves.
They did care. But somehow they lost each other. Which is why it's only "A Sorta Fairytale." - [Scarlet's Walk bio]"
In a 2009 interview, Amos was asked about the meaning of one of the lines:
Interviewer: I have to ask you this because it's been killing me for the past five years. On the song A Sorta Fairytale ... you sing about pulling back the hood. Are you talking about the hood I think you're talking about?
Amos: Oh, I want you to think whatever you want to think.
Interviewer: That is not an answer!
Amos: I want you to take it there! I want you to take it there!
Interviewer: Because then when you sing about tasting heaven perfectly—
Amos: And my mom thinks it's talking about a convertible! And you know what? Let's just let her think that.
The music video, directed by Sanji, features Amos, as a head attached to a disembodied leg, falling in love with another head attached to a disembodied arm (played by Adrien Brody). The two creatures show signs of romantic interest in one another, until the arm accidentally hurts the leg's feelings by laughing at her crooked fifth toe. The leg then flees by jumping onto a passing skateboard, and ends up alone on a deserted beach. The arm finds her and they consummate their love with a deep kiss. The act of kissing causes the arm and leg to suddenly start swelling up and grow their extra body parts—they finally become complete, "whole" humans by realizing their love.
A Sorta Fairytale
Tori Amos Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Up on the Ventura
Pulled back the hood
And I was talking to you
And I knew then it would be
A life long thing
But I didn't know that we
We could break a silver lining
And I'm so sad
Like a good book
I can't put this day back
A sorta fairytale with you (a sorta fairytale with you)
A sorta fairytale with you
Things you said that day
Up on the one-oh-one
The girl come undone
I tried to downplay it
With a bet about us
You said that you'd take it
As long as I could
I could not erase it
And I'm so sad
Like a good book
I can't put this day back
A sorta fairytale with you
A sorta fairytale with you
And I ride alongside you then
And I rode alongside you then
And I rode along side 'till you lost me there in the open road
And I rode along side till the honey spread itself so thin
For me to break your bread
For me to take your word
I had to steal it
And I'm so sad
Like a good book
I can't put this day back
A sorta fairytale with you (a sorta fairytale with you)
I could pick back up whenever I feel
Down New Mexico way
Something about the open road
I knew that he was looking for some Indian blood and
Find a little in you find a little in me
we may be on this road but
We're just impostors in this country you know
So we go along and we said we'd fake it
Feel better with Oliver Stone
Till I almost smacked him seemed right that night and
I don't know what takes hold
Out there in the desert cold
These guys think they must
Try and just get over on us
And I'm so sad
Like a good book
I can't put this day back
A sorta fairytale with you (A sorta fairytale with you
A sorta fairytale with you
And I was ridin' by
Ridin' along side
For a while till you lost me
And I was ridin' by
Ridin' along till you lost me
'Till you lost Me in The rear view
You lost me I said
Way up North I took my day
All in all was a pretty nice day and
I put the hood right back where
You could taste heaven perfectly
Feel out the summer breeze
Didn't know when we'd be back and I
I don't, didn't think
We'd end up like
Like this
The song "A Sorta Fairytale" by Tori Amos is rich with complex and cryptic themes. The singer tells a story about a long car ride and a conversation with someone, that led to a relationship that would continue for a long time, yet she was not aware of the pain that lay ahead. The opening lyrics talk about driving up north, and the Ventura highway, which is a reference to a scenic drive that follows the Pacific Coast Highway in Southern California. The hood of the car is pulled back, indicating an openness to the world around them. The conversation is a pivotal moment that changes their lives forever. They fall in love, but the journey ahead is fraught with unexpected sadness.
The song deals with themes of love, loss, and the inability to reverse past events. The chorus, "A sorta fairytale with you," represents the idea that love often feels like a fairy tale, but not all fairy tales have happy endings. The bridge of the song takes a dark turn, as the singer steals from the person they are with. This suggests that there is more to the story, and that there may be a sense of betrayal at play. The latter half of the song delves into the complexities of relationships, how they are ever-changing and how they can lead us down unexpected paths.
Line by Line Meaning
On my way up north
While heading to a place in the north
Up on the Ventura
On the Ventura highway
Pulled back the hood
Opened up the hood of the vehicle
And I was talking to you
Engaged in a conversation with someone
And I knew then it would be
A life long thing
Realized that the conversation was going to be a long-lasting connection
But I didn't know that we
We could break a silver lining
Didn't anticipate that the situation will turn sour
And I'm so sad
Like a good book
I can't put this day back
A sorta fairytale with you (a sorta fairytale with you)
A sorta fairytale with you
Expressing a feeling of melancholy as if wanting to undo the day; portraying the day as a partly imaginary, partly realistic fairy tale-like story
Things you said that day
Up on the one-oh-one
Remembering the things spoken during the trip on the highway named one-oh-one
The girl come undone
I tried to downplay it
The girl being emotionally touched, but the artist tried to not to let it show
With a bet about us
You said that you'd take it
As long as I could
I could not erase it
A wager was made about their relationship, but that cannot be erased from memory
And I ride alongside you then
And I rode alongside you then
And I rode along side 'till you lost me there in the open road
And I rode along side till the honey spread itself so thin
For me to break your bread
For me to take your word
I had to steal it
Narrating the travel partner's exit and the sudden change in behavior of that person which the singer had to resort to trickery to learn the true intention of the former
And I'm so sad
Like a good book
I can't put this day back
A sorta fairytale with you
A sorta fairytale with you
The repeated visuals of sadness and a fairy tale
Down New Mexico way
Something about the open road
After heading to a place in New Mexico, which possibly confused things
I knew that he was looking for some Indian blood and
Find a little in you find a little in me
we may be on this road but
We're just impostors in this country you know
So we go along and we said we'd fake it
Feel better with Oliver Stone
Till I almost smacked him seemed right that night and
I don't know what takes hold
Out there in the desert cold
These guys think they must
Try and just get over on us
Narrating an incident on the road where some people might have been engaged in cultural appropriation, and there was someone with the singer who may have been a cause of a conflict
And I'm so sad
Like a good book
I can't put this day back
A sorta fairytale with you (A sorta fairytale with you
A sorta fairytale with you
Again, feeling melancholic and regarding the day as a partly imaginary, partly realistic fairy tale-like story
And I was ridin' by
Ridin' along side
For a while till you lost me
And I was ridin' by
Ridin' along till you lost me
'Till you lost Me in The rear view
You lost me I said
The moment where the travel partner leaves the artist abruptly
Way up North I took my day
All in all was a pretty nice day and
I put the hood right back where
You could taste heaven perfectly
Feel out the summer breeze
Didn't know when we'd be back and I
I don't, didn't think
We'd end up like
Like this
Returning to a place up north, and now thinking that the day was a great one, imbued with heavenly pleasures; never thinking then, that it would end up the way it has now
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: MYRA ELLEN AMOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@psalm51.3
A SORTA FAIRYTALE
On my way up north
Up on the ventura
I pulled back the hood
And I was talking to you
And I knew then it would be
A life long thing
But I didn't know that we
We could break a silver lining
And I'm so sad
Like a good book
I can't put this day back
A sorta fairytale
With you
Things you said that day
Up on the 101
The girl had come undone
I tried to downplay it
With a bet about us
You said that-
You'd take it
As long as I could
I could not erase it
And I'm so sad
Like a good book
I can't put this day back
A sorta fairytale
With you
And I ride along side
And I rode along side
You then
And I rode along side
Till you lost me there
In the open road
And I rode along side
Till the honey spread
Itself so thin
For me to break your bread
For me to take your word
I had to steal it
I could pick back up
Whenever I feel
@sammamoni
2023 and this song still does it for me. Thank you Tori x
@brandonmoore7497
Tori Amos A Sorta Fairytale mid January 2023
@martas1981
(✿◡‿◡)(✿◡‿◡)(✿◡‿◡)
@DinAmri
@@brandonmoore7497 fairy talling summer 2023, manchester, England :)
@ashn8908
@@brandonmoore7497s
@zoel5223
@@DinAmria sorta fairytale sept 2023 socal!
@marizamistola6153
2024 and I'm still here. love Tori ❤
@brandonmoore7497
I’m listening to Tori Amos A Sorta Fairytale 1st day of March 2024
2:58
@Silvos22
As I understand this, she felt odd and incomplete, then she found someone who was also feeling incomplete but she ran away because of her insecurities. then he went after her and they completed each other
@gwenlamb3853
I love this song I listen to it and saying to it all the time this song reminds me so much of a girl I knew when I was fourteen she was amazing person and she loved Torrie amos this song makes me think about her Everytime I listen to it I never saw her again not long after I turned fifteen but I've always wished her a very good life and happiness and I've never forgot her and the friendship we had Jesse ware ever you are this song is for you and I've never forgot you ever