With some mild success with singles during the mid-late 1960s, Bunyan released the LP, Just Another Diamond Day, in 1970. This consisted of songs written while traveling in a horse drawn gypsy cart. Critics panned the album and a discouraged Vashti soon disappeared from the music scene. However, by the 2000s her work had finally been finding an audience among contemporary artists and fans of folk music.
In 2002, she was invited by Piano Magic musician Glen Johnson to sing guest vocals on his song "Crown of the Lost", her first recording in over 30 years. After guesting on Piano Magic's album 'Writers Without Homes', she released her critically-acclaimed second album, Lookaftering, 35 years after its predecessor.
In 2006 she collaborated with Adem and began to tour for the first time, accompanied by various musicians including Jo Mango and Gareth Dickson. She collaborated with Animal Collective on the Prospect Hummer EP. Vashti also sang with Devendra Banhart on his album Rejoicing in the Hands.
Bunyan's cover of the late John Martyn's "Head and Heart" appeared on the 2011 tribute album, Johnny Boy Would Love This...A Tribute to John Martyn.
Love Song
Vashti Bunyan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Thinking somewhere else of what ought to be
When they're suddenly blue for a moment of time
Then the color goes when you look at me
I love your hands as a part of you
As they write a word just by staying still
When you talk they move, painting what you say
I love your hair in the dark it's soft
In the light it moves, red and green are brown
All the time it takes for a night to pass
And a lifetime grows as the day comes down
I love you now as you don't love me
I can't let you know you're too far away
But I wonder now just what did you see
When you looked at me in that loveless way
In Vashti Bunyan's Love Song, she expresses her love for someone who doesn't reciprocate those feelings. Bunyan begins by describing her admiration for the person's eyes when they look away, as if they are lost in thought and contemplating something that they wish could be. She then notes how their eyes suddenly become blue when they return to the present moment but quickly fade in color when they meet her gaze.
The admiration continues with Bunyan praising her love's hands for their ability to communicate through stillness, such as when they write a word, and through movement when they gesture during a conversation. She believes that through their hands, she can understand more than words could ever convey.
Lastly, Bunyan remarks on her love's hair, how it's soft in the dark, and how it moves and changes colors in the light. She notes how time seems to stand still when they're together, and how within a lifetime, a day can pass. She expresses her love for this person, even though they don't feel the same way, and wonders what they see when they look at her with a loveless gaze.
Overall, Bunyan's Love Song is a beautiful and heartfelt expression of love that acknowledges the pain of one-sided love. It is a romantic yet bittersweet reflection on the beauty of the person she loves and the sadness that comes with not being loved in return.
Line by Line Meaning
I love your eyes when you look away
I appreciate the moments when your eyes are focused on something else instead of me
Thinking somewhere else of what ought to be
Your gaze reflects your thoughts about things that should happen outside of our relationship
When they're suddenly blue for a moment of time
Sometimes, your eyes shift to the blue hue momentarily, and I find it captivating
Then the color goes when you look at me
But when you look at me, the blue disappears, and I feel like you are distant
I love your hands as a part of you
I admire your hands as an extension of you
As they write a word just by staying still
Even when your hands are still, I feel like they are telling a story with the lines and curves they possess
When you talk they move, painting what you say
When you speak, your hands move with the words, and I can see them illustrating the thoughts you are expressing
So I understand more than words can tell
Your hands make me comprehend beyond the actual words being spoken
I love your hair in the dark it's soft
I am fond of how tender and gentle your hair feels in the darkness of the night
In the light it moves, red and green are brown
In the light, I see the different shades and highlights of your hair, sometimes appearing reddish, greenish, or brownish
All the time it takes for a night to pass
Throughout the whole night, the comforting quality of your hair lasts
And a lifetime grows as the day comes down
As the day ends, the passing of time signifies the growth of our relationship and the memories we create
I love you now as you don't love me
Even though you don't reciprocate the same feeling, I love you intensely nonetheless
I can't let you know you're too far away
Despite my love, I cannot express it to you since you are emotionally distanced from me
But I wonder now just what did you see
I am curious regarding what you are observing or judging within me when you gaze my way
When you looked at me in that loveless way
When you look at me with a lack of affection, it leaves me questioning your actual thoughts and feelings towards me.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CARL TERRELL MITCHELL, JAMAL F. JONES, JASON LAMONT PERRY, SEAN GARRETT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@agnese6067
I love your eyes when you look away
Thinking somewhere else of what ought to be
When they're suddenly blue for a moment of time
Then the color goes when you look at me
I love your hands as a part of you
As they write a word just by staying still
When you talk they move, painting what you say
So I understand more than words can tell
I love your hair in the dark it's soft
In the light it moves, red and green are brown
All the time it takes for a night to pass
And a lifetime grows as the day comes down
I love you now as you don't love me
I can't let you know you're too far away
But I wonder now just what did you see
When you looked at me in that loveless way
@finna.h7944
I love your hair in the dark it's soft
In the light it moves, red and green are brown
All the time it takes for a night to pass
And a lifetime grows as the day comes down
I love you now as you don't love me
I can't let you know you're too far away
But I wonder now just what did you see
When you looked at me in that loveless way
@yoapi
I love your eyes when you look away
Thinking somewhere else of what ought to be
When they’re suddenly blue for a moment of time
Then the colour goes when you look at me
I love your hands as a part of you
As they write a word just by staying still
When you talk they move, painting what you say
So I understand more than words can tell
@ixypsilon7864
◇ Love Song:
Ich liebe deine Augen, wenn du wegschaust
Die etwas anderes sehen, was sein sollte
Wenn sie plötzlich für einen Moment blau sind
Dann verblasst die Farbe, wenn du mich ansiehst
Ich liebe deine Hände als einen Teil von dir
Wenn sie ein Wort nur schreiben, indem sie still bleiben
Wenn du redest, bewegen sie sich und malen, was du sagst
Also verstehe ich mehr als Worte sagen können
Ich liebe deine Haare in der Dunkelheit, es ist weich
Im Licht bewegt es sich, von rot nach grün zu braun
Es dauert eine Zeit , bis eine Nacht vorüber ist
Und ein Leben wächst, wenn der Tag kommt
Ich liebe dich jetzt, wie du mich nicht liebst
Ich kann dich nicht wissen lassen, dass du zu weit weg bist
Aber ich frage mich jetzt nur, was du gesehen hast
Als du mich so lieblos angeschaut hast
@YAUHENIBASISTY
я скучаю по летнему
домику
по тебе
но ты так далеко
дверь захлопнулась
ты уже прошлое
для тебя
и меня больше нет
отношения были серьёзными
мы мечтали
быть только вдвоём
поцелуи
объятия
бутонами
раскрывались
любовь
словно солнце
пока мы живём♥️♥️
@agnese6067
I love your eyes when you look away
Thinking somewhere else of what ought to be
When they're suddenly blue for a moment of time
Then the color goes when you look at me
I love your hands as a part of you
As they write a word just by staying still
When you talk they move, painting what you say
So I understand more than words can tell
I love your hair in the dark it's soft
In the light it moves, red and green are brown
All the time it takes for a night to pass
And a lifetime grows as the day comes down
I love you now as you don't love me
I can't let you know you're too far away
But I wonder now just what did you see
When you looked at me in that loveless way
@thegloriousmoodman2152
Ohh....
@noneOfUrBussines12
^thank u
@sadeva6532
This is one of the most beautiful declarations of love ever. Stunning.
@carleyacker
this reminds me of the first person I fell in love with. She was so beautiful and graceful, studious, and different from everyone else. 5 years I was in love with her...5 years I kept silent. I even played matchmaker with men she seemed really interested in because I knew me being a woman, she'd never be interested... might even be appalled. Her happiness, her smile, everything was worth the hurt I went through for those 5 years...I thought I would have rather be near her as a friend than someone she's disgusted with.
I believe she found out shortly after I moved out of state, I'm unsure... she cut me out of her life with no explanation... I've of course moved on....I've just found this artist and she seems to have experienced so much and she's recounting these experiences through song to relate to us... she understands the pain. Vashti, your music has touched me deeply.
@MrSason
Carley Acker I hope that some how you found your happiness
@rexzens
Tell me about it
@abdesakib4424
You are lesbian?
@uri8388
@Pete Lavender she literally exclaimed in the comment that she's a woman, what???
@Dani92670
@Symmetra Vaswani LOL, and I really am LOL, not just using the disgustingly overused expression/acronym.