Recessional
Vienna Teng Lyrics
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"This moment now and this moment, now."
And I never thought I would find her here:
Flannel and satin, my four walls transformed.
But she's looking at me, straight to center,
No room at all for any other thought.
And I know I don't want this, oh, I swear I don't want this.
In the terminal she sleeps on my shoulder,
Hair falling forward, mouth all askew.
Fluorescent announcements beat their wings overhead:
"Passengers missing, we're looking for you."
And she dreams through the noise, her weight against me,
Face pressed into the corduroy grooves.
Maybe it means nothing, maybe it means nothing,
Maybe it means nothing, but I'm afraid to move.
And the words: they're everything and nothing.
I want to search for her in the offhand remarks.
Who are you, taking coffee, no sugar?
Who are you, echoing street signs?
Who are you, the stranger in the shell of a lover,
Dark curtains drawn by the passage of time?
Oh, words, like rain, how sweet the sound.
"Well anyway," she says, "I'll see you around..."
The lyrics of Vienna Teng's song Recessional showcases the confusing and conflicting emotions that arise when two people find themselves in a situation that they had not anticipated. The first verse describes the singer's enjoyment of the moment with her lover as she admires her surroundings, and her lover's transformed look sitting nearby. However, the singer's conflicting emotions come through as she states that she does not want what is happening but has forgotten why. This could be interpreted as her having reservations concerning the relationship but still getting caught up in the moment.
In the second verse, the singer's relationship is seen in the context of what happens when they part ways. She finds herself at an airport next to her lover, who is asleep on her shoulder, as announcements are made for missing passengers. However, she does not move as she is afraid to disturb her. She highlights the importance of words in relationships by posing questions about her lover's likes and preferences, and the significance of the stranger she has become in her life.
One can infer that the song is about the complexities of romantic relationships, particularly the push-and-pull between self-preservation and falling in love. The singer is part of a relationship that she both wants and fears, and she expresses this through the song's melancholic melody and pensive lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
It's so beautiful here," she says,
She comments on the beauty of the present moment in which she finds herself.
"This moment now and this moment, now."
She emphasizes that the present moment is continuously unfolding and that she is enjoying it.
And I never thought I would find her here:
The singer is surprised to find the person they are with in this present moment.
Flannel and satin, my four walls transformed.
The artist's environment has been transformed by the presence of the person they are with.
But she's looking at me, straight to center,
The person the artist is with is focused solely on the artist.
No room at all for any other thought.
The person they are with is completely present in the moment and not distracted by anything else.
And I know I don't want this, oh, I swear I don't want this.
The singer is conflicted about their feelings towards the present moment and the person they are with.
There's a reason not to want this but I forgot.
The artist knows there are reasons they should not want what they are experiencing, but they can't recall the specifics at the moment.
In the terminal she sleeps on my shoulder,
The person the artist is with is resting on their shoulder in the terminal.
Hair falling forward, mouth all askew.
The person they are with is in a relaxed state and their hair is falling on their face.
Fluorescent announcements beat their wings overhead:
The airport announcements are intrusive and are disrupting the tranquil moment shared by the singer and the person with them.
"Passengers missing, we're looking for you."
The announcements are announcing that some passengers are missing and are being searched for.
And she dreams through the noise, her weight against me,
The person the singer is with is in a peaceful state and leaning against the singer, unaware of the noise around them.
Face pressed into the corduroy grooves.
The person they are with has their face pressed against the corduroy grooves of the singer's clothing.
Maybe it means nothing, maybe it means nothing,
The singer is questioning the significance of the present moment.
Maybe it means nothing, but I'm afraid to move.
The artist is hesitant to move and disturb the tranquil moment shared with the person they are with.
And the words: they're everything and nothing.
The artist acknowledges the power and the lack of importance that words hold.
I want to search for her in the offhand remarks.
The singer wants to look for clues about the person they are with in the things they casually say.
Who are you, taking coffee, no sugar?
The singer is asking the person they are with who they really are by making small talk about their coffee preference.
Who are you, echoing street signs?
The artist wants to know who the person they are with really is and turns to the things they say, even if they may not be significant.
Who are you, the stranger in the shell of a lover,
The artist is unsure of who the person they are with really is, despite the fact that they are lovers.
Dark curtains drawn by the passage of time?
The artist questions whether the person they are with is a true reflection of themselves or whether their true selves have been shrouded by life's experiences and time.
Oh, words, like rain, how sweet the sound.
The singer reflects the beauty of words and how they can evoke emotions and memories.
"Well anyway," she says, "I'll see you around..."
The person the artist is with makes a casual statement about meeting up again in the future, which the artist takes note of as a potentially significant indicator of what their relationship may be.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: VIENNA TENG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Avoidant
For me, this is about reuniting with someone the speaker used to be really really close to, whom they harbor unresolved feelings for. Maybe it ended badly or something and the parting wasn't mutual. But now quite a bit of time has passed, enough for the initiator of the breakup to feel like the speaker must be over it. The speaker isn't even on their mind anymore really, and so they see nothing wrong with getting too close and sleeping on the speaker's shoulder in a crowded terminal. The speaker realizes it shouldn't mean anything, and even admits, "I swear I don't want this, there's a reason not to want this," as they struggle against reopening old wounds by falling for this person all over again.
The sadness compounds as they spend a little more time together and the speaker realizes that the person she once loved isn't even there anymore. She's there physically, but the
personhas changed dramatically. And so the speaker desperately searches for that person she used to love, in the little breadcrumbs of their conversation. Words and cues that mean nothing on the surface, become everything as the speaker desperately struggles to find a glimpse of the person they used to know, somewhere in that "shell of a lover." But there's nothing. They've changed so much. They take their coffee different. They don't get lost anymore; they can "echo street signs." The person they once were, and the person the speaker loved and hoped to truly reunite with, has been closed off by time. Curtains drawn.I love the final lines of this. "Oh words, like rain. How sweet the sound. 'Well anyway,' she says, 'I'll see you around.'"
Their conversation, however short, felt like infinite rain. Nourishing and cleansing and sweet, but ultimately yielding none of what the speaker searched for. Some might argue that she finds closure in the fact that her lover of the past doesn't exist anymore, and that's definitely up to interpretation, but I think the vocals and the instrumentals that follow the final lines are so heart breakingly sad that there's just no way to look at it like the speaker came away feeling better from the exchange.
Interestingly enough, the term "recessional" refers to a song done at the end of a church service to close it out. It's the last song on the album "Dreaming Through the Noise," so it accomplishes its meaning literally, but figuratively as well, it acts as the closing point to a couple's relationship.
I really really like this song.
Graham H.
"There's a reason not to want this, but I forgot." "Maybe it means nothing, but I'm afraid to move." Those lines give me huge chills.
rebecca C
My favorite part of this song is the last line. The rest of the song is so personal, and so heavy and introspective, and that end line snaps it back to reality with the most casual good bye:. "Anyway,I'll see you around."
Paleio
It took me exactly 23 listens of this song before I broke down completely. The first two were fine. The third gave me goosebumps. The fourth brought tears to my eyes twice, so did the fifth and sixth and seventh and so on. Then, on my 23rd listen, I looked up the lyrics, lay down, and closed my eyes.
I cried the entire song and then several minutes afterwards
Chuong Vu
I don't remember how I discovered Vienna Teng in 2007 but here I am 11 years later still listening to, in my opinion, her best song.
Avoidant
The imagery in this song is fantastic. Especially the terminal scene. It's such an insignificant scene in the grand scheme of things -- just one person resting her head against another person's shoulder -- but the image remains, weeks after hearing the song, crisp as if remembered from a photograph rather than words in a song. I can listen to this on repeat all day and never tire of it.
tukikagami
This is quite possibly my favorite song ever. It is just so haunting.
msjeopardy24
for me this song is about an unrequited love with someone ur not supposed to love..sometimes when we are desperately in love with someone but afraid to say it.. every thing that person does meant so much more for us than what it trully meant..And this lines..she dreams through the noise, her weight against me, Face pressed into the corduroy grooves. Maybe it means nothing, maybe it means nothing, Maybe it means nothing, but I'm afraid to move..lol.. felt that a few times before..
salmonheadbutterball
I've met her, and unfortunately I was unable to produce the words to say, "You are the reason why I write music." Songs like this actually mean something, and that's why I love them. <3
anna collin
this is such a beautiful song. the lyrics are dreamily realistic..
28Hannah
this made me cry, tears streaming down my cheeks... this song is so beautiful!