Vincent
Vonda Shepard Lyrics

Starry, starry night.
The song begins by painting a picture of a beautiful, starry night sky.

Paint your palette blue and grey,
The colors of the painting are limited to blue and grey shades that bring out the mood of the night.

Look out on a summer's day,
The lyrics imagine Vincent Van Gogh, the painter of the famous Starry Night piece, looking out on a summer day for inspiration.

With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.
To see beauty in the world, one must also understand the darker, sadder aspects of life.

Shadows on the hills,
The hills are adorned with dark and light shades and painted in such a way that they suggest depth and perspective.

Sketch the trees and the daffodils,
Vincent's drawings and paintings brought to life the beauty of nature by skillfully capturing every detail and specific color shades.

Catch the breeze and the winter chills,
Even the cold breezes of winter have a beauty in them that Vincent attempted to capture through his unique perspective.

In colors on the snowy linen land.
Vincent captured the raw beauty of the world down to every detail, with his paintings portrayed on snowy linen.

Now I understand what you tried to say to me,
The lyrics suggest that the artist has finally come to understand the deeper meaning and message behind Vincent's art.

How you suffered for your sanity,
The lyrics suggest that Vincent struggled with his mental health and anxiety, which was evident in his artwork and life story.

How you tried to set them free.
Vincent’s struggle did not stop him from creating artwork that was beyond its time, which he hoped would inspire and set people free emotionally.

They would not listen, they did not know how.
Despite his efforts, people did not understand his work and were not able to appreciate its brilliance fully.

Perhaps they'll listen now.
The lyrics offer hope that people will start to appreciate and understand Vincent's work in the future.

Flaming flowers that brightly blaze,
The lyrics paint an image of brightly blazing flowers in a blue and grey background, bringing out the vividness of nature’s beauty.

Swirling clouds in violet haze,
The lyrics talk of the swirling clouds that propel the imagination and bring out surreal creativity in Van Gogh's art.

Reflect in Vincent's eyes of China blue.
Vincent painted his own beauty in China blue, an exciting shade that represented his emotions and unique identity.

Colors changing hue, morning field of amber grain,
Vincent was famous for his colorful renditions of nature, which he created by changing the hues and portraying reality in a unique way.

Weathered faces lined in pain,
In Van Gogh's art, the depictions of people reflected their emotions, and their weathered faces were symbolic of the pain they carried, which he painted to capture their truth.

Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand.
Vincent's artwork brought comfort and peace to the people he painted, symbolizing the power of art to heal and uplift the spirits.

For they could not love you,
The lyrics suggest people did not understand Vincent's brilliance and hence couldn't love him the way he deserved.

But still your love was true.
Despite the world's inability to understand his art, Vincent continued to create art with pure love and passion, which is a reflection of his true self.

And when no hope was left in sight
The song sets up a melancholic mood by painting a picture of hopelessness that Van Gogh experienced due to his unappreciated art.

On that starry, starry night,
The night Van Gogh took his life is often associated with the Starry Night painting, which is a potent reminder of his fateful ending.

You took your life, as lovers often do.
Vincent's life ended tragically at the age of 37, via his own hands, which often happens when someone loves something entirely, but it's unreciprocated or unappreciated.

But I could have told you, Vincent,
The lyrics suggest that the singer had a better understanding of Vincent's art and perhaps could have helped him if they met earlier.

This world was never meant for one As beautiful as you.
The song implies that the complex, and volatile world did not deserve Vincent and people were never ready to appreciate and understand the beauty he saw in the world.

Portraits hung in empty halls,
The final verses talk about Van Gogh's artwork hanging in attention-grabbing galleries but deprived of any admirers or enthusiasts of his art.

Frameless head on nameless walls,
The line suggests that while Van Gogh's work was acknowledged, there was no one who could appreciate it fully.

With eyes that watch the world and can't forget.
Van Gogh's artwork is still alive, and his eyes follow the world, reminding people to open their hearts and minds and appreciate the beauty of life in its raw form.

Like the strangers that you've met,
The verse compares Van Gogh's painting to strangers that a person might encounter in their lifetime. A couple of interactions might shake the soul, and some might go unnoticed.

The ragged men in the ragged clothes,
The ragged clothes suggest the lifestyle of a person in poverty, which Van Gogh often portrayed in his artwork to represent their emotional pain.

The silver thorn of bloody rose,
This line could be interpreted as a metaphor for life's beauty and pain, which Van Gogh captured in his art beautifully.

Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.
The line signifies the lonely nature of life, and how, even when someone is a genius, they might be crushed and broken by the weight of the world's indifference.

Now I think I know what you tried to say to me,
The lyrics suggest a personal connection with Vincent, and the listener now feels like they have understood his message and art better.

How you suffered for your sanity,
The lyrics are reiterating the pain Vincent went through in his time for his art views and how misunderstood he was.

How you tried to set them free.
Despite his struggles, Vincent always tried to bring positivity to his life and the world, which he sought to express through his art.

They would not listen, they're not listening still.
The song concludes on a somber note, and the story's moral is that Vincent's art was not appreciated in his time, and haven't been over the years at a large scale.

Perhaps they never will.
The lyrics suggest that the masses may never come to appreciate the art of Van Gogh despite his undeniable genius.