you for a while

Music and Lyrics by: Tori Amos

Instrumentation: Vocal, Acoustic Piano (Bosendorfer), 12-string guitar, Bass

Brief Summary: So, at this point in the novel, “the man and the woman” have been separated for a while, each trying new relationships. As the man tells the woman (Tori) about his new love, she begins to see their relationship from a different perspective. This woman he is seeing appears to be way too involved in him…losing herself (see the devoted satellite lyric). And he, in turn, appears to be trying to fulfill something within himself by dating this girl (see doughnut hole lyric). Tori begins to realize that one of the only reasons she was with him was because she liked to be needed like that…and while this seems like it should speed up the recovery process (i.e. “Shyeah…I’m glad I’m not like that anymore”), it seems to discourage her more…and anger her. But happiness is on the horizon!

Tori’s Comments: “When I am not happy when you are taking you as far as you can…I can’t support that or I withhold from you because…the truth is, I am afraid you aren’t gonna need me anymore.”

Fan Comments/Interpretations: Fans across forums are touched by the array of emotions tackled in the Doughnut Song and the metaphors with which they are described.  One fan pointed to “blood can be pretty” as a reference to suicide, and noted that the “sun” with his “devoted satellite” was crushing Tori, because it is utterly obvious that he doesn’t need her to be happy and that he has moved on too easily.  Most agree that Tori is speaking to the ex in this song, but some believe that she is warning her fan base in certain instances (i.e. “don’t try to gain weight from a doughnut hole like I did”).

China2Ny’s Comments: “Happy for you and I am sure that I hate you.” Songwriting doesn’t get much better than that, folks!