you for a while

Music and Lyrics by: Tori Amos

Instrumentation: Vocals, Acoustic Piano (Bosendorfer), Clavichord, Bass, Drums, Guitar, Effects

Brief Summary: There are as many interpretations of Little Amsterdam as there are Tori Amos fans (+1 for Tori herself). In the most general sense, Little Amsterdam tells the story of a woman with a big secret, and if that secret is exposed there can be a lot of hell to pay. And when the crap eventually hits the fan, there is a showdown and someone is killed…either the girl, one of her lovers (the sheriff or the brown man), or her mother. Tori set this song in the south as a) she spent a lot of time there growing up b) she adores the writings of dark Southern writers such as Tennessee Williams and William Faulkner, and c) well…interesting love triangles ending in murder usually occur in the south!

Tori’s Comments: “There is a lot of domination in this song. The idea that you don’t follow your heart because you’re afraid that if you do you can’t have your family, or you can’t have your friends, or that you’ll be outcast. That’s very much what the South has been about for me - speaking about that which was hidden could get you really ostracized.”

Fan Comments/Interpretations: Here are a few common interps in a nutshell: There’s a white woman in a small Southern town sleeping with a Black man and the town sheriff…the town ostrasizes the woman for being promiscuous and eventually the jealous sheriff kills the Black man and the woman…the “singer” is the daughter of the woman in the story who feels stuck in the same situation in that town: repressed and scared. OR The mother in the song was trying to save the Black man from being assassinated by sleeping with the sheriff, who doesn’t end up keeping his bargain. OR everyone in the story dies and the daughter of the woman tells their story. There are countless others, you can enjoy by searching for “Little Amsterdam” on Tori forums.

China2Ny’s Comments: IMO, Little Amsterdam gets the the “coolest Tori Amos song to sing” award. She so rarely goes down in the low octaves, this song is truly a treat. My personal take is that the sheriff ended up dead and the town (and her mother) blamed the woman in the song…and while she is adamant that she didn’t do it, she isn’t all to upset that the man is dead regardless.