Mr. Zebra
Music and Lyrics by: Tori Amos
Instrumentation: Vocals, Acoustic Piano (Bosendorfer), Brass Band.
Brief Summary: This is another one of Tori’s most indecipherable songs. We’ll rely on Tori herself here for this section. In interviews, Tori repeats that Mr. Zebra is about a woman acting very “unladylike” in that she is considering off-ing someone. For Tori, Mr. Zebra and many songs on Boys for Pele is about the darker sides of being a women, whether we have attempted to hide those places and they pop out, or whether the men in our lives have cultivated this darkness she doesn’t clarify. But, of course, us fans are always allowed our own interpretations.
Tori’s Comments: “This is really the hidden sides of the feminine, the ones that get a little wicked, and the reasons that they’re wicked.”
Fan Comments/Interpretations: Again with the Courtney Love references…some fans are adamant that both Mr. Zebra and Professional Widow suggest that Tori truly believes that Courtney loved murdered Kurt Cobain (despite the fact that Tori has adamantly denied this). Other interpretations suggest that Tori may have been referencing abortion, women’s rights, and domestic violence.
China2Ny’s Comments: I love it when Tori mixes things up instrumentally. The addition of the brass band is one of the many reasons I love Mr. Zebra.
Question: Does Mr. Zebra see things only in black & white?
Let’s look at how Mrs. Crocodile sees things…going to her as an animal totem:
Primal Energies
The Crocodile or Alligator totem
contains the unbridled creative
forces of the world,
the fury and ferocity of Primal Energies.
It is the symbol of creation and destruction.
The Crocodile or Alligator is the keeper and protector of all knowledge.
She is the primal mother in whom all knowledge rests and waits to be born.
People with a Crocodile or Alligator totem have the opportunity
to develop new wisdom but they must be careful not to be consumed by this wisdom.
Maybe the woman in this song does get a bit devious and too consumed with her new found wisdom as she tries to poison her male friend with “Ratatouille Strychnine”. She also wants to play like a Kaiser and be zesty like a Syllabub. The woman’s knowledge & power is not contained in this song; it’s swirling off into a gigantic whirlpool. At least she’s found what she is truly made of in a primal sense and that’s a good start.
I agree…this song is about finding something in yourself and then allowing oneself to be overwhelmed by it. Great work, Meredith. I may be seeking your help in guest posting!