you for a while

Music and Lyrics by: Tori Amos

Instrumentation: Vocal, Acoustic Piano, Backgrounds, Drums, Bass, Guitar.

Brief Summary: Tear in Your Hand is a break-up song, a woeful break-up song in which the singer (Tori) is saddened that this man has obviously left her for another woman (although he denies it) and she is regretting that she never really showed her true self to this person–that maybe if she had he would have stayed with her. However, over the course of the song, she realizes that she needed to move on anyway…that she had a haze clouding up her mind and its definitely “time to say goodbye.”

Tori’s Comments: (from the Little Earthquakes songbook) “Emotionally all these songs come from experiences that trigger them. I haven’t chosen to talk about that side of the song-writing–the seed for all these songs. On the technical side I heard the music as a steady motion no change really from verse and chorus only the bridge that leads straight back like a look to the same toll booth where you threw in some change to go around only to end up surrounded by the place you left. The only differences is by taking the loop ride you can see the place you left exactly as it is; some sadness a whole lotta corn field and a puddle.”

Fan Comments/Interpretations: Fans are “all about some” Tear in Your Hand…particularly those who have been through tough break-ups (like, everyone on the planet!). Its a comforting song to those that have been dumped, some say, because it flips things around. Its not, “is she better than me?” Instead its, “she’s not necessarily better than me, you just don’t know me well enough yet.” One fan in particular, on a song interp forum, wrote that Tori breaks away from most other female artists in this song. Whereas other female artists might say, “Screw you man.” Tori sits down and figures it all out and, although she’s not happy w/the break-up (actually she’s pretty broken hearted), she has an awareness of the process and lets things just be.

China2Ny’s Comments: This song stands out on LE as one of the most interestingly structured songs (as Tori points out in her comment). The bridge seems to come out of nowhere and its wonderful. And how much fun is it to sing, “And your baby, baby, babies I tell you…”?