you for a while

Music and Lyrics by: Tori Amos

Instrumentation: Vocals, Acoustic Piano, Bass, Drums, Guitars

Brief Summary: In explaining Yes, Anastasia, Tori tells this sort-of funny story about how one day she got very ill from eating some bad crab meat…but had to go on stage and perform. She explains that being sick brings her closer to her inner being and she began to somehow channel Anastasia Romanov, a young Russian princess who had been assassinated alongside her entire family. Tori didn’t know too much about Anastasia, other than her spirit really wanted Tori to write a song for her, with the lines “we’ll see how brave you are” in it. And because Tori wants her audience to connect with her muses, she opened up the song to represent overcoming victimization.

Tori’s Comments: (from the Under the Pink songbook) “I hope I told your story correctly, my friend. So many codes, it was hard for me to decipher. But I believe Anastasia’s story is everyone’s in a way…she tried to tell me that and I blew her off.”

Fan Comments/Interpretations: In addition to the wonderful poetry, fans are drawn to Yes, Anastasia because of the complexity of the composition. It is as if Tori “composed” this song much like a symphony writer would have, rather than as a pop singer. When distilled down to its simplest form, most fans agree that Yes, Anastasia is about learning to face all challenges, big and small, with determination, will, and strength.

China2Ny’s Comments: Having my mother listen to Yes, Anastasia was the only way I could get her to respect Tori as a musician.

I can wrap up my feelings on Yes, Anastasia in one word: “SeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEE”