1974 album lyric sources by Dennis Versteeg As promised here are some interpretations of the lyrics of the 1974 album. Some of these interpretations are from Henk (said during concerts), some are my own. Most of them are very short and probably miss out on several things. Please add to this if you have additional/better/different opinions about these songs. With Used Furniture We Make A Tree Based on a poem by Anne Sexton (1928-1974): THE BLACK ART A woman who writes feels too much, those trances and portents! As if cycles and children and islands weren't enough; as if mourners and gossips and vegetables were never enough. She thinks she can warn the stars. A writer is essentially a spy. Dear love, I am that girl. A man who writes knows too much, such spells and fetiches! As if erections and congresses and products weren't enough; as if machines and galleons and wars were never enough. With used furniture he makes a tree. A writer is essentially a crook. Dear love, you are that man. Never loving ourselves, hating even our shoes and our hats, we love each other, precious , precious . Our hands are light blue and gentle. Our eyes are full of terrible confessions. But when we marry, the children leave in disgust. There is too much food and no one left over to eat up all the weird abundance. There are also several references to current affairs and other 'modern' things, such as MTV (well known I guess), TMF (dutch music channel similar to MTV) and LPF & Mr. P (Mr. P = Pim Fortuyn, a dutch politician that was murdered in 2002. The LPF is the name of his party and they are currently best known for making a big mess of things..). Aquarium This song is about a man who meets his daughter in the afterlife. They talk about their past lives. One of the topics is their visits to the Artis Zoo in Amesterdam and most specifically the big aquarium with fishes. There were big, ugly fishes (probably murenes) and they tried to think of famous people who looked like those fishes. Chain of Ifs Never played live or explained by Henk, but the lyrics are pretty clear: what if something would have happened in another way than it really did and what would have been the consequences of this. Between the buttons Also never played live or explained by Henk. It seems to be a story about a woman who has left a man. But there is a lot more to this song than I can analyse in such a short while. Doppelganger Played live, but never explained. But this is a pretty straightforward lyric about pople resembling each other (physically or in behaviour). Canigo Again never explained by Henk in cocnerts. A simple lyric about leaving, but more in a mental than physical way. Welcome Back Written by Robert Jan, never explained in concert. The song is not about Robert Jan's return to the band I think, but more about two lovers coming back to each other after a split. Mychael Gerstenberger adds: If one actually listens to (or reads) the lyrics it's clear that the song is about someone NOT coming back. I'm pretty certain it is about Robert Jan's friend Sacha, the flute player in Supersister, who died in 2001. Eifersucht More a mantra than a song. It seems to be mostly improvised loose sentences that sound nice together but don't have a connection, except for the constant word of Sometimes. Savoy This one was explained by Henk. It is about a rabbit that lives somewhere in the Savoy Theater in Helsinki. Before a concert a gril puts some grass in the dressing room and after the concert it is usually eaten. The Espresso Girl Another one that was explained. This is about a girl who is following the band 'The Cure' throughout a concert in Germany. She is not a groupie in the traditional sense of the word, but she is attracted to the (Japanese) words the singer of the Cure, Robert Smith, speaks to the mirrors of the dressingrooms. Rumspringa This is about the Amish community in the USA. These very religious people live without any modern tools. But the young Amish get a chanvce when they are 18 years old to experience the modern world. They are allowed to live for one year outside the communtiy and experience all the 'forbidden' things, such as alcohol, drugs and sex. After this year they can choose to come back to the community or not, most of them return. This year is called 'Rumspringa'. Athens Played, but never explained in concert. It simply seems to be about a rainy, melancholic day in Athens.