White Telephone
Echoes of Connection: Unveiling the Silence in Charlotte Gainsbourg's 'White Telephone'
Lyrics
White telephone
Introduction to a white telephone.
Pick up the receiver
Instruction to pick up the phone receiver.
Wait for the tone
Waiting for the dial tone to signal readiness.
Wait for the tone
Repetition, emphasizing the waiting for the tone.
It's droning
Describing the sound of the phone, possibly a droning or buzzing noise.
There's no one on the line
Expressing the absence of anyone on the line despite the noise.
It's droning
Reiteration of the phone's droning, emphasizing emptiness.
There's no one on the line
Reaffirming the lack of a connection or response on the line.
The rotary
Introduction of a rotary phone, a different type of telephone.
Finger into the hole
Describing the physical action of using a rotary phone, inserting a finger into a hole.
Pull back
Instruction to pull back the rotary dial after inserting the finger.
Let go
Describing the action of releasing the rotary dial.
Pull back
Repetition of the pulling back and letting go actions.
Let go
Continuation of the rotary dialing process.
It's ringing
Describing the ringing sound when making a call.
No one answering
Indicating no response or answer on the other end.
It's ringing
Reiteration of the phone ringing without a reply.
There's no one answering
Emphasis on the lack of someone answering the call.
All our words go into the wire
Expressing that spoken words are transmitted through the wire.
Just like a ghost
Comparing the transmission of words to a ghost, perhaps suggesting a sense of invisibility or intangibility.
Just like a ghost
Repetition, emphasizing the ghostly nature of transmitted words.
It's fleeting like light from a room
Describing the fleeting nature of something, possibly the words or the connection.
Into darkness from an empty room
Transitioning from light (connection) to darkness (disconnection) in an empty room.
I'm fleeting like light in a room
Expressing the fleeting nature of the speaker, similar to light in a room.
Into darkness crawling after you
Continuation of the fleeting nature, with the speaker pursuing someone into darkness.
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