Hotel Noir
Whispers of Love and Loss at Hotel Noir
Lyrics
Two glasses on a glass-top table
Setting the scene with two glasses on a glass-top table.
Lights are low, the ashtray's full
Dim lighting, and an ashtray filled with cigarette remnants.
He talks of all his conquests
A man discussing his romantic conquests.
Letters ringed with hearts and crosses
References to love letters adorned with hearts and crosses.
He left them in the drawer (at Hotel Noir)
Love letters left ignored in the drawer at Hotel Noir.
Unanswered, yet he read them for
The man reads the unanswered letters repeatedly.
Her time and time again
He reminisces about her through the letters.
She looked clean through him
She sees through him, possibly indicating emotional distance.
And told him how she loved white horses
She expresses love for white horses and idyllic scenes.
Riding on a swing and laying in a cornfield
Describing shared experiences like swinging and lying in a cornfield.
On a warm summer's night she'd
Recalling warm summer nights and dancing lights.
Watch the dancing lights
Alone but not lonely until now.
Alone but never lonely -until now
A shift in emotions or circumstances.
He ordered whisky but the waiter
The man orders whisky but feels invisible to the waiter.
Walked clean through him
The waiter ignores him, emphasizing isolation.
He sadly shook his head
The man is saddened and lights another cigarette.
And lit his fifteenth cigarette and slowly
Reflecting on memories that continue to haunt him.
Surely pictures formed he never could forget
Intense and unforgettable images form in his mind.
Loretta sent him sea shells
Loretta sends sea shells, symbolic of a connection.
Henrietta sent a rose
Henrietta sends a rose, expressing romantic feelings.
And Margaretta said they'd marry in a
Margaretta proposes marriage in an unanswered letter.
Letter that he'd never answered
The unopened letter is left in the drawer at Hotel Noir.
(left it in the drawer at Hotel Noir)
Reiteration of letters and emotions left unaddressed.
And she said how she loved
Expressing love for the sea at full moon.
The sea at full moon
Running on a silver beach with silver ribbons.
Running down a silver beach with silver
Imagery of a romantic moment with symbolic elements.
Ribbons trailing from her hands
Finding a special place to store meaningful stones.
She found a doorway in the sand
A unique doorway in the sand representing a hidden world.
Where she'd store away her stones
Storing away precious stones as cherished memories.
Precious stones that could be diamonds
Valuing stones for their potential beauty in the rain.
Just because they sparkled in rain
A connection between precious stones and sparkling rain.
And there she'd sleep
Transitioning to a dreamlike state.
And there she'd dream and there she died
A shift to dreams and a suggestion of mortality.
The tide rolled backwards and it dried and
The tide recedes, leaving a symbolic salt headstone.
Left a headstone made of salt
A metaphorical transformation in the environment.
The warm breeze turned to steam
A change in atmosphere, possibly reflecting inner turmoil.
And even the vegetables screamed
An intense emotional response represented by screaming vegetables.
And screamed and screamed
The amplification of emotional distress.
He stretched his hand out just to touch her
The man reaches out to touch, but she announces her departure.
-but she said she had to leave
A final declaration of leaving, closing the narrative.
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