On Deaf Ears

Gordon Winslow: Of course she didn’t know who to cling to when the rain set in…if she’s a freaking CANDLE! Candles don’t have arms or a brain. He may as well have written “Seems to me you lived your life like a log.” It would have made just as much sense. What a terrible simile.

Jason Austinite: I have always interpreted those as separate statements. She lived like a candle in the wind. End of simile. She also never knew who to cling to when the rain set in. Anyhoo, the song has much better lyrics than “Crocodile Rock.” Or “Cheddar Cheese Girl.”

GW: That’s a generous interpretation. I don’t buy it, but let’s say you’re right. What does it mean? The only hint is that she, like a candle, burned out, but a candle in the wind would blow out, not burn out, so what’s the wind got to do with it?

Also, candles don’t snuff themselves. Maybe Bernie Taupin is a conspiracy theorist and meant to write “blew out” instead of “burned out,” with the wind representing the Kennedys.

Foley: Actually… Gordon… A slight wind (not enough force to “blow out” the flame) would cause the candle to “burn out” at a much quicker rate. Increased oxygen -> hotter flame –> candle wax melts quicker and candle burns out at accelerated rate… OMG this is a stupid conversation… killme… killme now

GW: Excellent point, Foley. If we combine that with Jason’s interpretation, we have a working simile. I still have problems with it, but at least it approaches making sense.

I still like my Kennedys theory, though.

Jeff: She lived her life like a candle in the wind. She would flicker, constantly changing depending on outside factors – but not necessarily blow out. To me it signifies something that never set. Not knowing who to cling to is separate – reiterating her lack of foundation when trouble sets in. Her “candle” that blew out at the end of the chorus is completely different. You need to get a job.

KT: LMAO @ status message.

KT: Ha, and ensuing conversation.

Elton John – “Candle in the Wind”

Misfits (Actually Glenn Danzig solo, but generally credited to the Misfits) – “Who Killed Marilyn?”