Song Meaning
This song paints a picture of a secluded, almost dreamlike garden, a place of personal significance for the narrator. It's a space where the grass is "silken" and the gate has "five west sides," hinting at a hidden, perhaps magical, quality. The narrator claims ownership of this idyllic spot, stating, "I dream about it," and revealing a "beautiful princess" with "tanned skin" who is known only to him. This suggests a deeply personal, almost possessive fantasy.
The lyrics introduce a subtle tension between the narrator's private world and an external voice, possibly the princess herself. The narrator's possessive "Only I know how lovely she is" is immediately followed by a command, "So don't go crazy and sit," which feels like a warning or a plea to maintain the status quo of his fantasy. This creates a dynamic where the narrator's internal vision is perhaps being challenged or acknowledged by the very subject of his dreams.
The second half of the song introduces more specific, melancholic imagery through Iveta Bartošová's verses. The garden now contains a "well with a black grate" and an "old willow" gazing into the water, elements that add a touch of somberness. A "pond with a wooden boat" awaits "the two of us," shifting the focus from the narrator's solitary dream to a shared, albeit still somewhat ethereal, experience. The invitation to "play with the echo / And sing what I sing" suggests a desire for shared experience and a merging of identities within this unique space.
Ultimately, the song's effectiveness lies in its ability to evoke a sense of private longing and the delicate boundary between personal fantasy and shared reality. The shift in perspective and the introduction of darker, more grounded imagery in the latter verses create a complex emotional landscape. It’s a space where idealized romance meets a wistful acknowledgment of shared experience, all contained within the confines of a mysterious, old garden.
