Song Meaning
This is a bizarre, almost childlike plea, tinged with a strange anxiety. The narrator is asking "Sue" if there are "two" of something, and the immediate fear is of "joggling Him." The tone is a mix of playful curiosity and genuine apprehension, as if the narrator is contemplating a delicate, potentially dangerous situation.
The central tension seems to be the narrator's desire to "come" versus their fear of disturbing this "Him." The imagined solutions are comically absurd: trapping "Him" in a coffee cup or tying "Him" to a pin. These images highlight the narrator's desperate, yet imaginative, attempts to control the uncontrollable or to find a way around an obstacle that feels both real and fantastical.
The most striking aspect is the sheer inventiveness of the narrator's proposed solutions. The contrast between the innocent "dear Sue" and the almost violent imagery of "tie him to a pin" or "make him fast / To 'Toby's' fist" creates a disorienting effect. The sudden interjection of "Hist! Whist!" feels like a moment of hushed excitement or a sudden realization, a final burst of energy before the conditional "I'd come!"
What makes these lyrics so effective is their ability to evoke a specific, peculiar emotional state through vivid, if nonsensical, imagery. The narrator’s internal struggle, presented through these surreal scenarios, creates a sense of both vulnerability and a wild, untamed imagination that pulls the listener into its strange logic.
View Artist