Song Meaning
Ah here he comes, he comes, here he comes a-courting" sets a scene of an approaching, formidable seducer. This figure, revealed as a "spider," is so potent he puts "all the Don Juans to shame." His arrival signals an inescapable event, a "cadre dance" where "no one will slip away." The initial romantic framing quickly gives way to something more ominous.
The lyrics establish a central tension between traditional courtship and predatory capture. This spider's web is "dark," yet the "thousand of creatures" caught within it "shine just like the stars." This unsettling contrast suggests a perverse beauty in the spider's dominion, where even the ensnared possess a strange, glittering allure. It's a hypnotic draw, a seduction that appears to encompass "all the beautiful and homely."
The repetition of "more, more, more" underscores an insatiable hunger, hinting that the "thousand of creatures" are merely a prelude. This culminates in the visceral image of "one heaven of orifices for all the arms / Of a spider." The word "heaven" is used with chilling irony, describing ultimate fulfillment from the predator's perspective, a vast array of openings for its many limbs to engage.
This final, explicit image solidifies the song's unsettling power. The lyrics craft a disturbing metaphor for an overwhelming, hypnotic force of seduction that consumes all in its path. The blend of seemingly romantic language with stark, predatory imagery creates a truly unforgettable and unsettling narrative of irresistible, all-encompassing power.