Speak in Tongues

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a picture of a fraught, intense connection, possibly a relationship marked by past conflict. The narrator describes a figure, "Kitty," returning home "without a name" after a time away, immediately establishing a sense of mystery and unresolved history. Despite acknowledging a "history of violence" between them, the narrator admits to a powerful, almost desperate desire: "I long and burn to touch her just the same." This sets up a core tension between past harm and present, undeniable attraction. The central conflict seems to revolve around this push-and-pull, the magnetic force drawing them together despite the evident damage. The repetition of "So we both can speak in tongues" in the refrain suggests a desire for a shared, transcendent understanding or connection that bypasses conventional language, perhaps a way to communicate beyond the pain of their history. This is echoed in the second verse where the narrator feels "heightened" senses and a similar, burning desire to touch "you" – a shift in address that broadens the scope of this intense longing. The bridge introduces an external threat, a plea to resist "them" and "decay," and to reject "yesterday." This suggests the relationship, or the narrator's desire, is something to be protected from outside judgment or the weight of the past. The repeated phrase "Don't let them have their way" acts as a defiant mantra, urging preservation of this unique, perhaps unconventional, bond. The lyrics propose that this connection, this ability to "speak in tongues," is a path to building a "new tomorrow, today." This lyrical construction is effective because it grounds an abstract desire in concrete, albeit charged, imagery. The contrast between "history of violence" and the burning need to touch creates immediate emotional stakes. The repeated refrain and the urgent pleas in the bridge build a sense of desperate hope, suggesting that transcending past hurts and external pressures through this intense, wordless connection is the only way forward. The final, insistent repetition of "We can build a new tomorrow, today" leaves the listener with a feeling of determined, almost defiant, optimism.