Plush (Live) [MTV Unplugged, 11/17/93]

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a picture of unease and impending discovery, centered around a found mask and a sense of being watched. The narrator grapples with a future that feels uncertain, questioning someone's intentions and their potential for deception. The repeated question, "Where you goin' to tomorrow?" underscores this anxiety, suggesting a lack of trust and a fear of what lies ahead. The core tension seems to revolve around a hidden truth or identity, represented by the "mask I found." There's a palpable sense of dread as the narrator anticipates being exposed or caught, especially with the ominous imagery of "dogs begin to smell her." This creates a feeling of being hunted, where the passage of time offers little solace, only a delay before inevitable revelation. The most striking element is the juxtaposition of the abstract "lies to come" with the concrete, almost primal imagery of dogs tracking someone. The narrator's repeated assertion, "And I feel it," amplified by "And she feels it" later on, suggests a shared, visceral understanding of this impending doom. The weather is also invoked, linking internal turmoil to external conditions, as if the atmosphere itself reflects the emotional climate. This track's power lies in its ability to evoke a specific, suffocating atmosphere of paranoia and helplessness. The simple, direct language, combined with the escalating sense of dread, makes the listener feel the narrator's anxiety acutely. The repetition of "time to wait for tomorrow" in the post-chorus, especially after the dogs have found her, creates a chilling sense of resignation and the futility of delaying the inevitable.