참세상

little plastic castle

written by ani difranco
ani difranco, [little plastic castle] (1998) 수록

in a coffee shop
in a city which is every coffee shop in every city,
on a day which is every day,
i picked up a magazine,
which is every magazine.
read a story then forgot it right away.
they say goldfish have no memory,
i guess their lives are much like mine,
and the little plastic castle is a surprise every time.
and it's hard to say if they're happy, but they don't seem much to mind.
from the shape of your shaved head.
i recognized your silhouette as you walked out of the sun and sat down.
and the sight of your sleepy smile eclipsed all the other people
as they paused to sneer at the two girls from out of town.
i said, look at you this morning, you are, by far, the cutest,
but be careful getting coffee,
i think these people wanna shoot us
or maybe there's some kind of local competition here to see who can be the rudest.
people talk about my image like i come in two dimensions.
like lipstick is a sign of my declining mind.
like what i happen to be wearing the day
that someone takes a picture is my new statement for all womankind.
i wish they could see us now in leather bras and rubber shorts
like some ridiculous team uniform for some ridiculous new sport.
quick someone call the girl police and file a report.
in a coffee shop
in a city which is every coffee shop in every city,
on a day which is every day.



ani's explanation : basically, this is a song for heidi [kunkel, rbr's "mistress of merch"]. i chose to start the album, to define the album, with this one, because it's about being honest with myself. people talk about me, and there are all these misconceptions about me, but i'm just swimming around and around, and learning my lessons over and over. and having fun doing it! "it's hard to say if they're happy, but they don't seem much to mind." "they" being the fish, being me. it's not the perfect job, but it's an awful lot of fun, and i enjoy my friends and we know what we're up to, so it just doesn't matter what they say. the "little plastic castle" being a "surprise every time": the metaphor there is, why do i have to learn my lessons, why is the world so new every day, when am i gonna get it right? even though i'm becoming increasingly aware of my 'public persona', fearing the reaction to everything i do before i even do it, underneath it all, thankfully, blessedly, the basic water-table of ignorance holds steady. [laughs] i still do stuff and i can't believe the reaction to it -- it's still surprising to me. i mean, it's the same world with the same people in it, and yet it does hold infinite surprises.