I want you on a chair with a dead magazine

[Quasand]

I want you on a chair with a dead magazine

What the hell does that mean?

[brightnow]

It's a translation of Lorca's "con la butaca y el libro muerto"

You can find Lorca's complete poem "Pequeño Vals Vienés" here: http://www.mat.upm.es/~jcm/lorca-vals.html

DrHGuy wrote some excellent analysis of "Take This Waltz", you might want to read it: http://1heckofaguy.com/2007/07/26/take- ... upplement/

[sturgess66]

Here is a link to a blog (PoetryILove) -
and in a recent blog (October 27th) the words for both Lorca's poem "Little Viennese Waltz" (English translation) and Leonard Cohen's "Take This Waltz" -

http://poetryilove-abhaiyengar.blogspot ... cohen.html

[Tony]

It means whatever one wants it to mean, as all art does. If you want more of such poetry, apart from Lorca, then Luis de Gongora is your man,

[GinaDCG]

I don't speak Spanish (yes, I'm a typical yank -- only conversant in Englsh,) so forgive me if I base this on an inaccurate understanding of the text:

I remember from my childhood: Hours and hours spent waiting for appointments in old office buildings. Ugly tile floors, plain ugly walls with dust impregnated into the finish, ceilings that inspire coughing whenever you look up. And a metal folding chair. And the only concession of grace to me or whoever must serve time here while waiting to be called -- an incredibly outdated magazine (truly, truly dead.)

If the poem/song's persona can be inspired to think of "you" and envision having sex with you in this room, then that urge to make love must indeed be strong.

[brightnow]

I love your interpretation Gina and as Tony said, it's poetry and like all art it means what you want it to mean.

[Lilifyre]

It means whatever one wants it to mean, as all art does.

What a perfect reply! For me, the beauty of all good poetry is that it speaks to each individual in a very personal way. I had a major battle over this with my high school Senior English teacher eons ago. Much of the work for that year was to interpret some of the great poets of the past. Her view was that the poems mean what SHE (the teacher) said they mean. I've always been able to find multiple meanings from poetic writing. I've used that quality in writing things myself. Only the writer (in this case, Lorca) can say for certain what his/her thoughts were at the time of writing. The images evokes by the words are unique to each person who reads them.

Lili