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Marko
Staff Lene.it / Moderator
Italy
949 Posts |
 Posted - 11 Oct 2004 : 18:53:29
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It remains always my preferred song, but there's something I have to know. We've found out that the words "I've flown too high on borrowed wings" have been used already 1994, here
I ask to people who know English good enough: is that expression often used and what does it mean (a part coming to something without being worth it).
Do you think Lene could mean it literally (like in an ecstasy vision) as I still think?
Thank you in advance!
Cannot control this... this thing called Lene |
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Helios Rietberg
Fan
Malaysia
710 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2004 : 18:25:48
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Well, Marko, i've never read or heard "i've flown too high on borrowed wings" before, but i have heard "i've flown too high on my wings" before. I don't think "borrowed wings" used very often.
I have always thought that Lene meant the song as a close brush with death. "Beyond the clouds and where the angel sings..." That sounds a bit like heaven, but the fact that she said "i've flown too high on borrowed wings" should mean that she isn't talking about her own death; she's talking about the near touch with death, or a glimpse of death through a relative's passing, or something. "In the sky containing no one but me... up there's all empty, right down there's the sea... no one here but me..." I guess she means that she feels quite at peace, calm and alone, in solitude. However, perhaps she finds something eerie and unnerving about the place, and finds that she doesn't want to be there after all (is this the right place to stay? please, my wings, fly me away...) - like in real life, when you pull through a sickness or you suddenly feel no will to die after thinking that it would be good to leave the world for a while and know nothing after...
I've never felt that she was talking about it in a way of ecstasy, but i guess everyone has different views.  Just expressing mine.
These angels of light i cannot see,
Restrained by this untouchable purity.
Inaccessible place of love and peace,
Yet here i am left, in the darkness of Hades. |
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Marko
Staff Lene.it / Moderator
Italy
949 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2004 : 20:34:04
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I said: like in an ecstasy vision, but perhaps I expressed wrong, I didn't mean that.
I think Lene (but more likely she read about it or heard it from some friends) has had one of this "predeath" (don't know how you say) experiences. There are many elements: she flies, sees a light, feels in peace with everything, but then wants to go back (because there are family, friends, because it's not her moment).
I haven't the time and I'm not able to express in English all that I feel and think of this masterpiece. I've done it sometimes in the Italian forum, finding relations with other songs (in A Place Nearby she sings: You just faded away/ You spread your wings you had flown / away to something unknown) objecting this way to people who think she's not expressing religious themes.
Then, have you ever wondered why she makes a pause of exactly 7 seconds in the middle of the song? I've wondered for years, then I've understood (I think) 
Cannot control this... this thing called Lene |
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Meriadoc
Fan
Belgium
489 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2004 : 21:42:04
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quote:
Originally posted by Marko
It remains always my preferred song, but there's something I have to know. We've found out that the words "I've flown too high on borrowed wings" have been used already 1994, here
I ask to people who know English good enough: is that expression often used and what does it mean (a part coming to something without being worth it).
Do you think Lene could mean it literally (like in an ecstasy vision) as I still think?
Thank you in advance!
I was thinking it could be used in a poem, but Google didn't reveal anything. The only results are Lene's song, the movie and a poem by a andy bembridge http://www.ahapoetry.com/oma800A.htm. The expression is not common in English.
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Just the way we are
I guess you've seen it now
A mirror of ourselves sure makes us weird
Falling down
From a mountain of fright |
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Helios Rietberg
Fan
Malaysia
710 Posts |
Posted - 14 Oct 2004 : 17:47:40
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quote:
Originally posted by Marko
I said: like in an ecstasy vision, but perhaps I expressed wrong, I didn't mean that.
I think Lene (but more likely she read about it or heard it from some friends) has had one of this "predeath" (don't know how you say) experiences. There are many elements: she flies, sees a light, feels in peace with everything, but then wants to go back (because there are family, friends, because it's not her moment).
I haven't the time and I'm not able to express in English all that I feel and think of this masterpiece. I've done it sometimes in the Italian forum, finding relations with other songs (in A Place Nearby she sings: You just faded away/ You spread your wings you had flown / away to something unknown) objecting this way to people who think she's not expressing religious themes.
Then, have you ever wondered why she makes a pause of exactly 7 seconds in the middle of the song? I've wondered for years, then I've understood (I think)
Sorry if i misunderstood you.
Anyway... i never had much time and space in my mind to think as deeply as you have, Marko. My head is too convulsed with my own thoughts... but, perhaps i shall continue pondering, like you have for so many years, why she stops 7 seconds... i never bothered to count; i just listened to what the background music was, and it seems to me that she's flying, flying away and against the wind to some place far away to seek solace and peace...
I don't know; maybe i've got the song in a messed up garbled bunch. Let's just hope Lene's songs will always be as lovely.
These angels of light i cannot see,
Restrained by this untouchable purity.
Inaccessible place of love and peace,
Yet here i am left, in the darkness of Hades. |
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Meriadoc
Fan
Belgium
489 Posts |
Posted - 15 Oct 2004 : 07:50:06
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Ok, this is one of my idea about Flown Away: the song is about the passing of time, about one's life that passes away with every second. The flying could be the good things in her life: succes, love, friendship, ... The good things in her life she likes that she wishes never to end.
Does this make any sense?
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Just the way we are
I guess you've seen it now
A mirror of ourselves sure makes us weird
Falling down
From a mountain of fright |
Edited by - Meriadoc on 10 Nov 2004 18:13:06 |
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Superfan
Fan
Iran
658 Posts |
Posted - 15 Oct 2004 : 15:06:26
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hmmm...why doesn't Lene tell the story about her songs?
I mean can't we even get a little tip about the songs background?
- - The fear that flows through soul & flesh...Silent hill - -
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Helios Rietberg
Fan
Malaysia
710 Posts |
Posted - 16 Oct 2004 : 06:55:14
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Lene says that she likes people to have their own story about each song she writes about. She doesn't like to tarnish the image we all have in our minds.
Meriadoc, i'm sure your interpretation of Flown Away is very plausible. But i think the the success part could be cut off the flying part... i think Flown Away was written somewhere during 1994 or before? She couldn't have already had success then...
These angels of light i cannot see,
Restrained by this untouchable purity.
Inaccessible place of love and peace,
Yet here i am left, in the darkness of Hades. |
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Meriadoc
Fan
Belgium
489 Posts |
Posted - 16 Oct 2004 : 18:02:19
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quote:
Originally posted by Helios Rietberg
Lene says that she likes people to have their own story about each song she writes about. She doesn't like to tarnish the image we all have in our minds.
Meriadoc, i'm sure your interpretation of Flown Away is very plausible. But i think the the success part could be cut off the flying part... i think Flown Away was written somewhere during 1994 or before? She couldn't have already had success then...
Succes could be anything. I'm not reffering only at her carreer but to all things in life: school, work, familie, relations, etc.
--
Just the way we are
I guess you've seen it now
A mirror of ourselves sure makes us weird
Falling down
From a mountain of fright |
Edited by - Meriadoc on 10 Nov 2004 18:15:41 |
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the girl next door
Fan
Australia
5 Posts |
Posted - 10 Nov 2004 : 15:41:24
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I concur with Helios and Meriadoc that this is not a common expression. I'm inclined to agree with Helios and Marko; I think this song is the story of a near-death experience. At first I thought it was about religious ecstasy, but since she's all alone and still separated from God, that doesn't quite seem to fit. Also, the phrase 'borrowed wings' indicates that she fell into this situation by mistake, perhaps through an accident or illness, or even an attempt at suicide. It's as though her soul has left her body but is unable to leave behind its feelings and memories. She's tempted by the peace that beckons from beyond the light and wearied by the pain that she has already endured, yet still unsure about leaving.
For me, some of the most significant lines in this song are the ones that say 'The present like I've never seen it before/Is this the right place to stay? Please, my wings, fly me away...' What I think she's saying here is that, freed of all the negative thoughts and baggage that she was burdened with in life, she suddenly sees the beauty in her own potential. She is overcome with the realisation of what she has and what she could still have and achieve, and decides that she doesn't want to die after all.
As for the 7-second pause in the middle of the song, I've never thought about it. I would love to be enlightened as to its meaning I do know that the number 7 is considered to be a very significant number in many religious and spiritual traditions.
I also find the link that Marko made between Flown Away and A Place Nearby to be very interesting. The two songs certainly have similar themes. |
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Meriadoc
Fan
Belgium
489 Posts |
Posted - 10 Nov 2004 : 18:19:17
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Why do all of you search only for a religious explanation? Is there a reason to think Lene to be a (very) religious person? (just wondering)
--
Just the way we are
I guess you've seen it now
A mirror of ourselves sure makes us weird
Falling down
From a mountain of fright |
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custard555
Fan
United Kingdom
252 Posts |
Posted - 10 Nov 2004 : 21:16:37
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quote:
Originally posted by Meriadoc
Why do all of you search only for a religious explanation? Is there a reason to think Lene to be a (very) religious person? (just wondering)
--
Just the way we are
I guess you've seen it now
A mirror of ourselves sure makes us weird
Falling down
From a mountain of fright
Just thinking of that myself, never seen Lene thanking god for her success, but seeing that she is such a sky person she might not want to say that.
I just........... dunno .....
 Come on Lene, Don't give up now 
We all live in a beautiful world
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Helios Rietberg
Fan
Malaysia
710 Posts |
Posted - 11 Nov 2004 : 02:58:49
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quote:
Originally posted by Meriadoc
Why do all of you search only for a religious explanation? Is there a reason to think Lene to be a (very) religious person? (just wondering)
Well, no, i don't think Lene is a very religious person. But it just strikes me that there's something to do with God. Near brush with death (or her next-life, for that matter; i believe in reincarnation)... which should mean a near sight of God, or at least Lene's own guardian angels...
Ah, i don't know. Perhaps i'm screwed.
My Angels of Light have long left me,
Yet the darkness of the path is queer,
Where have they escaped for purity?
Leading to what i hold so dear
This blinding light glaring in my sight,
Mystery of the unseen so hard to unravel,
Though i struggle to see with all my might.
To where i will go, through time and travel.
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the girl next door
Fan
Australia
5 Posts |
Posted - 11 Nov 2004 : 06:02:53
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I didn't particularly go searching for a religious explanation either, and I certainly don't know anything about Lene's religiousness or lack thereof.  I got my interpretation from the lyrics themselves. They talk about flying, clouds and angels, and light. This kind of imagery is closely connected with the concept of 'heaven'. That's the sole reason why I came up with a 'religious' explanation, although I don't really find it religious, more transcendental. |
Edited by - the girl next door on 11 Nov 2004 07:23:56 |
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Marko
Staff Lene.it / Moderator
Italy
949 Posts |
Posted - 11 Nov 2004 : 21:06:35
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quote:
I do know that the number 7 is considered to be a very significant number in many religious and spiritual traditions.
That's exactly the point And if you care, the 7 seconds are just like a "contemplation" time that divides the song in 2 parts: before that moment she was arriving to the light, after that she takes her decision to go back.
quote:
Is there a reason to think Lene to be a (very) religious person?
My personal opinion is: yes (perhaps not "very", but who can quantify its own devoutness?)
But we don't have a clear answer. As far as I remember, only one time I read an answer of Lene about this argument. It was an Italian interview of exacly 4 years ago (I have it on magazine, the first article I keep of her). Here's the link to the Italian Press Review.
The interesting point is:
"Un altro tema ricorrente è quello del cielo. Ali, volo, nuvole, angeli sono parole usate a piene mani…
“La cosa più strana è che appartengono a una dimensione che mi lascia senza parole, che non so spiegare. Mi sento chiedere spesso se credo in Dio o in qualcosa di superiore. Non sono ancora in grado di dare una risposta”."
It means:
Interviewer: "Another recurring theme is heaven (Note: in Italian "cielo" could mean both "sky" and "heaven"). Wings, clouds, angels are words often used."
Lene: "The strangest thing is that they belong to a dimension that leaves me without words, that I can't explain. I'm often asked if I believe in God or in something Superior. I'm not able to give an answer yet."
Cannot control this... this thing called Lene |
Edited by - Marko on 11 Nov 2004 21:19:05 |
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Flown Away
