She's Always a Woman

[booksrgood4u.livejournal.com]

Hi Sounis!

I know I just posted something a farther down the page, but I wanted to share this song because it really reminds me of a QoA Irene. 

Here are the lyrics, my thoughts are in red:

She can kill with a smile
She can wound with her eyes
She can ruin your faith with her casual lies
And she only reveals what she wants you to see
She hides like a child,(Isn't that so Irene?) 
But she's always a woman to me

She can lead you to love
She can take you or leave you
She can ask for the truth
But she'll never believe you (Wasn't this Gen's dilemma?  How to tell her he loved and have her beleive him... And isn't that what Relius taught her to do?)

And she'll take what you give her, as long as it's free(Didn't the Mede Emperor find that out the hard way!)
Yeah, she steals like a thief
But she's always a woman to me

CHORUS:
Oh--she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants
She's ahead of her time
Oh--and she never gives out
And she never gives in
She just changes her mind

And she'll promise you more
Than the Garden of Eden
Then she'll carelessly cut you
And laugh while you're bleedin'
But she'll bring out the best
And the worst you can be
Blame it all on yourself
Cause she's always a woman to me
--Mhmm--

Bridge

CHORUS:
Oh--she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants
She's ahead of her time
Oh--and she never gives out
And she never gives in
She just changes her mind

She is frequently kind
And she's suddenly cruel
She can do as she pleases
She's nobody's fool
And she can't be convicted
She's earned her degree
And the most she will do
Is throw shadows at you
But she's always a woman to me
--Mhmm--



Any other thought or observations?  And how different from a KoA Irene.  I think one of the things I love the most about KoA is seeing the changes in Irene as she learned to trust and let her guard down a bit.

Thanks for reading,

~books

Comments

[1221bookworm.livejournal.com]

And she only reveals what she wants you to see Isn't that Irene's mask of ice?

And just the whole title and theme reminds me of how Gen sees her. Gen sees the woman behind the Queen, and that is who he falls in love with and wants to save.

Overall, the whole song is just a picture of the two of them in QoA, and a little bit in the beginning of KoA, even as she was learning and growing.

[booksrgood4u.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you liked it - Makes me feel so sorry for her and at the same time so happy that she won't spend the rest of her life behind her mask thanks to Gen.

[ayvara.livejournal.com]

That lyric "She can ask for the truth/But she'll never believe you" is so perfect, especially for the end of QoA.
Also "She is frequently kind/And she's suddenly cruel is like how Irene is in KoA, or at least how Costis sees her.
This was really interesting! Nice!

[booksrgood4u.livejournal.com]

I was mostly thinking of how Gen saw her, but Costis had a unique perspective, too...Thanks for pointing those out!

[manderelee.livejournal.com]

You and the others have pointed out the most prominent lines, but there were a couple of others that really struck me:

-She steals like a thief: Lol, I think this one is a bit ironic, considering what Gen is. Now that I think about it, I think Irene stole as much from Gen as he did from her. She stole his hand, he stole her heart. Is that fair trade? ^__~

-And the most she will do is throw shadows at you: I love how she used to be a shadow princess, which sort of made her inconspicuous. She even played the innocent act on Nahuseresh.

Thanks for the song! I've heard of this one before, but didn't really pay attention to the lyrics. Thanks for posting them up. ^^

[hazelwillow.livejournal.com]

"She steals like a thief" - I like this because it's how Gen would articulate it. He thinks in terms of thieves and stealing... like in The Thief when Eugenides reminds him that lives are things to be stolen too sometimes...

And she did steal from him: he stole her heart, but first she stole his.

[booksrgood4u.livejournal.com]

And she did steal from him: he stole her heart, but first she stole his.

That's a great way to put it - sounds like a great idea for a fanfic!

[booksrgood4u.livejournal.com]

Thanks for pointing those out ... I noticed the Thief line too, but I ran out of time and didn't get past adding my thought to the first verse.

I didn't make the shadow connection, though...:)