Christian (Spinning Wheels)

Written by S. Nicks

So in your laughter, you do scream And within your screams you do pretend You ask of me, ask of me nothing On your terms we're no longer friends Harder hard luck stories Have been told down through the years Spinning wheels Crystal perfection Not to be confused with the tears Oh, Christian What about your sad, wild dreams? What kind of feelings do you feel for me? Do you cherish all those memories? What kind of feelings do you feel for me? Half past one, and the street lamps darken Can you regard that woman as you regard yourself? With the faith of a child...have you given enough? Have you given too much? Oh, Christian What about your sad, wild dreams? What kind of feelings do you feel for me? Sweet things that we live for They say that dreams are made of them Echoes of a lonely, lonely time Sing to me a recurring line No quiet cries...something that was No quiet cries for us But it was only love, wasn't it? Only love, wasn't it? It was only love, wasn't it? Only love Sweet things that we live for But it was only love


WEBMISTRESS speculates:

This is another sad unreleased song of Stevie's. It's about all the pain that follows the end of love, pain that one tries to hide by laughing, by pretending, but it's still there. She wants to know, now that it's over, how does he feel about her? "On your terms we're no longer friends." And yet, all the good times they had... does he treasure those memories? Of course, I think Lindsey is the "Christian," with good reason - although I don't really know why she chooses to refer to him that way. Perhaps she felt he was a very deep, spiritual person... I seriously doubt he is a Christian in the literal sense, unfortunately.

Anyway, they had a very painful break-up, and Stevie wants to be friends with him, but he finds it very difficult to be "pals" because he feels wronged by her, and angry about the fact that she left him. It's like what Lindsey was saying in Book of Love - "she wants to be my friend...I'm lonely again....she tore a page of my heart." But she knew him before they were famous, when he shared his dreams with her... doesn't he still have some kind of regard for her? Or has he simply given too much of himself, only to be rejected, so he just can't see her that way anymore? And yet all this loneliness, all this pain, came out of "Crystal perfection" (like the song of the same name)...it came out of true love, only love.

 

ACSFR speculates:

I'd like to start by saying I have never actually heard this song. With that said, I must also say that when I stumbled across these lyrics a few weeks ago, I thought my eyes were deceiving me because the situation described in the song is almost a word-for-word description of a friendship/relationship I experienced that ended a few months ago. (The amazing part is that the person I was involved with went by the name Christian, just like the song. Wow, ironic for me.)

So in your laughter, you do scream
And within your screams you do pretend

To me, this part is about someone who disguises their inner chaos by laughing things off. However, despite their possible madness, there is some type of genius behind it all.

You ask of me, ask of me nothing
On your terms we're no longer friends
Harder hard luck stories
Have been told down through the years

The basic thought for the first two lines here seem to be, "Okay, you've had your fun and now you're gone and don't seem to need me anymore." Then, rock on, Stevie goes all spiteful because of this "Christian" fellow who has hurt her... but she realizes she has to be just as tough about things.

Spinning wheels
Crystal perfection
Not to be confused with the tears

*Spinning wheels* might represent a repeating cycle of things. *Crystal perfection...* Is our Stevie talking about the one who seems to be associated with "Crystal" things usually... hum *...Not to be confused with the tears" So what is crystal and clear shouldn't be confused with the tears. Were the tears caused due to lack of clarity in a situation?

Oh, Christian
What about your sad, wild dreams?
What kind of feelings do you feel for me?
Do you cherish all those memories?
What kind of feelings do you feel for me?

Christian was a wild dreamer whose dreams also were lined with things that weren't always that happy. She and "Christian" seem to have a decent sized past if Stevie's asking if he cherishes "all those memories". And now that the dust is settling, how does he feel towards her?

Half past one, and the street lamps darken
Can you regard that woman as you regard yourself?

Ah ha! There's another woman! (Wait, isn't there always? Heh heh...) And the street lamps are out... perhaps this Christian is a "creature of the night" (read "Outside the Rain"). So we have a night boy who has another woman... and Stevie asks if he can regard "that woman" (who Stevie seems to not want to deal with) as he regards himself. Perhaps Christian is a little high strung or condescending to those "lower" than he is.

With the faith of a child...have you given enough?
Have you given too much?

Wee, these lines remind me of my Christian... Perhaps Stevie's Christian was also a very spiritual person (as Webmistress suggested) and very involved in his thoughts to the point he almost questions his motives.

Then, we have more "sad, wild dreams"...

Sweet things that we live for
They say that dreams are made of them
Echoes of a lonely, lonely time
Sing to me a recurring line

Stevie almost seems to be reminiscent of what she had. Like it was a "sweet thing" that she "lived for" and it was like a dream. (This song is starting to really remind me of "Outside the Rain" and the dream reference and night-loving people... jeez.) Anyway, it seems that Stevie's starting to remember what it's like being alone again and it's closing in. (And now a "Crystal" reference, just for variety. Just not as... positive as the song "Crystal".)

No quiet cries...something that was
No quiet cries for us
But it was only love, wasn't it?
Only love, wasn't it?
It was only love, wasn't it?
Only love

The first two lines seem to have a , "Been there, done that, moving on," feeling even though Stevie probably feels that some quite crying is in order. Then, she goes on the say it was "only love, wasn't it"? We all know that Stevie knows that it's never "only" love although one might like to think it is. (Unless "only means" meant it was love and love alone that they had.) And by adding, "Wasn't it?", she seems to be questioning Christian, I suppose, and what he thinks what they had was.

Sweet things that we live for
But it was only love

And Stevie sums up the song (and a lot of things we come across in life) in two lines. I don't know about the Christian Stevie knew/knows, but from my experiences, people like that are best in small doses because in my experience, you do go a little crazy when around someone that can do those things to you and your soul. As to Christian, this mystery man... come on. Who else... (cough-Lindsey-cough.)

 

 

MOONY speculates:

This is definitely one of Stevie's best demos. Why she never recorded it baffles me.
However.....

"Half-past one,
The street-lamp sputtered,
The street-lamp muttered,
The street-lamp said, “Regard that woman
Who hesitates toward you in the light of the door
Which opens on her like a grin.
You see the border of her dress
Is torn and stained with sand,
And you see the corner of her eye
Twists like a crooked pin"

Ring a bell? It's an excerpt from a poem by T.S. Eliot, "Rhapsody on a Windy Night." I thought it very interesting that Stevie took those lines from this poem, something I noticed she has done with some of Oscar Wilde's work. The significance of this? Not sure, because I'm not sure I understand the poem completely. However, I think ACSFR hit the nail on the head with his/her interpretation.
The full poem "Rhapsody on a Windy Night" can be read
here.


 

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