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WEBMISTRESS speculates:
Another sad demo by Stevie, but I have to say, I adore it. It seems to me that, in general, her unreleased songs are the most tragic and/or dark. This is a song about loss - specifically, the loss of her best friend Robin. The title, "City of Hope," refers to a medical center in California of the same name. It specializes in cancer-related illnesses such as Robin's. I think Stevie is using the name of that ironically - The "City of Hope" couldn't help Robin... and on another level, in life, now that Robin's gone, Stevie's hope is gone, too.
Stevie starts off with a couple of song references - "Crystal visions" from Dreams, "crystal-clear water fountain" from Crystal. Now, assuming that there was a reason she echoed those two particular songs, I think it's interesting that Crystal is about true love and Dreams is about the end of love. In this song, she seems very aware that time is passing. Life is short, as she found out all too well by watching Robin get sick and die. We only have "a few precious hours." In the end, only the lucky - "the charmed ones" - survive.
She goes onto say that she's "already lost one guiding light." I think it's pretty apparent that she's referring to Robin. The loss hurt her more than anything else she's ever gone through, or will ever go through again. It's scarred her - in admitting how badly it hurt her, she loses that naive innocence that makes one believe that everything will somehow turn out alright. In the chorus, she seems to be struggling between remembering how things used to be and trying not to think about it. She can't help but think about it, though; every night she "wonder[s] where you are." So, in the midst of all this sadness, "where's this city of hope"? Stevie doesn't seem to know the answer.
HENRY speculates:
You are dead on accurate with the interpretation of the lyrics. It was my first gut feeling about the song. I agree, it is a dark song, like many of her outtakes and demos, but this one has something special about it, as you state. I feel she does not know where the city of hope exists, but rather holds in her heart that someday she will find it and Robin.
Interesting that on the outtake she repeats to the end "Well, I've already lost one guiding light...Your child-like angel." where your typed lyrics end at "That I don't..." She lost Robin, "one guiding light, Nothing will ever hurt me like this again... changing pronouns, (as Stevie normally does) "You give it up, just a little bit, Your child-like angel" meaning "you" Stevie herself lost Robin and a part of herself, but is still searching for her "Not a night goes by, That I don't wonder where you are" Hoping, perhaps, that one day they will be reunited. Then again, perhaps the city of hope in in Stevie's heart and her love for her best friend Robin.