Gypsy Beggar

Written by S. Nicks

He was my friend long ago Before you, gypsy soul In the beggar's dust What's wrong with him? I wanna talk to him Say he's coming here I want to talk to you I want to talk to you Why this silk dress? You'll never love him Have them then, your newfound friends Stare through the window of your house Don't do this What about... I wish he hadn't come back Different as he is She convinces herself selfish Why did you stay so long in the house? You gypsy begger He was my friend before you, gypsy soul In the beggar's dust What's wrong with him? That challenge keeps us together It is a challenge for love to get older Time was..as the sea As the sea, the sea draws you closer The time had come...and gone She convinces herself selfish Well, why did you stay so long in that house? Well, you're a gypsy beggar He was my friend long ago Before you, somewhere in his gypsy soul


WEBMISTRESS speculates:

I think this is kind of interesting because at the end she says, "somewhere in his gypsy soul" - which is unusual since Stevie is always the one who is associated with that term. At any rate, whoever this "gypsy" is, he's gone, he's no longer her friend, and she misses that. Still, she pretends not to care - "Go ahead, hang out with your newfound friends, I'll never love you!" Admittedly, that sounds cold, but the rest of the song belies this. She feels isolated from him, but she knows that "the challenge keeps us together," and she hangs onto that. The challenge is hanging on to that love as it grows older, without giving up.

 

MARTY speculates:

While watching Wuthering Heights I caught the phrase "Gypsy Beggar" (referring to Heathcliff) so I listened very carefully and noticed several more lines from the song throughout the movie. "He was my friend long ago before you" is Cathy talking about Heathcliff.

"The beggar's dust" resembles a line in the movie: "You've got that beggar's dirt on you."

"Have them then, your newfound friends" is from Heathcliff to Cathy verbatim, as is: "Why did you stay so long in that house?"

And "Stare through the window" could refer to Heathcliff staring out the window and seeing Cathy's ghost on the moors.

I've heard Stevie mention Wuthering Heights in an interview once while discussing "The Wild Heart" album, comparing herself to Cathy. Also when Cathy dies, a mourner says, "Oh, my wild heart."

 

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