When it comes to music as a form of therapy, Tori Amos is considered a heroine. Her following is a whole subculture of people who call themselves "ears with feet" (a term that Tori dubbed in the 90's). Many of these people have been saved by the empowering and healing messages in her music. Although, Tori would probably correct me here and say they saved themselves.Β
She has had what some consider a return to form with her newest album Unrepentant Geraldines, which is more piano-centric than previous records. She also stopped hiding behind wigged archetypes and thematic concepts to reveal a real woman with insecurities and a fear of what it means to be an aging woman in our society. The stand out tracks seem to be the most stripped down, the most vulnerable, such as Oysters.
With such a rich back catalogue (including her 80s snafu, Y Kant Tori Read, which actually is full of little gems) and her "lizard lounge" of covers, Tori definitely knows how to keep her audience on their toes at her live shows. I attended her show in Los Angeles at the Greek Theatre this past Wednesday, and I was very pleased that Oysters was one of the two songs from the new album that she played. I was also awestruck when she mashed up Bjork's Hyperballad with her own Cloud On My Tongue, but I digress.
This song hearkens imagery from childhood, like the ruby slippers clicking their heels to get home. Slippers or shoes symbolize staying true to our own path. While listening, we may ask ourselves if we are moving forward in the direction that our inner beliefs point to.
Ruby also symbolizes life force and blood, fire and passion. It's the firey red root chakra that keeps us connected and grounded.
Tori has talked about the connection to nature in relation to this song. Sometimes we get stuck and don't know how else to move forward on our path but to take up gardening, to get physically grounded with our feet in the sand, in order to stop thinking and stop the negative patterns that may be taking hold of our lives.Β
Oysters are a symbol of sexuality, security, and also transformation. Some of them change between sexes. They can take a disturbing intruder and instead of just extinguishing it, they transform it. Tori sings, "Not every girl is a pearl. Not every girl is popular," with her high notes. This was the part where my heart broke and sobs erupted from my eyeballs the first time I listened to the song. It's hard to define why. But I believe it has to do with the value that is placed upon the pearls, how society views the feminine. It doesn't matter if we are cracked open or damaged, if we suffered from an intrusion. It only seems to matter how pretty our pearls are. And once that is taken from us, we have been conditioned to believe we have no value left.
But as Tori turns these oysters in the sand, she offers hope that things might change.Β
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