Geeky invasion of song lyrics

Cafe Society
1

Anyone else have any uber-geeky thoughts that just pop up, unbidden, and invade your otherwise blissfully ignorant enjoyment of a song?

I love the song by Seal “Kiss From A Rose.” It’s fun to sing along with. Forgetting the metaphors and innuendo, there was always some technical point that bothered me but I didn’t want to work at finding it. Hearing the song this morning I noticed it. The refrain goes:*But did you know,
That when it snows,
My eyes become large and,
The light that you shine can be seen.*So … when it snows, my eyes become large. The snow would have to be thick and blocking vision for the pupils to dilate (light snow and with snow glare they would contract). So the light that you shine can be seen is only visible in a dimly lit environment where your rods can detect low light levels. :geeky-smilie:

So baby is really a very dim source - and I always hear (correction: heard!) it the other way 'round. It could be that the light shines through heavy snow, but that’s not what the lyrics suggest. I still enjoy the song, but I laugh now when I hear that part.

Again, anyone else have any uber-geeky thoughts that just pop up, unbidden, and invade your otherwise blissfully ignorant enjoyment of a song?

2

There’s another way to interpret this: When an author (or lyricist) says “my eyes became large”, it usually does not refer to pupil dilation! Rather, it refers to becoming, as it is said, “wide-eyed” - which may indicate shock, or in this case, affection. - Jinx

3

Yes, but sometimes the mind (mine at least) just fixates on one definition. Sometimes you hear lyrics with delight, sometimes with a spectrometer (or should that be audiometer?). :stuck_out_tongue: :smiley:

4

I worried that my post might have sounded snarky when that wasn’t meant at all. Thank you for the better interpretation! “Wide-eyed” hadn’t crossed my mind. I can return to enjoying the song now without snickering, thanks. :slight_smile: