CHINA: HOW TORI AMOS GLUES THE CRACKS TOGETHER
by Joe Tennis
See Supplement
The first two lines are full of contradictions. Let us begin to unpack them. The most paramount feature of the text itself is that there is no punctuation. Are we to take the meaning from her inflection alone? Or are we to interpret them as best we can, imposing our own grammatical sense on them? Or further, is the lack of punctuation designed to illustrate the fluidity of the concepts she weaves and show how nothing is cauterized?
Now the words. We can assume that "CHINA" in the first line means the country, although who knows? Is she talking about the journeying from "CHINA"--more obviously the actual/metaphorical distance between the two places? Or is she talking about shipping delicate china across the sea and it is the anxiety about the precious objects traveling that bothers her?
She can actually feel the time of departure fast approaching ("can feel the distance getting close"). The mood of the music leads us one way, but that mood construction could be a conscious effort to play again with opposing ideas. Does she indeed feel anxious about what is going on throughout the song? She can also "feel the DISTANCE as you breathe." This "DISTANCE" is in all capitals--a very interesting extension of the textual play. The one before it wasn't. Is this one the real "DISTANCE"? or is it just strategically placed on the page to allow a trickling down of big ideas?
The other words which are in all caps are: "CHINA," "DISTANCE," "WALL," "CRACKS," "MEXICO"; in that order. We shall fit these in as we go along. If meaning is assigned to this capitalized "DISTANCE," it seems to illustrate more concretely the emotional distance as the speaker is experiencing it. Following that interpretation, she reduces the metaphorical space from across the globe to her immediate personal space. But immediately (in five plain words) we are traversing, in an airplane the "DISTANCE" between the two lovers.
The meaning of the text is, again, loaded with deconstructive thought. To begin any concise selection of text with the word "sometimes" is poignant. She is introducing a casual feeling into the precious amount of time and space allowed by the song structure. But by doing so she shows the inconsistency of the relationship she is describing. These feelings (angst as well as love) aren't as constant as we would like them to be. She further amplifies the uncertainty by introducing the dual perspectives of both individuals involved. "I think you want me to touch you," signifies the confusion about who is feeling what. She, the speaker, is very aware of the "DISTANCE" between herself and her partner, but there is not a lack of communication. Some signals are being sent. But what do they mean? We arrive back at the universal chaos of play in everyday human relations. (I thought you thought we both were thinking that this was what we decided to think.)
After throwing out an example-scenario of the frustrated relationship, she comments on the situation. She senses a wall. Not just any wall, but "the great WALL." She ties us back to the metaphor she established earlier, and even contrasts it with another possible image. If we thought of the first "CHINA" as the country, then we see the metaphor's use. It is the huge physical stone wall around the country. Here she uses it as an emotional wall that keeps the speaker from the object of the song. But if we took the first "CHINA" to be the dishes, then we feel the textures in contrast with each other. The "WALL" is stone and rough and huge. The dishes are soft, and frail and they fit in your hands. You can move them. The "WALL" is stationary--immovable. The person Tori is talking about, is the agent in building the WALL. That person did it! Not Tori. All she can do right now is feel the distance.
She "saw a future together": that is self-explanatory. Although she does not qualify what kind of future they might have together, we can infer that she was looking forward to it. But now "you just look away in the distance." Though the (potential) lover is looking away, that person is looking away in the "distance." They are looking where Tori feels.
This "china" is not capitalized. Tori must want it to be interpreted differently. It also separates the chorus from the verse. This adds structure to the form of the song--kind of an A B A form.
The second word has a less ambiguous meaning: "china," unless your table is decorated with bits of granite from a foreign country, is an image of fine dinnerware. It is also decorative. The word "decorates" suggests that indeed the china on the table is decorative, pretty but frivolous, beautiful but not sturdy, and maybe not even useful.
If we are to pit words against each other, "practical" or "useful" could be the opposite of "decorative." Is this function word "decorates" meant to juxtapose these binary oppositions, or does it merely set the scene for what is to follow?
The next phrase in the monologue is "our table." We now have an established scenario. The "china" is not in cabinets, but rather on the table where the couple sits, probably at dinner. We get a feel for a rather formal dinner setting, where the couple should be relaxed and more intimate. It almost seems a chore to get the "china" out and onto the "table." It is almost an ordeal.
She next comments on the scene: "funny how the CRACKS don't seem to show." "CRACKS" is an important part of this commentary--not only because the word is in capital letters, but because it is a word that unties both "CHINA" and "WALL" of the previous paragraphs. So now we have "CHINA," "WALL," and "CRACKS" as the formula of capital letters. Tori knows that it will fall/is falling apart, and that everything else is embellishment. Of course, these "CRACKS don't seem to show." That they don't show is another allusion to the feeling of distance. They don't see what is going on. They are removed from the issue at hand. They are trying to cover up what is really going on--to remove themselves from the situation.
"pour the wine dear you say we'll take a holiday but we can never agree on where to go": Tori wants her partner to share in a toast, possibly to their relationship. But the request/command goes unanswered and the subject shifts to a "holiday." The holiday is a time and place other than here and now. It may be a happier time, or it could just be an escape from the sadness she is experiencing now. That escape sounds real--that is, corporeal, mundane--but it is also very temporary. This vacation will not fix the problems with the relationship. Also, it is "you" who promises this trip. Her partner is offering a never-to-be-realized dream of a wonderful time for the both of them, somewhere other than here around the dining room table. Tori seems to be all for saving the relationship and going away with her partner, "but we can never agree on where to go." This points to the innate tension at the heart of their relationship.
"China" is capitalized this time, which conjures up the place, especially once New York and MEXICO are put into play. The perspective is now on a global scale. From an intimate (though not happy) dinner, to across the world, the metaphorical scenario paints with large strokes the depth and breadth of the emotional miscommunication Tori feels. It is a miscommunication that affects many parts of her life. Following the path she constructs, "you" gets lost in MEXICO, which is nowhere near China or New York. This absurd detour is another example she employs to illustrate the distance (ah, that magic word) that exists between the couple.
So now we have "CHINA," "WALL," "CRACKS," and "MEXICO" in the formula. I can't help but think of the Mexican pottery that sits on my mother's kitchen shelf, which is against the southern wall. It is pottery that her best friend brought back from Mexico, and it has been sitting on the shelf for quite a while. I look at it, thinking that if I were to touch it the pottery would break or crack. I have provided yet another reading of the song. Derrida would be proud. Back to the discussion at hand . . .
"you're right next to me I think that you can hear me funny how the distance learns to grow": Tori again jerks her audience back into the local sphere. "you" is now right next to her. And although she is trying to communicate, her partner is not responding. But at the same time, Tori isn't sure that she isn't being heard. Try as she might, if her partner isn't receptive or perceptive enough, she won't be heard. And then, as if to respond to her own comment, she says, "funny how the distance learns to grow . . . "