I was just that old
That August dark, dark day
Swear that you never saw her face
Swear that you never heard her say
Stevie is referring to her age here – on this "August dark, dark day," (August meaning dark, imposing) she may have broken up with someone. The breakup caused Stevie to feel old – not necessarily age-wise, but experience-wise. She probably said or did something that may have been a little out of character for her. She wants whoever she broke up with to forget about that day, to forget about what happened.
No spoken word
No small command
What was it she wanted
They say she had everything
No spoken word
No small command
What was it she wanted
They say she had everything
Here Stevie switches from first person to third person. She's looking at herself the way she thinks others might see her, and she knows people think she has everything. No words are necessary to make her demand clear – she's unhappy and she wants something more than what she already has.
What shall I do
What shall I say
Should I say
Who all the things
That I'd like to say to you
Again Stevie talks in the first person. Should she tell this person exactly how she feels? Using words to reveal her true feelings might not do any good for the relationship, or maybe she can't even find the right words to say what she wants to say. She probably wants to tell him everything, but she doesn't know which words will convince him that she wants to be with him.
No spoken word
No small command
What was it she wanted
They say she had everything
Let's make a deal here
Stevie's getting desperate here.... She wants this love so bad that she's ready to make a compromise – maybe she's even willing to give up the "everything" that people say she has just to have this love?
Ooh, for one night
Well baby, you fill the night with the
Wind and the rain and the water
This is a stormy relationship, but Stevie still wants it, even if it is for only one night. She also wants the emotions (wind, rain and water) that go along with it.
Oh, for one night
Well, just for one night
You know that well that
Disasterous sound
Now it will make me wiser
He says, and it will make you look
She says, look out
I don't know how to learn
From the pages of a book
Stevie's begging again. She wants him for just one night. But he warns her that maybe this breakup will make her wiser. However, Stevie doesn't (or can't) learn from what she reads and what other people tell her. She has to learn things the hard way.
Well I either say too much, or I
I don't say enough
Well I play too hard
Still I'm not tough enough
What was it she wanted
They say she had everything
She knows that sometimes she gets too personal in her songs, but she doesn't always say the right things to the right people. Likewise, she's probably unable to get through to the man she loves – she simply isn't saying enough to convince him to be with her. She leads a difficult life, but she feels that she still hasn't become tough enough to handle everything she's had to face. Stevie has said that it was difficult for her to put up that wall of self-protection that so many of us have – in other words, she's too open and vulnerable. As a result she cannot always deal with the pressures of her unusual life.
No spoken word
No small command
What was it she wanted
They said she had everything
Ooh come around tonight indecent
Well
Ah, ha come around
Tonight, indecent baby well,
You fill the room
With the rain and the wind and the water
At this point it doesn't matter if he considers her behavior to be indecent. She wants this stormy presence and it doesn't matter if she has to appeal to his baser side. She wants this man and she'll do what it takes to get him.
If you tell me,
One more time
Oh baby, take it easy
Well, you won't see me ever again
Stevie doesn't want to be reasoned with. She's in love and she refuses to "take it easy." People may think this is no big deal but to her, this is a big deal. And if he even attempts to calm her down, she's leaving for good (or so she says).
Some people walk down that darkened street
With the faith of a child
And so go the faithless
But after awhile, she says
The "darkened street" Stevie is referring to could be either life or love (or both). Some people go through life with the feeling that they will be protected, that everything will be okay. But even the distrusting people have to take this same road. Maybe she is the one with the "faith of a child" and he is one of the "faithless." Either way, they have to take this same road, so why not take it together?
No spoken word
Let's make a deal here
No small command
What was it she wanted
They said she had everything
Ooh, I don't want to know about it
With words unspoken, Stevie is asking him to stay and try again. She knows that people think she should be content with all of the things she does have. But she doesn't want to hear about it, either. She's going for the one thing she REALLY wants -- and she doesn't care what anybody thinks!
(The interpretations to these lyrics were compiled through discussions on the message boards of the Penguin, The Ledge. It is entirely possible that the artists had something completely different in mind.)
