Amanda Palmer - Point Of It All [OFFICIAL VIDEO]
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- Amanda Palmer's video for 'Point Of It All' off the album Who Killed Amanda Palmer - available now on Roadrunner Records. Download now on iTunes: smarturl.it/who...
LYRICS
Oh, what a noble, distinguished collection
Of fine little friends you have made
Hitting the tables without you again
No, well wait, no, we promise, well wait
Well, June makes these excellent sewing machines
Out of common industrial waste
She spends a few days at a time on the couch
But shes safe, she wears shades, she wears shades
Oh, but no one can stare at the wall
As good as you, my baby doll
And youre aces for coming along
Youre almost human after all
And youre learning that just cause they call
Themselves friends doesnt mean theyll call
They made the comment in jest
But youve got the needle
I guess thats the point of it all
Maybe a week in the tropics would help
To remind you how nice life can be
We propped you right up in a chair on a deck
With a beautiful view of the sea
But a couple weeks later we came back
And you and the chair were nowhere to be seen
You had magically moved to the closet
Eyes fixed to the place where the dryer had been
Oh, but no one can stare at the wall
As good as you, my baby doll
And youre aces for coming along
Youre almost human after all
Why on earth would I keep you propped up in here
When you so love the fall?
The patterns laid out on the bed
With dozens of colors of thread
But youve got the needle
I guess thats the point in the end
But its better to waste your day
Watching the scenery change at a comatose rate
Than to put yourself in it and turn into one of those
Cigarette ads that you hate
But while you were sleeping some men came around
Said they had some dimensions to take
Im not sure what they were talking about
But they sure made a mess of your face
But still, no one can stare at the wall
As good as you, my baby doll
And youre aces for playing along
Youre almost human, even now
And just cause they call themselves experts
It doesnt mean sweet fuck all
Theyve got the permanent press
Homes with a stable address
And theyve got excitement and life by the fistful
But youve got the needle, I guess thats the point of it all
![Amanda Palmer - Ampersand [OFFICIAL VIDEO]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/MJOMSkn1Wwg/mqdefault.jpg)
![Amanda Palmer - Ampersand [OFFICIAL VIDEO]](/img/tr.png)
![Amanda Palmer - Astronaut [OFFICIAL VIDEO]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Z8B2nBM0jFg/mqdefault.jpg)
I just get more and more impressed, involved, depressed, with every listen of every lyric of every song. Thanks for the music, the pain and the beauty of it all.
Every time I dip into Amanda's catalogue I am amazed...
This song still hits me hard, even a year after my bf died of an overdose. It frames the regret and sadness, and longing perfectly.
I'm so sorry 😞
"And you've learned that just 'cause the call themselves friends doesn't mean that they'll call--they made the comment in jest." Most profound line in the history of recorded music.
Amanda sings with such an expression that I find myself in her songs... I just know she feels exactly the same way we all feel. As if she was my best friend, knowing all my secrets, all my soul, I must say. Hardly ever can any artist be so close to the listener.
No matter what the song is 'really' about: you're the one holding the needle, and that's the point in the end.. Your choices are your own to make. Cheers to those listening in 2021
At some point there is no choice.
I lost my Partner a year ago. He never had a really choice.
That is the tragig point of it all.
Watching in '21... this song has helped me through some shit. I cant believe how well these lyrics applied to my situation. Its uncanny, really.
The beauty of music lyrics is how you can find different interpretations depending on how you feel, where you are in life and what you've experienced. Specially when it's so beautifully written.
Amazing song. It's only a shame there aren't more genuine artists in the music business.
As someone with avoidant personality disorder and dissociative problems this song is like it was written for people like me.
I personally think it's about have a depressed person in your life...I know it's the obvious meaning, but it just speaks to me that way. My mother is severely depressed and has attempted to take her life several times and this song just describes life so well at times. The part about going to the tropics when everything's going well but there's still the lingering fear of the person suddenly spiraling down into the black hole of depression. There's always the fear, love, distrust, and pity that is expressed so well in this song.
In all honesty this song reminds me of when I used to make a lot of suicide attempts. All I had to do to get/stay out of hospital was stop. I was the one in control, but when you refuse to exercise it, they make you do what they want until you chose to. It really is a beautiful way of pointing out to those of us with invisible illnesses that we're the ones who can fix it. All anyone else can do is either try and make us see it will be worth it in the end, or y'know, call in the 'experts'.
This is one of the greatest songs ever penned.
You know, no matter what it means this song still makes me cry every time I hear it. I know what it means to me, and what I think about when I hear it, and that's the point of it all...really.
God, this song just shattered me. She is an amazing artist! The lyrics and the emotion in her voice, just wow.
One of the many great things about music is that we all feel and inter pit it in our way. As long as you enjoy it and it makes you feel something what does the original meaning of the song matter? Just love the music.
I never found this to be about drugs but about depression. All the talk about needles is just that, real actual needles. It's a metaphor for how professionals and friends and everyone can give you help (i.e. threads and patterns) but you have the needle, you are the one who has to do the getting better bit, no one can sow your life back together if you don't do it yourself.
Thank you. I can enjoy the song better now.
I would agree, however it is most definitely about drugs as well. If you do your research, this song is about someone in her life who was a drug addict, and it is much more personal for her then you might realize.
It is though. Her ex boyfriend was a drug addict.
Amanda Palmer faked her own suicide because he relapsed and the voices you hear in between each track is a recording of him finding her body.
she wrote it to be about drug addict, but yeah, I can totally relate this to depression. Staring at the wall, and trying to cheer them up with a trip. That´s nice about this song though, it can be interpreted differently.
That gave me chills. Because you're right
Right?! It's so awesome. This is hands down my absolute favorite song in the world. And one of the only ones that can make me cry every single time. Amanda Palmer's one of the only artists that can actually do that to me.
I'm falling in love with Amanda.She's such a brilliant artist.
This is one of the few songs in the world that can make me cry... Her voice is too beautiful!
I lost the love of my life on June 1st 2023... I miss her every second of every minute of every hour I'm here alone.
I always came back to your music :) it heals me everytime
The more I listen to this the more I love it. Every time I revisit it, it takes on a completely different story to me.
she makes the piano sing, i love it.
God, this song can so easily bring me to tears
Everybody is entitled to their own interpretations. That is one of Amanda's greatest attributes in her lyrics. The same words appeal to everyone in individual ways from unique perspectives.
This song speaks to me from the point of view of somebody who bears the weight of the burden of wanting to help somebody who has been deeply hurt by something in life that has robbed both of them of the happiness they each deserve.
The needle represents the scorn, anger, and betrayal that builds a wall preventing the subject from accepting help and moving on.
The frustration of seeing somebody stuck, scared to take any step towards finding happiness, and endlessly pushing away a valuable resource that could make all the difference.
Some people are confused by the line "she wear's shades, she wear's shades, she wear's shades." How I interpreted that was the common sewing references, and the mention of shades of thread, as if she was sewing multiple layers of clothing as a way to build a metaphorical wall/mask/etc around her. Which would still work with the drug usage, since the needle was responsible for helping to build this wall that shuts other's out.
the great thing about art is that it speaks to each person individually. being a heroin addict myself if course that's what I got from the song. however regardless of what I get from it, or even what she wrote it to mean, that doesn't invalidate the meanings other people get from it.
every single one of her songs touches me more than any other music I've heard, and it makes me feel part of a community to see other people saying the same thing. thank you Amanda for your beautiful words and music. and thank you to everyone else for simply being who you are
From what I understand, Amanda was dating a heroin addict at the time she wrote this. Like many of her songs, she uses her own life as material for her songs. So yeah, I think you got the point of it all.
one of my favorites!
This is such a fucking beautiful song.
I started listening to AFP a few years ago when I got the 'Who Killed Amanda Palmer'. Dermot O'Leary played one of her tracks on Radio 4. I fell in love with her back then and listened to that album for years. It was brilliant. Now I am loving Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under.
All of her videos are class and add to the songs, not like these 'pop' videos nowadays.
As much as I would love for her to be the most popular musician on earth, I like being one of the few that have had the pleasure.
I will have been sober for ten years on April 1st of next year. Sometimes, I find myself thinking how great a little hit of H would be, but its easier to push those thoughts aside a decade later.
Me too... stay strong. It's not worth it. I promise.
The more I listen to this the more I think it could be her singing to herself.
staring at the wall, to me at least, is what humanity is doing. we could be in the NOW watching the beautiful scenery change. the metaphors here are great. i wish i had more AFP friends to discuss these amazingly artistic lyrics.
every time I listen to this song I cry. Not just a couple of tears, like properly cry.
This is a REAL piece of work!
I like it because it sounds like pure music that no one tampered with or changed to suit the public, very nice.
Oh no one can get me addicted to words
none like you
at all
Amanda is so intense, so true! Gosh, how I wish she would come to Brazil!
...okay, this is really haunting. first time listening to this song and right as i read those lyrics, she sung them....cried
Its so amazing to listen to what amanda creates and just look in amazement at the mtv pop drivel which I cant listen to for more than 2 seconds. I think this song strikes of suzanne vega and lwendy maharry... intelligent minimalist ballads
I've had this song stuck in my head for days. Couldn't remember name of song or who artist was. Then I remembered I saw Amanda Palmer at a TED Talk and she offered Daisy's.-GSH
Heroine abuse,depression,Internal loneliness,Isolation,Suicide That is what this song means to me.Its one of the worst feelings, trying to help a loved one but not being able to get them to stop there self destructive pattern, its heart breaking watching them slowly kill themselves from the inside.
Yes beating the hell out of female heroes is a terrible thing.
H E R O I N
their
I hear myself talking to my best friend in this. It isn't exactly the same; he doesn't have fake friends and he he writes but his life has made him afraid and angry. He pushes people away and he won't let himself live. He's created rigid rules for himself recently and ever since, he hasn't done anything, he's just disapproved of everything and ranted about sin to me.
I hate seeing him like this. I know he can be happier. But... he's got the needle. I guess that's the point after all.
How does she sing so low!? She is the ultimate alto. definately my favorite singer.
I love her devasted smile at 1:23.
I'm sure people hear different things in this.
But I hear a story about a person who was never treated as fully human that people talk about like they aren't there... that feels trapped and can't fit into people's boxes and be people's narrowly defined "successful."
Like an addict, being treated less than human because of their disease.
It's so cool that people are amazing and smart enough to see so many different things.
"no one can stare at the wall as well as you, babydoll"
If you've ever been sober around people doing heroin that's what they spend most of their time doing
never lost my significant other to dope...been clean myself just over a year, and ive "died" 20+ times over 14 years....listening to all sorts of songs that have to do with heroin overdose lately since 13 people i know have died from it this year. i thought going into 2016 being clean from heroin would be a lot easier...turns out i was wrong.
She's so amazing.
omg this song is so amazing!
Everything about this song is fantastic, but that piano part = ❤️
When she married Neil gaiman I was so happy. My two favorite humans made a human 😭😭😭😭😭😭
having lost someone to drug use, the last verse kills me every time
I was deeply moved by this song the first time I heard it, which is a rare thing. It's always possible with songs as abstract as Palmer's that as listeners we are injecting our own personal meaning into the lyrics, but that was always part of her intent. If you actually know anyone who has used hard drugs, it seems obvious that it is about a friend who is a user, but she is tricky to interpret, much like Tori Amos. Excellent song in any case, and inspires me to run and practice my piano.
Think that's her best song. Anyone disagree?
It used to be my favourite now I can barely stand it. xD
My favs moved deeper to "Me & Minbar", "Trout Heart Replica", "Glass Slipper" and " Mary Surgeon" being my abolute favs.
I agree with "Me & Minbar", Delilah has hold of me atm.
This song really helped me in high school when my life kind of fell apart. What I take from it, is that it's about loneliness, and feeling hopeless and becoming self destructive (or watching someone you love become self destructive) - which I guess ties into Amanda's literal version of her heroin addict boyfriend.
I haven't listened to many songs as painful as this one.
gg been listening to this song for 6 years now. M9.
Same... longer than that now... if you have felt this hurt in your own life, it does not go away and is always relevant. And she captures that hurt perfectly.
This song always breaks me a little. The way her voice cracks at the end.
I don't know. I think what I always take away from this song is something hopeful. Life can suck, really, really bad. Everything seems wrong, no matter how hard you fight it's just an uphill battle and there's no end in sight. You can either sink into all that sadness and hopelessness, and stare at the wall thinking about how awful it is, or you can change it. You can fix those horrible, sad things. It's your life to change. You have the needle; that's the point of it all.
The impulse to make it go away, thru suicide or dope, is the same. Oblivion is what she doesn't understand the hold, She knows the attraction but she is still a bit blown away by her friends self destructiveness
she is one of my favorite wine drinking partners lol..
this is amazing! wish i could be like her
this art!!!!
There ae those who just cannot deal. It isn't their fault. I had a friend who just could not make it outside of a rehab or halfway house and she believed she couldn't go on living with her addiction. She couldn't live with out it. She did it so that only her best friends knew it was intentional. I hope she found the peace she sought
yup. saw that movie a few days ago. definitely are some parallels
goeff johns and amanda palmer! best couple ever!!!!
Eyebrows on point
+Den A always
✔✔✔
2024.
This is important stuff being said..sall of her music actually...people will listen...I hope...I hope there is hope still...
All my lovers have been jealous of my affections for Amanda since She appeared.
In conclusion. Theyre all gone and i still have Amanda and Her wonderful compositions.
No regrets. "Sweet fuck all."🎵
Songwriters do not always know what the song is about. If it is right, it comes to you and you are as much in mystery as anyone. Amanda is a fucking genius
There are two things that a song can be about. There's the what the artist says it's about which is the literal. And there's what it means to you, while she says it's about an ex boyfriend addicted to heroin you aren't wrong because that's what it means to you and that's perfectly valid.
I have a similar range; it's so nice to have an artist I can sing along to!
As a trans woman I want to thank you Amanda for giving me my feminine voice. Your low singing as well as your high notes has helped so much. A larger range than most A-list celebs out there. Now I have learned to love singing on my own.
you just made me tear up. I'm proud of you. I wish you all the love and respect
My Mom watched all her concerts with me, Dresden Dolls and the Orchestra alike, and she was so sure that Mandy was trans.. but never knew that I was.. and never got to meet me. 😔 I too have trouble with my voice, but ultimately, I do not want to be a woman, I want to be trans and I think that is closer to the point of it all. 🥲👊
@@soulmechanics7946it's not something I'd wish or encourage anyone to be, having BD is a life sentence and it's no week in the tropics. I envy you being a woman as you are, be the best you can be in the gift (in my eyes) you've been granted
seems to be about caring for someone who is an addict and watching them slowly deteriorate . I guess everything is open to interpretation, but that's my take away based on personal experience.
*helplessly watching despite best efforts to the contrary...I might add.
Oh my life.
I love you.
Omg, lol. So, I’ve been crying to this song for years. Sat down to record a cover today. I thought the lyric was “and you’re racist for coming along” ☠️🤦♀️ I didn’t question this…ever. 🥲 I’m gonna pee myself bye.
Hope I can be half the artist she is one day
@Crowley4004 The funny thing is... When I saw her in New Orleans, she said that the lyrics were red. Not thread and that's what made me dig deeper in finding the meaning to the song. I thought it was thread bc she was talking about a needle and a sewing machine.
I think it is about trying to care for someone who is an alcoholic.
+N LM On reflection that makes much more sense than my theory... Thanks! :)
+N LM I 100% agree. I must say, I am fairly new to her fanbase. I found her through Life Is Strange, and I have fallen in love with her, I watched her talks at Google lately and she is so insightful and beautiful. She has such an enlightened view of the world and I am so happy she has come into my life, some of her songs have made me laugh and some have made me cry. As a musician, I am so inspired by her, her composition and lyricism is just so special.
+N LM Wow, thanks for the insight dude. I am so sorry to hear about you and your troubles. Just remember that, although I am just someone on the internet, I care about you and your well-being, you are amazing and intelligent and awesome, stay rad.
Me too. My lifelong friend died that way, with help. He was so unhappy. I love him so much it hurts to think of him, after years... it still hurts. He had 3rd degree burns over more than 1/3 of his body. He was a wreck. He kept begging me to drive the 16 hours to see him and my car (and wallet) could not make it happen. I love you so, Shawn. I'm so sorry.
actually it's about heroin addiction.
@ShotokanKarateRules the patterns and thread are life moving around the addict and they are barely human b/c of addiction n staring at the wall cause they're high!
we're here for the music, screw you advertisements!
This totally reminded me of the horror movie "May."
@zeiZikade it nice to there is some music out there again that has enough meaning to be up to interpretation.
Yeah!, I love that movie. The video is a lot like May, even when she put the needle on her chest.
❤
Help your addicted friends and family before it's too late.
WHen she's ripping off the curtains... it's the most beautiful scene
Just happened upon her, when I haphazardly googled the term.."Olly Olly Oxen Free" & now I have a soundtrack to my breakdown..
I personally think this is about having a suicidal friend
let me know if my statement is too obvious, but this is how I see it
its about the burden of having a friend you have to constantly watch for fear that they'll do something stupid
I mean as friends we can give them all the patterns and threads (choices) but in the end they have the needle; they make the descision
I guess thats the point of it all :/
Does anybody else see the clear references on this video to the film "May" by Lucky Mckee?
@Brandisofthesand think so? what do you think amanda envisions as she listens to this?
@zeiZikade
Thats a very nice way of looking at it. I always thought it was about a junkie that she thought that she could not help no matter how hard she tried.
It's about heroin addiction. In an interview, she said that it was about an ex boyfriend who was shooting heroin and she helped him battle his addiction. "Patterns laid out on the bed of dozens of colors of red" are drops of blood. :( Sad, really...
I think we all know someone like the one depicted in this song.
Well she's in a healthy marriage now. Some of her songs are about past relationships, some aren't. They're still good :)
I don't think this is about a former relationship at all? Seems directed at a woman. A lot of her songs seem to be actual songs, thoughts and feelings, not just rehashing relationships, which is so refreshing! Regardless, they're all so real, she is herself and an artist in every song!
trippy
Yeah, this song is probably about heroin, since she, you know, said so, and I can relate on that literal sense. But anyone can relate to loving someone who just wants to keep destroying themselves. This song is just so beautiful and sad, yet it comforts me somehow.
When I met Amanda I was too nervous to say anything. She gave me this look of "What the hell?" I wish I could have told her how I've been a fan for eight years and devour everything she writes, but oh well. ;)