The Empress | Playbook Commentary [Side A]
Need to catch up? The full album can be found here: The Empress
Note: Song lyric application may not always correspond with the original meaning / intention of the song’s origins.
Enjoy these breakdowns of the lyrics that influenced and inspired some of the events and imagery used in The Empress. All songs with the exception of the EP “Depth Over Distance” are borrowed from Ben Howard’s albums Every Kingdom and I Forget Where We Were
cw: mentions of drowning
~ Side A Playlist ~
“Bones”
“Depth Over Distance”
“These Waters”
“Everything”
“Rivers in Your Mouth”
“Promise”
“Keep Your Head Up”
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“Bones”
Lyrics that had the most impact on the chapter:
And you laugh like you've never been lonely / That's alright honey / That's alright with me
Oh you laugh like I'll be there to hold you always / Always here / I'm always here, always here
Commentary
“And you laugh like you've never been lonely / That's alright honey / That's alright with me” - This chapter is really about bridging what distance has formed between Kip and Asra since she started having her nightmares. The lyrics reflect Asra’s patience and nonjudgmental approach to helping Kip overcome her challenges.
“Oh you laugh like I'll be there to hold you always / Always here / I'm always here, always here” - Asra continues to show Kip that she doesn’t have to face her problems alone. Even when her nightmares were at their worst, Asra was there for her. And he’s here with now after everything has calmed down.
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“Depth Over Distance”
Lyrics that had the most impact on the chapter:
Depth over distance was all I asked of you / And I may be foolish to fall as I do / Still there's strength in the blindness you fear / If you're coming too
Commentary
“Depth over distance was all I asked of you” - This chapter really sets the tone for Ozy and Nadia’s relationship. Once Nadia has decided that her feelings towards Ozy are romantic, she immediately wants to know where his level of comfort is / what his boundaries are. Nadia values “depth” in a relationship - growing closer to Ozy as a person, over the “distance” - seeing how far she can get with him physically.
“Still there's strength in the blindness you fear” - these are uncharted waters “blindness” for both Ozy and Nadia. While Ozy isn’t completely inexperienced, none of his romantic relationships prior to this moment have been very meaningful. Usually because they ended in some kind of miscommunication, which has left him very confused in how to navigate romantic connections. Nadia can see where Ozy’s vulnerabilities lie without him being explicit about it, yet she’s still willing to take that risk. These risks and willingness to be vulnerable are where Ozadia draws “strength” but it’s also a source of “fear” in their relationship.
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“These Waters”
Lyrics that had the most impact on the chapter:
See these waters they'll pull you up / Oh if you're bolder than the darkness / My my, let these songs be an instrument to cut / Oh spaces 'tween the happiness and the hardness
Commentary
“See these waters they’ll pull you up” - reflecting the ocean/sea imagery repeated throughout Kip’s journey. Water plays a significant role in Kip’s magic, her nightmares, and her connection to her childhood.
“Oh spaces ‘tween the happiness and the hardness” - reflects the strained relationship Kipling has with the sea. On one hand it holds positive memories - “happiness”. On the other hand, it’s a constant reminder of everything she has lost - “hardness”
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“Everything”
Lyrics that had the most impact on the chapter:
Seems everything around here / Stays like stone / Seems it's about time, darling / We let this all go
Everything must start again anew / Everything just goes that way, my friend / Every king knows it to be true / That every kingdom must one day come to an end
Commentary
“Seems it's about time, darling / We let this all go” - reflects Ozy’s attitude at this point in the narrative. He feels like his progress with Kipling has stagnated and it might be time to do something drastic in order to move forward.
“Everything just goes that way, my friend / Every king knows it to be true / That every kingdom must one day come to an end” - these lyrics reflect this ah-ha moment Ozy experiences at the end of the chapter when he realizes the pattern in Kipling’s behaviors - “Every king knows it to be true”. Even though he knows that what he needs to do might put some distance between himself and Kip, he accepts that he has to take that step - “Everything just goes that way, my friend”.
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“Rivers In Your Mouth”
Lyrics that had the most impact on the chapter:
Hold it in, the river in your mouth is pouring out / Water takes the shape of all that it surrounds
Hold it in they come at you from both sides of your mind / Thick and thin; these walls you'll always stand behind / I'm sick and tired, oh I begged for the world to change / But it don't, it ain't all you and that's the thing
Commentary
“Hold it in, the river in your mouth is pouring out / Water takes the shape of all that it surrounds” - reinforcing the water imagery. But these lyrics are actually more of foreshadowing for Kip’s full trial with The Empress. The drowning imagery becomes particularly violent in the next chapter. The “river” also reflects the confessions that Kip makes throughout the chapter. Many of them do not come easily, but rather “pour” out of her as a result of the harsh trial she has to endure.
“They come at you from both sides of your mind” - Kip experiences a lot of overstimulation before she comes to an understanding with how she needs to move forward. Taro becomes a satellite, Ozy steals her necklace, she unlocks her third eye, and she enters The Empress’ realm.
“Oh I begged for the world to change / But it don’t...” - More foreshadowing of the next chapter. This line reflects Kip’s relationship with The Empress. Kip’s patron tends to come off as insensitive and matter of fact – much like how “the world” keeps rotating / functioning as normal regardless of the fate of its inhabitants. Throughout Kip’s trial, she tries to appeal to The Empress through pleas and saying what she thinks the Arcana wants to hear - “I begged for the world to change”. However, the patron doesn’t give Kip a pass or any hints on how to survive her trial - “But it don’t…”
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“Promise”
Lyrics that had the most impact on the chapter:
Meet me there / With bundles of flowers / We'll wade through the hours
Who am I darling to you? / Who am I to tell you stories of mine? / Who am I? / Who am I darling for you? / Who am I to be your burden in time?
Commentary
“Meet me there / With bundles of flowers / We'll wade through the hours” - combined imagery of both Strength and The Empress’ realms. Kip ultimately wants to reunite with Khleo and return to a time when they would escape into nature. Throughout the album, flowers have been one of the clear links between Kip and Khleo, such as the daisies that magically bloom whenever Kip is trying to reconnect with Khleo.
“Who am I darling to you? / Who am I to be your burden in time?” - The Empress is really putting Kip’s bond with Khleo to the test. The Arcana’s trial makes Kip reevaluate what her love for Khleo really means - “Who am I… to you?” She must understand that if she truly loves Khleo, she has to let them go (in her heart) or else she will never be able to fully grow from her mistakes. By holding onto the memory of Khleo “burden in time”, she’s at risk of mistaking love for obsession, which then negatively affects any of the relationships she develops going forward.
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“Keep Your Head Up”
Lyrics that had the most impact on the chapter:
I spent my time watchin’ / The spaces that have grown between us / And I cut my mind on second best / The scars that come with the greenness / And I gave my eyes to the bottom / Still the seabed wouldn't let me in / And I tried my best to embrace the darkness / In which I swim
Keep your head up, keep your heart strong / Keep your mind set, keep your hair long / Keep your head up, keep your heart strong / Keep your mind set in your ways / But keep your heart strong
'Cause I'll always remember you the same / Eyes like wild flowers with your demons of change
Commentary
“I spent my time watchin’ / The spaces that have grown between us” - this line applies to both Ozy and Kipling, who have had to look back on the physical and emotional gaps that developed over time within the trio.
“And I gave my eyes to the bottom / still the seabed wouldn’t let me in” - reflects the frustration that Kip experienced as she wrestled with her magic. Reinforces the ocean imagery throughout Kip’s journey.
“And I tried my best to embrace the darkness / in which I swim” - more of that ocean imagery + sense of directionlessness that both Kip and Ozy experienced before coming together.
“Keep your head up, keep your heart strong / Keep your mind set, keep your hair long” - these lyrics reflect the hopeful tone of the chapter. Also reinforces the heart/mind metaphors connected to Kip and Ozy.
“'Cause I'll always remember you the same / Eyes like wild flowers with your demons of change” - these lyrics clearly point to Khleo, who still exists as a childhood memory for Kip and Ozy. Khleo’s gate is full of “wild flowers” and her “demons of change” includes all the things she’s had to struggle with on her own since her separation from Kip and Ozy.