Cool On Your Island

Another YKTR classic. Unlike most of the songs from her first album, Tori actually sings this song at concerts occasionally. There's a video of a slower smoother take on this from London 2007. "Cool On Your Island" has less of the rock chick vibe of its album-mates, and a tropical Bangles undertone.

Meaning

Tori hasn't talked a lot about this song, but the lyrics don't seem too complex. The poet John Donne once said, "No man is an island entire of itself." It sounds like this man thinks he can be an island, and he's letting the hottest redhead in this galaxy drift away in the process. Tori describes mind games and simply not feeling bought into the relationship. Reminds me of my first marriage! Tori, if you ever get tired of men's crap, let's become lesbians together. I bet its balmy and bright on your island!

She warns Mr. Wrong that it may be a little too cool on his island and that he is about to lose her. It was most definitely his loss.

Here's the song, set to a fan video on Youtube:



Here it is live:



sTORItelling

This song was placed on the B-side of Phil Collins' "A Groovy Kind of Love", which inadvertently save Tori from being arrested on the border of Germany. See the whole story here.

Lyrics

If you don't treat me better
Baby, I'll just run away
Baby, I don't know what drives you
to play these silly games
C'mon, baby
I'm much stronger than you know
Sometimes
I'm not afraid to let it show

When will you wake up?
I want you more than the stars and the sun
But I can take only so much
Cool on your island
Is it cool on your island?

I gotta brand new dress, babe
Could it make you wanna try?
I guess I didn't want to notice
The stars gone from your eyes
C'mon, baby
I'm much stronger than you know
Sometimes
I'm not afraid to let it show

When will you wake up?
I want you more than the stars and the sun
But I can take only so much
Cool on your island
Is it cool on your island?

We could buy an airplane
Build a home in the sand
You could tell your secrets
I could understand
But then by the morning
Comes crumblin' down
And as your leavin'
Wait

When will you wake up?
I want you more than the stars and the sun
But I can take only so much
Cool on your island
Is it cool on your island?

When will you wake up?
I want you more than the stars and the sun
But I can take only so much
Cool on your island
You're so cool on your island
Is it cool on your island?
Is it cool, baby?

If you don't treat me better
Baby, I'll just run away
If you don't treat me... one day
You'll wake up cold
Then you'll know, you'll know, you'll know, you love me

Press

Wikipedia

The Big Picture

Ears with Feet will enjoy this early piece of work, especially the video with a very different Tori Amos than the one we know and love. Tori Amos the scantily clad pirate/rock chick is a woman even the most devoted fans may not have met.

Meaning

Tori sings about "the big picture" of an up-and-coming rocker, the trials of dealing with a complicated personal life while trying to break into the music industry. As you can see from the lyrics at the end of this post, "The Big Picture" is not the most shallow song from this era, although not Tori's most profound work either.

The Video




The video begins with Tori Amos having an argument with a policeman in an urban alley. He is writing her a ticket for being illegally parked, while she is protesting that someone broke into her car. "Somebody... stole my underwear--that's gross!" As the cop is walking away, you can see Tori's panties in his pocket.

Lyrics

Someone smashed my window
Broke into my brand new car last night
Caught my boyfriend looking
At another slender pair of thighs
Gotta make more money
Gotta get, gotta get there faster than the rest
Knock 'em off the ladder
If they even seem to stand a chance

The big picture
Gotta big white cloud
The big picture
Is starin' at me, starin' at me

Why do I feel so threatened
That somebody else will take what's mine
Babe it's only rented
No one really owns the Merchandise
What about what I want?
Somehow it got lost somewhere inside
My mother's on my case
I told her it's my life
Well, she just died

The big picture
Gotta big white cloud
The big picture
Starin' at me, starin' at me
The big picture
On a big blank wall
The big picture
Is starin' at me, starin' at me

When I can see
I'll try again
I've got my paints

The big picture... The big picture
Gotta big white cloud
The big picture
Starin' at me, starin' at me
The big picture
On a big blank wall
The big picture
Is starin' at me, starin' at me

Y Kant Tori Read--Album Overview

About the Album

Y Kant Tori Read was the eponymous album released by Atlantic Records. It was Tori Amos' first album. YKTR is not bad for its era, but it's fair to say the record companies overproduced it.

Tori Amos has worked to distance herself from this album, probably because it is not consistent with her later work. However, this album has foreshadowings of the artist who would later emerge, and thus is a must for the Toriphile's collection. Good condition albums fetch high prices, and even bootleg copies go for more than the average brand-new CD.

Y the Awd Nayme?

The name is the reference to the fact that Tori Amos was booted from the Peabody Conservatory at age 11 because she couldn't/wouldn't read sheet music. As for the spelling, those of us who survived the eighties need no explanation. I'm a former "Emylli".

Highlights

"Cool on Your Island" is probably the best known track on this album, at least partially because Tori still sings it occasionally in live performances. All in all, it's not a bad song for its era. You gotta love Tori's full-on eighties hair and clothes in the album images, the same way you 'love' your old prom picture.

sTORItelling

A song from this album was included on a Phil Collins album, which inadvertently saved Tori from being arrested in Germany. Tori tells the tale on this video clip:

Track Listing

1. "The Big Picture" (written with Kim Bullard)
2. "Cool on Your Island" (written with Bullard)
3. "Fayth" (Amos, Cobb)
4. "Fire on the Side"
5. "Pirates" (written with Bullard)
6. "Floating City"
7. "Heart Attack at 23"
8. "On the Boundary"
9. "You Go to My Head"
10. "Etienne Trilogy" , which includes:
"The Highlands" (written with Bullard)
"Etienne"
"Skyeboat Song" (traditional)

Please note: this is an information-only fan page. Toriphilia is not affiliated with Tori Amos or any recording company, and does not suggest or condone buying bootleg albums or in any way violating copyright laws.