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