Poetry Journal #11 - Pale September

Pale september, I wore the time like a dress that year
The autumn days swung soft around me, like cotton on my skin
But as the embers of the summer lost their breath and disappeared
My heart went cold and only hollow rhythms resounded from within
But then he rose, brilliant as the moon in full
And sank in the burrows of my keep

And all my armor falling down, in a pile at my feet
And my winter giving way to warm, as I'm singing him to sleep

He goes along just as a water lily
Gentle on the surface of his thoughts his body floats
Unweighted down by passion or intensity
Yet unaware of the depth upon which he coasts
And he finds a home in me
For what misfortune sows, he knows my touch will reap

And all my armor failing down, in a pile at my feet
And my winter giving way to warm, as Im singing him to sleep
All my armor falling down, in a pile at my feet
And my winter giving way to warm, as Im singing him to sleep

-Fiona Apple

In this poem, or song, I think that the speaker is describing her relationship with a man, though is not speaking to him or to herself. I believe it to be somewhat of a musing, and the audience for the song is simply any objective third person.

It seems that the speaker has experienced a shift in perspective, in her life, as evidenced by the change in seasons and temperatures of which she speaks. She moves from autumn and winter to summer, and from winter and cold to warmth. In this poem, I think she is using autumn and winter to describe an emotional distance. She states that she wore "[Pale September] like a dress that year" which would imply that she in wearing a sense of dying or solitude, as autumn is symbolic of a time of lonliness, moving into the winter. This is further supported by the "embers of [her] summer" disappearing, and her heart going cold. She is implying an initial move from warmth and love to one of coldness, until the next lines where he "rises as the moon in full," which moves us into the chorus. In this respect I think the song shifts gears several times. It starts off speaking of autumn, then backtracks a bit to talk about the move from Summer to autumn, then proceeds to winter, and then finally, as she enters the chorus, we are moving back into warmth. I think that this is symbolic of Spring, a time of rebirth.

In the chorus, she sings "All my armor falling down" which to me is symolic of the "autumn dress." She is letting go of that lonliness and solitude which she wore to protect herself.