This song used to make me happy: Starfish & Coffee. I always thought it was about diversity and accepting different people (even differently abled). So this song always made me smile and made me feel peppy.

But that was before I took college courses about how to interperet poetry (I know, not lyrics) and that was before my husband died without insurance leaving us in the poverty I had blocked from my childhood (I had a poor childhood, told tall tales to my friends even back then, worked my way out, then widowhood put me BACK a little to where I unblocked those memories).

So when the song come on for the first time in say, 3 years on my playlist, I was all giddy until the part about opening Cynthia's lunch box. It was the same thing as her breakfast. But how could it be the same thing as her breakfast? (I mean if the song is about diversity, she shouldn't even have her own uniformity really...) Because the same thing as breakfast was nothing. She had no lunch. That explains why Lucy cried, speaker "almost died". They were devasted to learn her secret behind her stories and smiles. She didn't even have mates for her socks.

To me the song is about food insecurity and awareness, and also being happy despite your living conditions (and sure to some extent, individuality) The last lyric is about awareness (even before awareness bracelets!)

Maybe you guys have already figured this out, but I cried in the car today. I missed my hubby, and I didn't want my kids to go through what I went through. But even though I am alone, I still have more to offer my kids than my 2 parents combined.

What do you think? Diversity, or Poverty?!? Take another listen!

Wow, first off let me say I'm so sorry to hear about your husband and your childhood, that is very unfortunate. As far as the interpretation of the song goes, I don't beleive I've heard that before, and it's certainly a very interesting take on the song! I've always taken it as a Beatlesesque pop song about LSD, which I think I got the idea of from this site. But still, that's an interesting theory about the song's subject!

While an interesting interpretation, I'm pretty sure it's completely inaccurate.

errant said:

While an interesting interpretation, I'm pretty sure it's completely inaccurate.

I just don't think that children can cry tears of joy or laughter. I think they would have to be sad...but about what?