@eyleengbt658

1 year ago

I found this written by 'Rapha from Singapore'- he is amazing at his interpretation or this song- wow Sting's songs can be compared to each other to gain a good understanding of what he's attempting to convey with his lyrics. He may be singing about an aspect of himself, or it may just be a recurring character in different stories. This song is similar, at least in theme, to Fortress Around Your Heart. Fortress is a story about someone who has protected their heart for so long, and built such high walls to guard it that they have essentially created their own prison. Shape of my Heart is the introspective version. He deals the cards as a meditation And those he plays never suspect He doesn't play for the money he wins He doesn't play for the respect He deals the cards to find the answer The sacred geometry of chance The hidden law of probable outcome The numbers lead a dance Let's call him the cardplayer. Whether he is playing cards or not is irrelevant. The game is a metaphor for the life that he has created for himself. He doesn't play this game with the same motivations as the average player. The game is his journey for truth, "to find the answer, " and is comprised of choice and chance. "The hidden laws" are only evident after play has occured. The player must "lead a dance" with his partner, the "sacred geometry of chance." Knowledge vs fate. A poker face may be great for a game of cards, but if you can't take it off when you're with a lover then you're in trouble. I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier I know that the clubs are weapons of war I know that diamonds mean money for this art But that's not the shape of my heart The cardplayer understands how to fight and achieve. There is only one thing that is completely alien to him. Hearts are not his strong suit. He emphasizes his bewilderement by repeating like a mantra what he does know, but his own heart (and also the love of another person) is out of reach. The obvious symbolism here is the heart representing emotion and love. The "shape" of the heart on the card is a fantasy; the reality of a human heart is quite different. He may play the jack of diamonds He may lay the queen of spades He may conceal a king in his hand While the memory of it fades Again our cardplayer is reassuring himself of what he can do. I though it interesting to find out that in a tarot deck the jack of diamonds represents the rebel and the queen of spades, betrayal. But to understand what the king is all about we need to remember one of Sting's other songs, which he did with the Police: King of Pain. Our cardplayer is hiding his pain, a pain from the past that he is trying to let go of. Could it be what hardened his heart in the first place? I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier I know that the clubs are weapons of war I know that diamonds mean money for this art But that's not the shape of my heart That's not the shape, the shape of my heart And if I told you that I loved you You'd maybe think there's something wrong I'm not a man of too many faces The mask I wear is one Those who speak know nothing And find out to their cost Like those who curse their luck in too many places And those who smile are lost Our character lives his life in a shell, unable to express himself to those around him. Those that know him would be caught off guard to the point of believing him to be a different person if he said, "I loved you." He is not deceitful, he only has one face, but that face is hidden behind "the mask." He is afraid of a life involving people and interaction, and he believes that those who choose that road pay a terrible price. They "curse their luck in too many places and those who smile are lost," meaning that life just ends up leaving you bitter without even your smile.

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