Regina Spektor: Samson Meaning

Song Released: 2007

Samson Lyrics

You are my sweetest downfall
I loved you first, I loved you first
Beneath the sheets of paper lies my truth
I have to go, I have to go
Your hair was long when we first met

Samson went back to bed
Not much hair left on his head
He ate a...

1. anonymous

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   Dec 1st 2007 !⃝

   It sounds like this it the woman who loved him before Delilah. I'm not familiar with the biblical text, but if Samson was married before, like a previous writer mentioned, then this could be her song. When the lyrics say that she cut his hair and he told her she did well, that they couldn't bring down the pillars and that the Bible didn't mention them it sounded as if she wished that things had been different, that she and Samson had stayed married and lived out their lives together without the events taking place in their lives that made headlines. Later when she says that he laid his head down with little hair on his head that, to me, says that it changed from his hair being cut to him losing his hair with age and they have lived that way into old age.
2. anonymous

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   Aug 21st 2007 !⃝

   I think the person above had a pretty good attempt at interpreting the song and they could well be right. but originally I thought it was about divorce. The line "beneath the sheets of paper lies my truth"could mean that she has signed divorce papers. She may have divorced him because he cheated on her. That is why she says "I loved you first". And the columns "we couldn't bring the columns down" (or something like that) means they couldn't work their problems out. She also says that Samson is her "sweetest downfall" which I thought might mean that she still loves him ("sweetest") but he is not good for her as he has cheated ("downfall"). There may be nothing in this analysis, but I just thought I'd add a different perspective.
3. anonymous

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   Mar 13th 2007 !⃝

   Samson was not the man she first met. She loved him at first. He loved her. Then she impulsively cut his hair and, not right away but over time, he lost his appeal. He went on to become bald and lazy (ate a slice of wonder bread and went right back to bed) She fell out of love with him and their relationship died out. The sheet of paper that told her truth may have been a goodbye letter. She still loved him (my sweetest downfall) but lost interest and needed to move on.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
4. anonymous

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   Nov 19th 2006 !⃝

   Lyrics:
   You are my sweetest downfall
   I loved you first, I loved you first
   Beneath the sheets of paper lies my truth*
   I have to go, I have to go
   Your hair was long when we first met**
   
   Samson went back to bed
   Not much hair left on his head
   He ate a slice of wonder bread and went right back to bed
   And history books forgot about us and the bible didn't mention us
   And the bible didn't mention us, not even once***
   
   You are my sweetest downfall
   I loved you first, I loved you first
   Beneath the stars came fallin' on our heads
   But they're just old light, they're just old light
   Your hair was long when we first met
   
   Samson came to my bed
   Told me that my hair was red
   Told me I was beautiful and came into my bed
   Oh I cut his hair myself one night
   A pair of dull scissors in the yellow light****
   And he told me that I'd done alright
   And kissed me 'til the mornin' light, the mornin' light
   And he kissed me 'til the mornin' light*****
   
   Samson went back to bed
   Not much hair left on his head
   Ate a slice of wonderbread and went right back to bed
   Oh, we couldn't bring the columns down
   Yeah we couldn't destroy a single one
   And history books forgot about us
   And the bible didn't mention us, not even once
   
   You are my sweetest downfall
   I loved you first
   
   
   
   
   *her writings are her truth
   **an allusion to biblical Samson
   ***it was so monumental to her, but no one else
   ****she "made him weak" by taking his hair
   *****they had sex
   
   
   
   basically, this girl met this guy, loved him, and then through biblical allusions, they fell in love

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