☝️ Key Points
- The song tells of a romantic encounter under a linden tree in the forest
- The singer describes the hours of love and the beauty of the nature around them
- The lyrics emphasize the transience of love and the longing for perfection
- It's about accepting that life and dreams will always pass by
- The song expresses love, loss, and the transience of life
Interpretation
"Under the Lime Tree" by
Angelo Branduardi tells the story of a romantic encounter in a green forest under a lime tree. The singer describes how he spent hours of love with his beloved there, crushing the flowers around them. Insects buzzed and nightingales sang above them on a gentle southern breeze. The singer is aware that others might see them and laugh at them, but he doesn't care about how seductive his beloved is.
The lyrics also describe how the singer lays his head in the roses and mixes up the petals. He emphasizes that his beloved will never be ashamed if accused of lying with him. She was the only woman he had ever wished would whisper his name.
The lyrics go on to speak of a lily embracing the ivy. The singer tells that she only stayed with him for a year and then turned into a falcon that flew away to find a new love. He compares this loss to the wind, always seeking beauty but never being able to catch it.
At the end of the lyrics, the singer reflects on how life and dreams will always pass us by, just like the wind and the clouds. He accepts this fate and recognizes that the world and dreams will always escape us.
"Under the Lime Tree" is a song about love, loss, and the transience of life. It expresses the longing for a moment of perfection that can never last. The lyrics are poetic and melancholic, and Branduardi's voice gives it an additional emotional depth.