Venus de Milo

You know, I'm not sure that anyone here has this completely yet, so here are my thoughts. I may be reading too much into the lyrics, but if I'm not, this is a really excellent bit of poetry by Verlaine.

Basically, I see this as a fleeting teenage romance / coming of age story. I get a lot of this from the refrain: "Falling into the arms of Venus de Milo." Venus is the god of love, so falling into her arms seems like a pretty obvious metaphor for falling in love. However--and this is where things get really cool--the statue Venus de Milo doesn't have arms. So I submit that this is actually a metaphor for falling in love when there's really nothing there.

Sounds depressing, right? Well, not at all, actually. To the shock of the backup singers, the speaker did not "feel low" about this. In the end, he "stood up and walked out the arms" of Venus without much of a problem. So this failed romantic experience didn't hurt him really, and the tone of these lyrics is not bleak. But the experience did change him, as I think the verses show. This is also where the "coming of age" part comes in.

The first two verses seem like a depiction of falling in love for the first time set against the grandeur of New York City. The world is alive, it's "thin" and waiting to be grasped, the feeling has a druglike effect, and it's all shared with another person. Sounds like a first love to me. But as we know from the chorus, this is going to come to an end soon. The statue has no arms.

The third verse is the really interesting one here. I think the first two lines basically describe the relationship ending. Things change quickly. It hurts, but it doesn't really HURT. His heart doesn't really ache. And now, along comes "Richie." It seems probable that this is Richard Hell, but what really matters is that this is a good pal of the speaker. Richie wants to go out, hit the town, dress up like cops, have some fun. But something's holding the speaker back, namely the profundity of the emotional experience he has just had. He doesn't have the same taste for immature antics he once did. A turning point has been reached in his life, and he can't go back. He's just been in and out of the arms of Venus de Milo! How could he return to playing dress-up? So that's the coming of age bit.

This is already a remarkable song. The guitar parts are ridiculously cool, as we always see in Television songs, Tom Verlaine just oozes swagger in his vocals, and the rhythm section is tight. But if I'm right about the lyrics, and I think there's a good chance I am, this song becomes almost transcendent. It's a relatable story, extremely well-told, with a brilliant central metaphor (the arms of Venus de Milo). Where did this come from? I'm just in awe.

I went to Brighton today w. parents and a couple of mates. We were looking in an old record shop because I love vintage music and I was looking (in vain, sadly) for a New York Dolls CD. My Dad showed this to me and said, "Buy this. I think you'd like it. It's sort of Indie/Punk." I liked this description, took a risk and bought it. Listening to it for the first time now. Loved all so far, which is so unusual for me. It's incredible. Well, another band nobody else aged fourteen will have ever heard of. So annoying, the best bands were from the 70s/80s.

Am I the only person who thinks this is a love song? I've never really thought about the venus de milo reference but the way he describes shakey and his hands like gloves. He seems to be describing some incredible feeling and the fact that he says it's like a new drug means surely it isn't about drugs. What he's describing to me perfectly describes the feeling of first realising you love someone and how amazing it feels. Even if that's not what it means it will always mean that to me.

Amazingly written song. As many others have said, it's primarily about Tom's friendship with Richard Hell. It sets itself up as this recalling of memories about when they were young, hanging out in New York and how he felt in those days with each verse progressively getting more negative.

At first everything is "bright" and "Alive" then Tom talks about laughing with a friend and feeling "like" he's on a drug. The drug line ironically means that the song has nothing to do with drugs since he's basically saying that hanging out with his friend makes him feel like he's high. Then the final verse talks about how he no longer holds the illusions he had in the first two verses and he turns down his friend when he tells them he wants to impersonate cops. The implication is that he's just grown out of the immature behavior while his friend has not.

The chorus is brilliant to this song. It's basically Tom being asked if he is saddened that he no longer is friends with Richard Hell. To which he replies that it doesn't mean anything to him and claiming he fell right into the arms of Venus de Milo. Venus de Milo is a famous statue that has no arms... So essentially he is lying to these people because he wants everyone to think he's okay even though he's really not.

Really neat song about keeping losing a friendship and keeping a poker face even though you really feel like shit.

i read somewhere that the richie in the song was richard hell, who used to play bass in the band.

i don't know what this song is about either but it sounds like a nice way to spend the evening.

Amazingly written song. As many others have said, it's primarily about Tom's friendship with Richard Hell. It sets itself up as this recalling of memories about when they were young, hanging out in New York and how he felt in those days with each verse progressively getting more negative.

At first everything is "bright" and "Alive" then Tom talks about laughing with a friend and feeling "like" he's on a drug. The drug line ironically means that the song has nothing to do with drugs since he's basically saying that hanging out with his friend makes him feel like he's high. Then the final verse talks about how he no longer holds the illusions he had in the first two verses and he turns down his friend when he tells them he wants to impersonate cops. The implication is that he's just grown out of the immature behavior while his friend has not.

The chorus is brilliant to this song. It's basically Tom being asked if he is saddened that he no longer is friends with Richard Hell. To which he replies that it doesn't mean anything to him and claiming he fell right into the arms of Venus de Milo. Venus de Milo is a famous statue that has no arms... So essentially he is lying to these people because he wants everyone to think he's okay even though he's really not.

Really neat song about keeping losing a friendship and keeping a poker face even though you really feel like shit.

no comments for this song?? cmon!! it's easily the best song on marquee moon. anyway, i really have no idea what it's about. television lyrics aren't the easiest to understand.

no comments for this song?? cmon!! it's easily the best song on marquee moon. anyway, i really have no idea what it's about. television lyrics aren't the easiest to understand.

this song is about Richard Hell and Tom Verlaine hanging out as kids. They were childhood friends and came to New York together..The irony of this song is it's beauty - " I fell right into the arms of Venus de Milo" - have you seen the statue? notice what she is missing??? So I guess he fell into nothing...

I like how Tom pronounces the wrod 'Milo. I guess he says it so it rhymes with "feel low."