Song Analysis

Tori wrote this song of Irish traditional inspiration for Eric Rosse, who was her companion at the time. Though we may think that Eric is the sailor in the song and Tori the maid, she made the following comment about him that could indicate it might be the other way around:

“I’m a better person when I’m around Eric. He has a little Irish maiden in him. Not a fair battle against my Sven, it’s true, but he doesn’t mind being conquered. There’s a bit of ‘do with me what you will’ in him. He was raised by hippie Russian parents, and I sensed that he had none of those Christian hang-ups, and he knew that I had them. He was turned on by the hidden filth scene with me. You know, the revenge of the good girl. The little librarian with a tale to tell.” (Vox, May 1994)