Color Blind

"Colorblind" by The Counting Crows

I am colorblind

Coffee black and egg white

Pull me out from inside

I am ready (repeat 3 times)

I am taffy stuck and tongue tied

Stutter shook and uptight

Pull me out from inside

I am ready (repeat 3 times)

I am fine

I am covered in skin

No one gets to come in

Pull me out from inside

I am folded and unfolded and unfolding

I am colorblind

Coffee black and egg white

Pull me out from inside

I am ready (repeat 3 times)

I am fine (repeat 3 times)

The song "Colorblind" by The Counting Crows nothing less than perfect for the scene it was chosen for in the film "Cruel Intentions". It was played was one of the film's main characters lost her virginity to another character. Though it was a beautiful fit for the scene which it played upon I don't believe the meaning behind the song is the newness of being deflowered. The lyrics and the instrumentals accompanying them are both extremely simple in contrast to the actual meaning behind the song. To be quite succinct, the song itself is relatively simple but it is the meaning and the effort put forth in each and every line that makes it so deep.

In the first line, "I am colorblind" (1), this is a clear depiction the songwriter's (Adam Duritz) perception of everything. His emotions have been dulled due to pains of the past cnsequently renderring him cold and unfeeling. He sees everything as it is; there is simply no middle ground or grey area when it comes to life. This can be seen in the next line, "Coffee black and egg white" (2) He sees everything just as it is presented, not for what it could be if viewed differently with an open mind and open heart. "Coffee black" is a representation of how he merely sees the black of the coffee, as opposed to perceiving the richness, aroma, or other detectable qualities.

The next two lines, "Pull me out from inside. / I am ready, I am ready, I am ready" (3-4) signifies the fact he is in a shell with a wall of defense up. He does not want to let his guard down, leaving him vulnerable to the pain that only a loved one can bring. In the next line when he says he is ready for love three times, this is an indication of the fact that he is ready to succumb to the power and the feeling of love. He indeed is apprehensive about the situation and is having a sort of inner battle. This can be seen in the following lines, "Taffy stuck and tongue tied, / Stutter shook and uptight" (5). A taffy is a relatively sticky substance. This a clear representation of how stuck he is in terms of his ambivalent feelings towards letting go of the pains of the past in order to enjoy the potential happiness of the future. "Tongue-tied" is a phrase frequently associated with the feeling of confusion, and there is no better phrase for the situation. "Stutter shook" is exactly what it sounds like. It is an indication of how shook up by the situation the writer is. Uptight is also has a direct meaning in the sense of his general apprehension towards the situation.

The following four lines are repetition of previous lines and generally have the same meaning behind them. "I am covered my skin, / No one gets to come in,