Vienna Teng Live - "Recessional"

[etnies397]

I'm not homophobic, she could be singing about another girl, but here's my interpretation of the song: She may be singing about herself... Like, two versions of herself in the song. The first person "I" and third person "she" are both her... Upon first listening, this song struck me as if she was reflecting on herself, like taking a step back and looking at herself.

[StenDabran]

Does anybody have sheet music for that song?

please send me...that song is so amazing

[koimaster]

the lyrics are just amazing

[HauntingGrammar]

(I always thought she was singing from the perspective of a man personally, since she does that sometimes.)

This song though is exactly why she's my favorite artist in any medium ever.

[funjojo678]

i always thought this song was an unrequited love between two girls and the fear of society judging them held all of the feelings back, so they pretend to be close friends or sisters around people.

i don't know, that's just the way i udnerstood it.

[funjojo678]

@funjojo678 * understood, gahh.

[taotapp]

One of the few singers who can pull off an amazing live performance. Beautiful. Thank you for the upload.

[tuamourju]

Wow. Vienna has one of the most beautiful voices I think I have ever heard, not to mention how she compliments it so well with absolutely genius lyrics. If only more artists these days had the talent and vocal strength that she does!

[singwithin]

i think it's about ex-lovers saying goodbye, who are then reunited by chance at the airport, with one of them (vienna's character, so to speak), falling in love again, having noticed how much the other has changed. except that character tries to resist getting involved again with the other, but stops resisting in the end. it makes sense if you read the verses backwards (since vienna did say this is a "reverse strip tease" kind of song). in any case, this is my absolute favourite vienna song. ♥

[jinal007]

To the stranger who asked me to listen to the song, thanks for the recommendation - the song is lovely! :)

[salcorn9]

My very favorite of all her songs. What fascinating lyrics. "Florescent announcements beat their wings overhead, passengers missing, we're looking for you."

[msjeopardy12]

i think this song is hunting and beautiful...a sad song because it says about a one sided love...a person secretly in love with a friend...

[Firrox]

I always thought it was from a parent (male or female) who is taking their daughter to the airport to fly away to live or go to school somewhere else, and they reminisce about her growing up, and the final words are casual in the way teenagers are to their parents when they want to be independent.

[bookworm91691]

Male authors can write from a female first person perspective. Female authors can do the same. Why can't singers?

This is an amazing song. So basically, it doesn't matter.

[xHotHotHotx]

This is my new favourite song. It's beautiful in so many ways.

[kannastarr]

The song is amazingly beautiful, so why does it matter? If people would mind their own damn buisness, life would be so much easier. [= I should take my own advice, and now I've said it so you don't have to.

[cocoisloco0623]

This is hands down the best youtube comment. Ever.

[kannastarr]

Thank you.

[GrahamNificent]

No, the song is just from a female point of view. But any interpretation is valid. Especially with this song. On her fansite, someone called it the most "sublimely happy" song of her career, while I think its probably her saddest.

[BrideOfTheWind]

Why should we care?

[StaroftheSea136]

I love this song! The lyrics are great and she has such a pretty voice!

[WeAreNotFrog]

Actually, I always thought about the song being about a child, or something.

If you listen to the lyrics, and the way Vienna describes how whoever is sleeping, what they're wearing, etc., Vienna sounds somewhat mother-like.

Then again, I could be wrong. Stop being so homophobic guys. Don't like the song? Too fucking bad.

Love this song, by the way <3

[princessinheaven]

pure beauty. man, what i would do to have a voice like that

[kazarareta]

pure brilliance.

[randomcls10]

This song is so meaningful, and beautiful. This is probably my favourite song by Vienna. She is a wonderful singer. :)

[lilifyre]

What's with the homophobia? Does it make the song any better or worse if she's straight or gay? She's a beautiful woman who has written some beautiful songs. Some have been written from a lesbian perspective. So WHAT????? We are human beings. We have feelings just like anyone else.

Proud Lesbian!

[bluelagoon1980]

I agree! She writes songs often from the prospective of the people she's writing them for (such as Homecoming, which is from a guy's perpspective). From what I remember from her website, or an interview she did, she's in a long-term relationship with a guy. I think. But it doesn't matter whether anyone is gay or straight, it's who they are as a PERSON, and what kind of human being they are, that matter.

[GrahamNificent]

All I see is people asking if she is gay; a legitimate question for this song. That isn't homophobia. Unless there were hateful comments that have been deleted, in which case, never mind. :]

[JackDammitRun]

u didnt answer my question u just put in what you thought about it. if ur not answering my question dont reply to me

[MusicAndHorses4ever]

@lilifyre Completely agree!

I'm a proud lesbian, too!

[jammyham]

her voice is just so amazing and pure...does anyone know if there piano sheets for this song?

[peach55]

a pure voice LOVE IT!

[xyoucalledmeshady]

She could be writing about a girl that had a huge impact on her life, that changed her perspective of life but now she's gone. it doesn't mean she LOVES her or is gay, geez. it's a beautiful song, lets not ruin it<3

[MissGraceAmazing]

This is one of my favorite songs of hers.  It's so beautiful. I get chills every time I listen to it!

[000LAS000]

I love it. Beautiful.

[freakageek]

She is amazing. I listen to this song when I am down all the time (even though it's not very "happy"). Her words are very moving :)

[parodyandcompany]

This music is so beautiful.

[pipsqueak87]

she is truly a poet at heart. if you strip away the beautiful melodies that wrap around the words, you're left with the vision of her wonderful imagery. i absolutely need to see her live!! i still can't get over the brilliance of the phrase, "fluorescent announcements beat their wings overhead" AHH!

[zdrasvoitya]

She isn't gay, but this is from the perspective of a lesbian woman (flannel and satin.. etc.) She is strongly supportive of LGBTQ rights- reference City Hall. -abelle103

[super92lofy]

beautifull

[Kingdomangel950]

OMG I love this song. She has such a beautiful voice

[Bannelly]

o my this song makes me teary...sobb ^0^

[isokogal]

i always cry when i hear this song...i swear i'm tearing rite now *sniff*

[mavvi860]

This song constantly amazes me to the point of tears. It's beautiful.

You can almost feel the hush in the crowd. Awe-inspiring.

[grayskylightning]

is she straight?

[redeyedcat]

I think so, yes. Just because its a female voice does not always mean it's a female prespective. This song doesn't strike me as being overtly romantic....it could imply a different relation. However, whether it is meant to be song that hints homosexuality, it doesn't make it any the less beautiful and woeful.

[grayskylightning]

ok thanks for the info..i dont know the song though..i just asked coz she kinda looks boyish for me..its just me i guess..anyway i think she is fantastic..

[musicinanelevator]

marvelous.

[y1shy8gapy]

Wow, she is beautiful and i like her songs so much!!! Thanks for sharing!!^_^

[michal0025]

Beautiful song xD

Poor audibility x(

[Apfelknospe]

Wow. I like this song very much. *w*

She´s a very beautiful music artist. *_*

[lidlehotti3]

thanks for sharing it with us. recording or not, her voice is still so, so beautiful.

[Dejavuuuu]

Beautiful song! I admire her so much ^^

[crimsonsmirk]

I truly admire Vienna's ability to make up analogies ("announcements beat their wings overhead"), and how she is capturing small details, characters, things each and everyone of us may have experienced or will experience at some point.

A wonderful artist... who happened to be at an awful venue. Or maybe it's just the recording that makes it seem as if the audience paid little attention to her?

[Klaorman]

The people in the "pit" were quiet and attentive; it's just that this venue had a bar in the back, which was where most of the noise was coming from. It didn't help that I was filming from the upper balcony; maybe if I was down in the pit near the front the noise might've been less, but then I wouldn't have this great perspective.

[crimsonsmirk]

Ah ok,thanks for the info.

[crimsonsmirk]

This is so beautiful; the way you can actually see she's getting into the song towards the end. If I had to name my most favourite song from DTTN, it would certainly be Recessional. It's very dynamic, and yet so quiet in its own way.

(continued above, not enough space *lol*)

[xanimatox]

Despite the sounds of this apparently impatient audience, this is gorgeous (and so is Ms. Teng XD). It brings me to tears every time I watch it, especially the last minute. I wish Ms. Teng would record a version of this song just with that cello (I think?), like this performance.

[Kipniss]

I like her music and the influence from Tori Amos is pretty obvious, and she has cited her as an influence. When she comes into town, the local Asian groups get together to watch her. Pretty decent shows, very conversational with the audiences. The music is alright.

[kitsune315]

oh wow..i love her so much..she's my idol!

[musicalbaka]

same here! i love this song...^^

[mrdrift]

I loved the album version. Why does this version sound so rushed?

[tugboatyan]

Theory: This definately wasn't a perfect venue... her audience was probably a little distracted... their attention span would be shorter than most audiences, so she didn't have the opportunity to let some of the more beautiful chords "ring" for a while. At least, that's what I get from the video. It's still a great performance, and one that I wish I could have attended.

~ Ferrard

[mamaykun]

I'ts quite a long time I like her music, but I didn't know she is so beautiful woman!!! And I think she did a very right thing when she left high tech.

[seigaku001]

Sheer excellence... Sheer beauty...

[4patti]

You capture the sweetness of desire!

[chickthumbs]

Vienna Teng is a true artist. My favourite song from the album. Everyone get the album!

[fxp200]

anyone going to see her perform @ the mtvchi rocks concert??? It's 9/23rd 7pm @ San Gabriel Civic Auditorium...think the mtvchi official website has more info...she's amazing...can't wait to see her!!!

[Ali44228]

Pure beauty

[4patti]

Wonderful! I can't wait to hear a studio version of it! Just so I can hear the lyrics better;but great job on this video!

[gig06]

Beautiful

[Vhampir]

Thanks for the upload! I've been waiting for some Vienna's live for so long :) I've never seen her live performance before... Thank you!

[blight04]

thanks she is awesome!

[CodenameSoi]

Yay! Thanks for this upload. This is gorgeous. I just wish that people didn't feel the urge to clank and clatter things during a performance. At least she didn't have a screaming baby during this (like I did during a solo piano recital). So the title of the album is from the lyrics in this song... I should get the album. Definitely.

[Klaorman]

Thanks, Codename Soi! Yeah, GAMH served dinner during the performance, but I blocked it out; apparently my camcorder couldn't do the same. Yep, you should get the album; it's awesome! So how did you get to my video, from Vienna's forum, or did someone forward it to you, or maybe you searched for Vienna here? Thanks for watching.

[CodenameSoi]

I searched for Vienna's lives (I've been waiting for someone to upload them), and found this! btw, this is parari from the forums. ^_^