Fiona Apple - When the Pawn Poem

When the pawn hits the conflicts he thinks like a king
What he knows throws the blows when he goes to the fight
And he'll win the whole thing 'fore he enters the ring
There's no body to batter when your mind is your might
So when you go solo you hold your own hand
And remember that depth is the greatest of heights
And if you know where you stand then you know where to land
And if you fall it won't matter 'cuz you know that you're right

Category:

Music

Tags:

• fiona
• apple
• when
• the
• pawn
• poem
• live

[feedyourheads]

Wait wait, what is this audio from? Is there a video link to where said read this?

[deflaur]

@feedyourheads I have no idea, sorry! I had downloaded this many years ago. I tried searching for a link on YouTube without finding anything, which is why I uploaded the reading. But no video link and no idea where it was read.

[artemetrajes]

Well this seem to be a poem made for the battle between women & men.

Fiona is a great artist (musician, singer, writer) but as a writer sometimes she lose herself writing songs about how she can be in love and end up blaming everything to us men as if we really were the villains in every love story. Whatever happened to her, she has found herself in a drama against men.

[deflaur]

@artemetrajes Fiona states in an iTunes Originals track that the poem was the result of the media pressure, people getting her down for her behavior. She wrote it as her outlet for all that upset she was feeling. It is definitely not about a battle between men and women.

[M324s]

does Fiona like to play chess?

[deflaur]

@M324s "When the pawn hits the conflict, he thinks like a king..."

Do you not follow...?

[seventeen80]

I remember reading reviews of this album and the writers were saying that the poem makes no sense. It makes perfect sense to me and I was 19 when the album came out...

It's an awesome poem and is perfect for anyone who has integrity and is standing up against anything or anyone.

[ericfreak67]

I'm trying to memorize this myself. I love this poem so much. I also love listening to Fiona say it. :)

[paleblack1989]

@BeckyThePoet I do all of the above and more! ;D

[BeckyThePoet]

@paleblack1989 I thought so. Thanks for saying that though. I thought I was going senile already,lol.

Guess some of my memories are facts and not just me romanticizing about times past. Hey I rhymed.lol

[paleblack1989]

@artemetrajes Rumor has it she was sexually assaulted as an adolescent.

[paleblack1989]

@BeckyThePoet 'Tis.

[DaigoMoustache]

@artemetrajes She is very angry at men because she was raped at 12, and dated a moronic 18 year old when she was 14. She has suffered a lot at the hands of men. And a lot of women can relate to that. I doubt she hates all men. She just chooses to vent about certain ones who have done her harm.

[BeckyThePoet]

I thought this poem was the title of her second album and the intro to it. hmm

[andreitale24]

@feedyourheads Actually it is from a concert in Boston, it is called Boston's First Taste, I have the full record of that part and the song that she sings after saying it (Sleep to Dream).

[tarsila57]

I have to listen to this every night so I can sleep.

[945sbs]

@artemetrajes Whatever happened to her? She was raped at 12, that's where some of her lyrical genius stems from.

[Phazonin]

@deflaur it's from a live set she did in '97. i have the entire concert.