FAWM: "your aquarium"

your aquarium

2025 by @tippyteapot

Liner Notes

#girlwithguitar #acoustic #indiefolk #indiepop #melancholy

Lyrics

You're a lord of the land You have my heart and hand and every single part of me I am yours to command I confidently know you'll lead benevolently I lose all of my thoughts I feel your eyes on every single part of me And my skin is on fire My words tumble out so haphazardly I worship unabashedly

But the world is blue and I can’t understand you And all my highs and lows are wrapped up all around you And I can’t breathe until I find my way inside you I stop and close my eyes But the air is heavy and I cannot carry on I’m just a pretty fish in your aquarium I’m just a quiet flower in your terrarium I need to walk away

You’re a mountain of might You charm your way through every conversation You’re a beacon of light You shine yourself on every situation I lose all of myself A shadow in the footsteps of your dancing As I echo your lines A puppet on your silver-plated strings I realize I’d do anything

The world is blue and I can’t understand you And all my highs and lows are wrapped up all around you And I can’t breathe until I find my way inside you I stop and close my eyes But the air is heavy and I cannot carry on I’m just a pretty fish in your aquarium I’m just a quiet flower in your terrarium I need to walk away

With all that you are, you’ve no room for all that I am With you in my soul I forget to do all the things I can

So the world is blue and I can’t understand you And you don’t see me suffocate tied up inside you And I can’t breathe and I can’t find my way around you I stop and close my eyes And the air is heavy and I cannot carry on I’m just a pretty fish in your aquarium Watching the sun go down from your solarium Until I to walk away I need to walk away

Comments

@namey 2025

This is really intriguing. Like, I'm wondering how 'true' this song is, because the experience of the protagonist seems so dated to me - like it's from the 1970s. And perhaps it's about an actual fish, or maybe it's a metaphor, and the 'you' in it isn't an actual person but a political regime or something. There is some lovely melody going on too...

@nancycunning 2025

Still trying to work out if this is a song about adolescent unhealthy obsession or something else. I think that is what it is for me, and I feel so much tenderness for the singer, and hope she'll find a place to breathe on her own...Oh, in the bridge it feels like maybe she'll grow out of this eventually. Thank goodness....Great to hear your voice. Beautiful writing.

@coolparadisoMod 2025

a fish in your aquarium that's a line! I can sure relate to that at times. excellent song!

@bradbrubaker 2025

In a tune of many great lines/rhymes, my favorite line was "With all that you are, you’ve no room for all that I am"

I like the unresolved chord at the end. Fitting.

@bethdesombre 2025

I love the chorus and how the first half of it actually feels breathless and how "I stop" involves a stop in that rhythm. (Also I love the last three likes of the chorus, beginning with "I’m just a pretty fish in your aquarium." And how the chorus changes (especially "And you don’t see me suffocate tied up inside you"), and at the end I actually believe that the walking away will happen.

@bjunker 2025

I like the indie feel of the melody & the lyrics, clever & direct. I especially like how you vary the chorus the last time to show how the singer seems to finally realize they just need to move on. (and I never would have thought of rhyming "carry on" with "aquarium"!). Very nice.