“The one good thing about being a piano player folks, is that you have a really good left hand; the nice thing about it is that you can pretend it’s anybody you want”

-Tori Amos

The very least expected thing to say before playing a beautiful piano ballad. With a statement like that Tori Amos had the audience screaming for her. As soon as Amos played the first keys on the piano, the crowd immediately died down to listen to a song that is thrilling yet unsettling.

In her album Under The Pink, “Icicle” starts with a preempt to what is to be expected throughout the song. The piano bit in the beginning sounds like a little girl opening her ballerina jewelry box and being pulled into a fairy tale. It is genuinely pure. This doesn’t last long as the piano becomes off key and a winter beast approaches stripping away any last piece of innocence the little girl possesses. The beginning of this track literally had me grasping onto every word that is sung throughout.

Aside from Tori Amos’ angelic vocals, her lyrics are quite unsettling. Over the past 25 years, there have been so many different interpretations for this song. Some say it’s Amos masturbating to the divine, others say it’s about twisted priests. Whether it is or not, there is something disturbing happening throughout this track.  It makes anyone question what the true meaning behind “Icicle” is.

If you want to be pulled into a fairy tale that has been stripped away of its innocence, click the video below and give this track a listen. I promise you, you will be left with long lasting goosebumps that only a prayer or a heavy blanket will get rid of.

-Maria