Hillary Channels Tori Amos

Last night, we were watching NewsNight with future blogger (we hope) Jim Braude. The show featured local political junkies trying to piece together what the hell happened in New Hampshire on Tuesday. For the first part of the show, the panelists and Braude tried to figure out what Hillary Clinton meant when she said she “found [her] own voice” in her victory speech.

“What does that mean?” Braude implored. Nobody in the studio had an answer. But we do.

Hillary was just paraphrasing a Tori Amos song.

“Silent All These Years” was a single from the quirky musician’s first (and arguably best) album Little Earthquakes. The chorus includes the lyrics “Sometimes I hear my voice/and it’s been here/Silent all these years.”

Because Tori Amos fans are primarily women and gay men who grew up in the 90’s, we’ll bet Chelsea Clinton loaded the album onto her mom’s iPod to help her feel better after her rough week.

“Silent All These Years” really parallels the Clinton campaign as well. Let’s look a little closer at the lyrics.

Excuse me but can I be you for a while
My dog won’t bite if you sit real still
I got the anti-Christ in the kitchen yellin’ at me again
Yeah I can hear that
Been saved again by the garbage truck

Hillary probably wanted to be Barack Obama for a while. Not only would she be the frontrunner, but she’d be the exciting and fresh agent of change. Last week, when he and John Edwards were beating on her in the debate, she probably called at least one of them the anti-Christ. And being saved by the garbage truck could reflect her relationship with Bill Clinton.

I got something to say you know
But nothing comes
Yes I know what you think of me
You never shut-up
Yeah I can hear that

This reflects Clinton’s earlier problems in connecting with voters. While the loquacious Obama was charming the pants off supporters in Iowa and New Hampshire, Clinton’s speeches were bland. But now that she’s tossed the script to answer questions from her crowd, she’s doing much better in conveying her message.

I got 25 bucks and a cracker
Do you think it’s enough
To get us there

Well, she’s got a good deal more than $25 to get her to the White House, but it’s not a foregone conclusion by any means.

Let’s hear what you think of me now
But baby don’t look up
The sky is falling

After her win in New Hampshire, the media is busy readjusting to a world where Obama won’t easily stroll into the White House. Not only that, but pundits are kicking themselves for drastically misjudging what was going to happen in the Granite State. The sky is falling, indeed.

So that’s what we think inspired Hillary to say she’d found her voice. It wasn’t some admission that she didn’t have her own ideas before she won New Hampshire, and it doesn’t mean she’s going to spend the remainder of the primary sobbing. She was just quoting a little Tori Amos.