Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: french
Song Meaning of “Proserpina” by Eths
“Proserpina” by Eths is a melancholic song that tells the story of a broken relationship, where two former lovers are now struggling to reconnect. The song’s protagonist is reflecting on the strained connection between himself and the person he loves, yearning to find a way to reconcile their differences.
The title of the song is likely a reference to Proserpina, the Roman goddess of the underworld, whose story involves her being kidnapped by Pluto and taken to the underworld. In this song, Proserpina represents the deep chasm between the two lovers that remains even after they have tried to reconcile their differences. The protagonist is pained by the fact that despite all their efforts to rekindle their relationship, some fundamental disconnect remains between them.
The song’s narrator expresses a sense of longing to find a way to mend this divide, singing, “Maybe I can bring us together/Maybe I can have us both,” and speaking of the need to leave the dark and enter the light together. As the song progresses, his despair grows, as he worries that no amount of love and understanding will bridge the gap between them. He laments, “Was our love too little in the summertime?/Was our love too small when the rivers dried?,” emphasizing the futility of his mission as he come to accept the impossibility of reaching his beloved across the impassable abyss they have both found themselves in.
Ultimately, “Proserpina” speaks to the difficulty and heartbreak of trying to reconcile a failing relationship, where the only path to reunification is a slippery and uncertain one.