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[Kenneth E Udut]

Oh!  Excellent song!  [one of my favorites!]

"Come undone" - let's try an explanation:

There is a belief (among many Americans at least,
perhaps it is true elsewhere too?) that our daily
existance is held together by a very fine veneer - a
very thin skin.

This very thin skin separates our dark inner self
from the face that we present to the world.

[ie: How you appear to others  vs.  The worst of what you are inside]

or inner man vs outer man


To become undone - would be what happens
when the darkness inside comes out.

Other things "come undone" - a woman's blouse
"comes undone" and you see what lies underneath.
A boy's trousers come undone while he is giving
a speech in front of the class, his pants fall down and
he is very embarassed.

The opposite of "to become undone" would be
"to be fastened".

Think of buttons.

Buttons hold a shirt onto your body.  Buttons hold
pants together at the waist.

The buttons become undone -- the opposite would
be to say "the buttons were fastened.

you *could* say "become unfastened" as well.

Other expressions similar to the usage in the
song would be:

"to become unglued"
"to fall apart"
"Someone is going to show their bad side"

This very fine, thin layer of outward appearance
is easily "undone" by a few drinks, or a highly
emotional situation.

It is related to a feeling shared by many Americans
(and it might be a Western phenomon in general) -
that:

"If people saw the Real Me, they would be horrified"

It is as if we have separate lives -- a public life,
and an inner, private life - and according to this
particular culture in question, they should not
be confused.  When they are, trouble happens.

It's a lot like the oil in an engine.  The oil keeps
things running smoothly.  Take away the oil,
and the whole engine seizes up - causes trouble,
problems, damage, heartache, frustration.

I hope this explanation clarifies a little.  This is my
understanding of the meaning of "to come undone".

-Kenneth, some guy who is trying to learn Russian on his own.
simplify3 at juno.com


On Fri, 28 Jul 2000 16:26:59 -0500 Pavel Samsonov <p0s5658 at ACS.TAMU.EDU>
writes:
> Dear SEELANG'ers
>
> Could anyone explain what "to come undone" mean?
> I asked several people around and each gave me a different
> explanation.
> It is used by The Guess Who: "She came undone" and by The Eagles in
> "Heartache Tonight":
>
> Somebody's gonna hurt someone
> Before the night is through
> Somebody's gonna come undone
> There's nothin' we can do
>
>
>
> Thank you!
>
> With compliments,

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