The song "Persephone (Ryder Piano Version)" by Sidney Gish is a lighthearted and humorous take on mispronunciations and misunderstandings. The lyrics play with mispronouncing the name "Persephone" as "purse-a-phone" and making references to Greek mythology. The song starts by acknowledging the incorrect pronunciation of "Persephone" and humorously suggests that Greek goddesses should not be treated as something to grab and take when leaving home. The line "My phone's inside my purse, Purse-a-phone would like it there, like Hades' lair" cleverly connects the mispronunciation to the idea of the phone being inside a purse. The protagonist expresses a hope that Greek gods do not observe their struggles with pronunciations and doubts in their existence. They humorously admit to continuously mispronouncing and mis-accenting words while expressing an intention to continue doing so endlessly. The song also touches on mispronouncing the word "Protestant" and the realization that it is not an actual word or a church that can receive charitable donations. The narrator reflects on the frustration of making mistakes and using phrases that are not real, expressing a desire to shut up and avoid making any more errors. Throughout the song, the persona emphasizes their comedic mispronunciations and accentuations, continuing to make mistakes and stating that nothing can stop them. The mention of "six pomegranate seeds" and "winter in Greece" is a playful reference to the myth of Persephone, where she ate six pomegranate seeds and had to spend six months each year in the underworld as the wife of Hades. The song concludes with the persona pleading with Persephone not to visit them, using a combination of the mispronunciations ("perseph-en-phone") to add a final touch of humor. Overall, Sidney Gish's "Persephone (Ryder Piano Version)" is a whimsical and tongue-in-cheek exploration of mispronunciations, misunderstandings, and the quirks of language. It showcases Gish's clever wordplay and playful approach to songwriting.
