Lyrics for Jackie's Strength as interpreted by kevin

Jackie's Strength Lyrics
A Bouvier till her wedding day
shots rang out the police came
mama layed me on the front lawn
and prayed for Jackie's strength
feeling old by 21
never thought my day would come
my bridesmaids getting laid
I pray for Jackie's strength
make me laugh
say you know what you want
you said we were the real thing
so I show you some more and I learn
what black magic can do
make me laugh
say you know you can turn
me into the real thing
so I show you some more and I learn

stickers licked on lunch boxes
worshipping David Cassidy
yeah I mooned him once on Donna's box
she's still in recovery
sleep-overs Beene's got some pot
you're only popular with anorexia
so I turn myself inside out
in hope someone will see

make me laugh
say you know what you want
you said we were the real thing
so I show you some more and I learn
what black magic can do
make me laugh
say you know you can turn
me into the real thing
so I show you some more
and I learn

I got lost on my wedding day
typical, the police came
but virgins always get backstage
no matter what they've got to say
if you love enough you'll lie alot
guess they did in Camelot
mama's waiting on my front lawn
I pray I pray I pray
for Jackie's Strength



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merchantpierce
05-04-2002

 Rated  +2 
"Inspired by Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. "I saw Jackie as a bride - and I used to think I would never be a bride. I started to look to Jackie and how that woman held the country together after she watched her husband get cut down right in front of her."

"This wonderful boy had asked me to marry him, and of course I said yes, but I was shocked. You know, there was a part of me that had sworn that would never happen. You fantasize about what it would be like on that day, and then you fantasize about never having that day. Then you're a vigilante and you will never have it. The, all of a sudden, there it is, and you're wondering, 'are we going to make it? half of all marriages end in divorce. is that us?' That was all going on as I got lost on my wedding day."



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babyME
06-21-2002

 Rated  0 
i love this song bc 1. my name is jackie 2. i was named after jackie o and 3. tori amos rox my sox!

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Misha26
07-11-2002

 Rated  0 
Definitely inspired by Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy and how she was incredibly strong in the face of tragedy and how not everyone can be as strong.

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stickingtosheets
07-21-2002

 Rated  0 
beeeeautiful song.

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readysetscream
06-19-2003

 Rated  0 
'you're only popular with anorexia.' oh man, talk about a powerful lyric &if you analyze it far enough, it's so true.

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alice_in_wonderland
06-25-2004

 Rated  0 
readysetscream !!
I does'nt understand?
Did Jackie Kennedy have anorexia?

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grandpa
06-28-2004

 Rated  0 
she "got lost on her wedding day" because she lost her virginity to that "wonderful boy" who left her right before they got married, she didnt have "Jackie's strength" to stay a "Bouvier till her wedding day." so yeh, thats what the song means to me
this is not grandpa
*blackfoliage*

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alice_in_wonderland
12-06-2004

 Rated  0 
What does she mean about the hole thing about being 'the real thing' ?

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MazzyHaze*
12-10-2005

 Rated  0 
It is obvious.. You just have to be there to understand..And feel just like jackie.. And it's true. You grow up thimking about the day, then the day comes when you think it's never gonna happend..

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JBJBonBon
09-19-2006

 Rated  0 
"The Real thing" is the image this guy projected--he was to be her knight in shining armor. He was finally, after her disbelief in love, the real deal--a nice guy; caring and compassionate--he said he knew what he wanted. He made her laugh and reveal herself in ways she wouldn't have because he was disarming. He charms her into thinking he will make her into something beautiful--the real thing, like him (this guy is like a smarmy get-rich-quik scheme for self-perfection). So she 'shows him some more' of herself. She doesn't realize she is beautiful on her own, it can be assumed, and is led into dispair by her lover, who she believes she needs in order to have purpose and, in doing so, be 'real.' She turned herself inside out for him (and others in her life) but that 'black magic' (called love..cute reference) was not what it seemed and she learned what it can do. He was a liar and because he and love turned out to be a lie--and it sounds like he may have cheated on her with her bridesmaids, "the real thing" is a sour, sad, synical, disbelieving statement from a person who is lost.

I can't figure out the "I got lost on my wedding day...no matter what they have to say' at the end though.

Great song though. Tell me if this helps Alice.

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JBJBonBon
09-19-2006

 Rated  0 
"Say You know what you want" THink of it this way: How many of you, when you were young and innocent like this singer, knew what you wanted? You were searching--lost. Now here comes this guy who says he knows exactly what he wants. That in itself is alluring and charming. And he knows it and manipulates people. And it is, most likely a facade he uses to get what he really wants, which is sex or psychological superiority.

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JBJBonBon
09-19-2006

 Rated  0 
Also, the son is about a general disillusionment and loss of innocence with the allusion to Camelot and the so-called "Camelot" of the Kennedy's which really wasn't anything but a surface charm.

And the bridesmaids getting laid and praying for Jackie's strength could be one of her friends cheating with her fiancee or simply all bridesmaids in general getting screwed the same way she was and veinly praying that they too have found the real thing.

Don't understand the David Cassidy reference with her friends box either. Anybody want to fill me in?

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thecoldpart
03-18-2007

 Rated  0 
Going in to something so unsure, so afraid that it will go wrong somewhere down the line. The fear of the what if's, the fear of the possible. You search for someone your whole life and sometimes when you find them, things don't go as planned.

Or sometimes, you just yearn for something your whole life and when you finally find it, you can't trust in it. You're too afraid to hope that this might be what you've been looking for, so you distance yourself hoping that will keep you from getting hurt, but it never works.

Tori said it's about her getting married and the what if's and I think that sums it up pretty well.

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stentorian
03-30-2007

 Rated  +1 
This whole part, to me:

stickers licked on lunch boxes
worshipping David Cassidy
yeah I mooned him once on Donna's box
she's still in recovery
sleep-overs Beene's got some pot
you're only popular with anorexia
so I turn myself inside out
in hope someone will see

Talks about the thrill of being free and immaturity. And sticking to immaturity. Your pre-wedding and pre-relationship time. Hanging out with friends, not wanting to give that up.

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MusicalMartini05
10-09-2007

 Rated  0 
This is one of my favorite songs of Tori's. I love the depth of her songs and the depth of her writing. Each song of hers is very intriguing.

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toxiccute
05-03-2008

 Rated  0 
This has been my favorite Tori song for a long time, given its great depth of personal expression interwoven with the political tragedy of a country and the woman who led the country through its grief with her emotional strength.

I love JBBonBon's analysis of "the real thing", but I have a slightly different interpretation of one line in particular. I don't think Tori is saying "He made her laugh and reveal herself in ways she wouldn't have because he was disarming." I think she is well past that point when she sings this song, and is saying, bitterly, "Go ahead: you wanna make me laugh? Tell me again how 'you know what you want.' It would make me laugh, you know, because you never knew what you wanted. Its funny, but still, knowing that now has left me so stunned and hurt. I actually listened to you when you said we 'were the real thing.' I believed you, and I poured myself open for you to learn who I am. And what did I get? Well, I learned too. I learned what black magic can do." Whether it is his black magic for carelessly misleading her -- or the black magic she develops when she becomes aware of his betrayal -- is left delightfully ambiguous.

For the second half of the chorus, she basically repeats the same sentiment: "Yeah, that's right, you wanna make me laugh again? Tell me one more time how *you* are gonna turn *me* into the "real thing." I actually wanted to be that "real thing" you know (sick!), and so I may have opened up to you, but that mistake has cost me dearly, and now, how I have learned."

Hope someone else finds something in that analysis that resonates, or even wants to debate it. I never find people eager to discuss the meaning of Tori's poetry. It's good to be here with y'all.

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1 Reply  · 
burningstar14
12-31-2008

 Rated  0 
I may be terribly wrong on this but im pretty sure that the woman in question kills herself on her wedding day. I think she finds her bridesmaid and her fiance and shoots herself. Although it is definitly a refrence to Jackie-O the line where she says "Shots rang out, the police came. Momma laid me on the front lawn, and prayed for Jackies strength" leads me to believe that she shoots herself.

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1 Reply  ·  General Comment
Ex0dus
12-27-2009

 Rated  0 
I LOVE this song! But the line "You're only popular with anorexia." bothers me somewhat, because it's true.

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General Comment
infiniteentropy
01-25-2011

 Rated  +1 
"You said we were the real thing," is a guy lying to her to get what he wants... so she needs Jackie's strength to get through it.

Make me laugh
Say you know
What you want
So I show
You some more
And I learn
What black magic can do

Is her learning about the pain that can come from showing someone too much.

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General Comment




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