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We started living in an old house
My ma gave birth and we were checking it out
It was a baby boy
So we bought him a toy
It was a ray gun
And it was 1981
We named him "Baby"
He had a toothache
He started crying
It sounded like an earthquake
It didn't last long
Because I stopped it
I grabbed a rag doll
And stuck some little pins in it
Now we're a family
And we're alright now
We got money and a little place
To fight now
We don't know you
And we don't owe you
But if you see us around
I got something else to show you
Now it's easy when you don't know better
You think it's sleazy?
Then put it in a short letter
We keep warm
But there's just something wrong with ya
Just feel like you're the hardest button to button
I had opinions
That didn't matter
I had a brain
That felt like pancake batter
I got a backyard
With nothing in it
Except a stick. a dog
And a box with something in it
The hardest button to button
The hardest button to button
The hardest button to button
The hardest button to button
Uh oh
The hardest button to button
The hardest button to button
Uh oh
The hardest button to button
The hardest button to button
The hardest button to button
The hardest button to button
The hardest button to button
Uh oh
My ma gave birth and we were checking it out
It was a baby boy
So we bought him a toy
It was a ray gun
And it was 1981
We named him "Baby"
He had a toothache
He started crying
It sounded like an earthquake
It didn't last long
Because I stopped it
I grabbed a rag doll
And stuck some little pins in it
Now we're a family
And we're alright now
We got money and a little place
To fight now
We don't know you
And we don't owe you
But if you see us around
I got something else to show you
Now it's easy when you don't know better
You think it's sleazy?
Then put it in a short letter
We keep warm
But there's just something wrong with ya
Just feel like you're the hardest button to button
I had opinions
That didn't matter
I had a brain
That felt like pancake batter
I got a backyard
With nothing in it
Except a stick. a dog
And a box with something in it
The hardest button to button
The hardest button to button
The hardest button to button
The hardest button to button
Uh oh
The hardest button to button
The hardest button to button
Uh oh
The hardest button to button
The hardest button to button
The hardest button to button
The hardest button to button
The hardest button to button
Uh oh
Lyrics submitted by ruben
Track duration: 03:32
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Second, as far as the title, "The Hardest Button To Button," to me the hardest button for many to button is buttoning their lip (speaking their judgements of others, arguing, saying mean, gossipping, etc.). *I feel like the hardest button to button is the lip (baby crying & people about town gossipping their judgemental opinions) in this song.*
Finally, I think the song is starts from the perspective of a kidergartener or early elementary student who is sharing with her/his class about his/her selves and her/his family, starting at the earliest memory that he/she has as an only child as her/his ma introduces his/her infant brother to her/him when he came home from the hospital for the first-time. Then he/she remembers the first toy (probably a gun that lit up with lights to entertain the newborn), the year this happened, and the only name she/he ever remembers his/her brother ever being called (ex: baby this, baby that). Then she/he describes the horror that he/she experienced (mental earthquake) when her/his brother first began teething and he/she thinks that when either literally sticking pins in a voodoo doll or metaphorically grabbing an object and taking out her/his frusterations on the object that he/she caused the crying to stop, when it was obviously something the parent had done, and was not understandable from this young childs mental framework of the world. Thus, showing the care she/he had for his/her baby brother. After this teething event, life went be reletively uneventful, but now they are a family and live in a house where they can fight (I think this indicates that her/his brother's father wasn't around before, but now their is a father and if you see them around town, he/she has something else to show you (probably another newborn sibling the ma gave birth to with the new father figure). It's easy when you don't know better (about the nature of her/his family structure or maybe knowing anything at all about them). The question "you think it's sleazy?" may be the other students' comment about his/her ma or family or replying to the community's general comment. Then put it (the sleazy comment) in a short letter may mean either write a letter to tell them in a less public manner or someone who cares (or as I would think, who gives a ****). Because we keep warm (as a family and metaphorically saying we have what we need and are there for each other), but you still have a problem with us (poor, untraditional family [as the judgements of them] who are doing fine), well there is just something wrong with you, you're are just the hardest button to button with your opinions, judgements, and gossip. I had opinions about things in general or whoever thinks the sleazyness. That does not matter might be because it is not right to say something mean back or because of being outcasted by other children, which has made her/him feel like he/she has a useless brain. With no frieds for her/him to play with now, there is just their yard, the family dog, and a box with whatever he/she imagines it to contain.
Basically, I think it is about a child's first experience at making friends and introducing themselves and talking about their family, who they love very much; which, has nothing wrong with it, except being socially labeled as different.
Child protective services worker, is this the 90% of children you are speaking about in your comment?
If so, what does this indicate about society?
Another thing, stick might be for the dog to fetch, but it's dissapointingly less demonic that way...
the backyard thing could just be his consious. the box holds the baby body, and that will always be there. and when he says now where a family, it sounds pretty ironical to me, as if its not really ment. in other words, now that he's killed his brother the family is a complete mess.
now i said at least the surface is, and with that i meant that theres probably a whole different meaning to this song and that its all just one big metaphor.
I also feel as if Jack wants us to try to figure out the real meaning; when he says a bow with SOMETHING in it, you will start to wonder what's in the box, than you start looking for the meaning of the song, which is what we're all doing right here.
Can someone please look more in to the reagan thing, I know nothing about this, since I wasn't born till 1995, and live in holland.
"He started crying
It sounded like an earthquake
It didn't last long
Because I stopped it
I grabbed a rag doll
And stuck some little pins in it
Now we're a family
And we're alright now
We got money and a little place
To fight now
We don't know you
And we don't owe you
But if you see us around
I got something else to show you"
Buttoning buttons... meaning putting them to place so that everything holds...so buttoning buttons in this song is finding a place for a person in the live..family is buttoning the buttons... it is like all the other siblings have a place (or have been forced to some place/job so they can support the family), but he feels like he is hardest one to button... meaning to be put in the place... (no wonder with his talent) the rest flows "I had opinions That didn't matter I had a brain That felt like pancake batter".. getting my idea?
After reading the comments I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought so XD
But I will always leave the song up to interpretation because knowing Jacks style,
It could either just be entirely literal and very ~simple~ or it could have very dark undertones,
Or it could have a meaning that is way out there.