The National – Murder Me Rachael

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I saw my love with pretty boy
I saw my love with pretty boy

murder me Rachael I made a mistake
I loved her to ribbons
loved her to ribbons
murder me Rachael I made a mistake
murder me Rachael
murder me Rachael

I saw my love with pretty boy
I saw my love with pretty boy
so say goodbye to pretty boy
just say goodbye to pretty boy

her pretty little ribbons
her pretty little name
sew it in my skin
never go away
her pretty little ribbons
her pretty little name
sew it in my skin
never go away

I saw my love with pretty boy
I saw my love with pretty boy
so say goodbye to pretty boy
just say goodbye to pretty boy
tomorrow won't be pretty
tomorrow won't be pretty

love her to ribbons
love her to ribbons
love her to ribbons
love her to ribbons
love her to ribbons

Send "Murder Me Rachael" Ringtone to Cell


Lyrics submitted by SomethingClever

Track duration: 03:37


Murder Me Rachael song meanings
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11 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:There are definitely 4 characters, but I think that everyone else is wrong about who is getting murdered. Narrator kills the girl he loved. I don't think she's an Ex, just someone he is in love with.

    Love her to ribbons get's repeated, especially at the end.
    I think he literally shreds her to ribbons.
    Flag ThisIsBenSilveron November 24, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I agree that the narrator is jealous of his ex's new boyfriend, to the point of either imagining or actually committing murder. I always thought that Rachael was the ex, but now that I've read some of these comments I think Rachael might be a friend he's talking to, telling her to murder him because either he caused the breakup or because he killed his ex and/or his ex's new boyfriend.
    Flag mrnovember09on June 21, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I saw it as the narrator murdering Rachel for infidelity, ergo "loving her to ribbons." I guess it doesn't make sense in the context of the rest of the song, but I'm clinging to it nonetheless.
    Flag blue.painted.tearson April 03, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I agree that this is about a lost love that has the singer at least considering taking drastic action against her new lover and her.

    "her pretty little name
    sew it in my skin
    never go away"

    He's to the deranged point where he's getting an ex-lover's name tattooed on his skin even after the break-up.
    Flag Bs115303on July 07, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Haha. My interpretation is coloured very much by my own personal experiences too--but that's the beautiful thing about music and interpreting it. It can mean whatever you want it to. It's about the emotions it inspires within you or the memories it recalls.
    Flag lnknprky2kon June 21, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I hear the pronouns in this one literally, so it'd have four 'characters': the speaker, the girl he loved, the pretty boy she's with now, and Rachael who's a friend (or psychiatrist :) he's agonising to about the whole thing. He's telling Rachael to murder him before he has to see his ex-lover with the new guy again, because he just might lose it and kill the pretty boy.

    (To be fair, this interpretation is very, very coloured by my life experiences; lnknprky2k's sounds more likely, to me.)
    Flag QueenThudon June 15, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I'm not sure that it's necessarily obsessive love. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this how most people feel after a break-up with someone they truly care about?

    The lines I don't quite follow are: "Murder me Rachel, I've made a mistake. Murder me Rachel. Murder me Rachel." Does he mean here that he made whatever mistake that broke them up, and now she might as well kill him because he's so depressed? Also, "So say goodbye to pretty boy." This part seems really dark--like he wants to kill "pretty boy"?

    I get the vibe from this song that it's about falling madly in love with Rachel--so much so that he pushes her away. It could be about any kind of reason for break-up, but I get the impression that it's about him pushing her away because of the way the second stanza goes. It seems to imply that the mistake mentioned on either side of loving her to ribbons was just that--that he loved her too much.

    Great song. All of their songs are amazing, but the real energy songs like Abel, Mr. November, Murder Me Rachel, an Available will always have a special place in my heart.
    Flag lnknprky2kon June 11, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Obsessive love at it's best. Or worst. I can't tell the difference.
    Flag TerroristCakeson January 15, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:it is absolutely criminal that this does not have more commentst. this song has to be one of their best. I SAW MY LOVE, WITH PRETTY BOY. SO SAY GOODBYE TO PRETTY BOY.

    On the level of Abel for sure.
    Flag vamos scorchoon December 26, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Only recently got into alligator and boxer which are both growers. Heard this though and it blew me away. Their best song (so far)
    Flag senorhugheson May 25, 2007   Link

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