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All of the prisoners serving life sentences
Wait for the earth to suddenly shake
For the walls to somehow suddenly come crumbling, tumbling and
For the bars to somehow magically break
Aw, there's nothing wrong with them
That a thousand bucks can't fix
That a thousand arms can't hold down
In the ground they're tattooing the stones with
cusses like cavemen - your momma was here
But they want to run through the air with no barriers or obstacles
Gunmen or guard dogs or priests
And to rise from the mud and start over and over
With the people all dead.
If Hans Christian Andersen could've had his way with me
Then none of this shit would have ever gone down
In my cell I'm tattooing myself with
Mermaids and swallows and though I do swallow
My mama thinks I'm grown but I'm really just little
And someday I will remember
Someday I will remember
Someday I will remember
Wait for the earth to suddenly shake
For the walls to somehow suddenly come crumbling, tumbling and
For the bars to somehow magically break
Aw, there's nothing wrong with them
That a thousand bucks can't fix
That a thousand arms can't hold down
In the ground they're tattooing the stones with
cusses like cavemen - your momma was here
But they want to run through the air with no barriers or obstacles
Gunmen or guard dogs or priests
And to rise from the mud and start over and over
With the people all dead.
If Hans Christian Andersen could've had his way with me
Then none of this shit would have ever gone down
In my cell I'm tattooing myself with
Mermaids and swallows and though I do swallow
My mama thinks I'm grown but I'm really just little
And someday I will remember
Someday I will remember
Someday I will remember
Lyrics submitted by tasteslikeG0LD
Track duration: 03:00
"Prisoners" as written by Regina Spektor
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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And then she talks about Hans Christian Anderson, saying that if she'd been properly taught about what is considered right in society that she wouldn't be imprisoned.
My momma thinks I'm grown but I'm really just little- she has a lot to learn about the world and it hasn't been kind to her.
What do you all think?
although, i don't think she says "oh there's nothing wrong with them that a thousand books can't fix", but "a thousand bucks can't fix". i guess they can be bailed out, meaning their crimes aren't so big when a large sum of money is offered - they get free hence there's nothing wrong with them.
and also,
"they wanna run through the air with no barriers or obstacles, gunmen or guard dogs or priests, and to rise from the mud and start over and over with the people all DEAD"
- they want to get free, they're dreaming about never killing those people and eventually ending up in jail. they want to start over again, and in their new beginning they don't kill anybody. or they want to repent their sins and wish to have a new beginning with the people they've killed.
i don't quite get the part "your momma was here". maybe since they're tattooing the stones like cavemen they want to leave a trace letting others know "xy was here". and "your momma" refers to using offensive language that would be common amongst prisoners, implying something bad about someone's mother?
idk, just my thoughts on it :) i love regina <3
While I'm sure the character(s) Regina's portraying is/are sexually frustrated, but there's a lot more to it than that. I feel it's trying to portray the overall feelings of a prisoner--be it a literal or metaphorical one--and that's a lot more than just a sexual starvation. The isolation, the attitudes, the unfulfilled dreams, the desires, and the overall conditions of the prisoners.
The same significance but still..
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/…
"Oh there's nothing wrong with them that a thousand books (instead of bucks) can't fix,
That a thousand arms can't hold down."
Not only controlling someone's actions physically, but also trying to harness someone's thoughts through imposing beliefs through literature/doctrines. (dare I say indoctrination?)
I think the book idea ties in nicely with the Hans Christian Andersen allusion as well...
Plus, since this song is right after "Mary Ann" on the CD "Meets the Gravediggers and Other Short Stories", this prisoner should most likely be Mary Ann. (she killed Stan Butler and now she's in jail for it)
gunmen or guard dogs or priests
and to rise from the mud and start over and over
with the people all dead'
To me, it seems like the prisoners just want to be freed and almost forget what it is that they've done, so their consciences will be light and 'run through the air.'
The mud seems like a play on the archetypal baptism and instead of being cleansed in water, they can overcome their crimes without being actually cleansed of them.
That, and the dead part seems like they truly hate the ones who judge them and in their angry mindsets, they want them all to die. xP
...And I could've sworn the line was 'and oh, I do swallow,' a reference to oral sex.