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Oh what a noble distinguished collection of fine little friends you have made
Hitting the tables without you again no we'll wait no we promise we'll wait
June makes these excellent sewing machines out of common industrial waste
She spends a few months at a time on the couch
But she's safe she wears shades she wears shades
Oh but no one can stare at the wall as good as you my baby doll
And you're racist for playing along
You're only human after all
And you're learning that just 'cause they call themselves friends
Doesn't mean they'll call
They made the comment and just
But you've got the needle I guess that's the point of it all
Maybe a week in the tropics would help to remind you how nice life can be
We propped you right up in a chair on the deck with a beautiful view of the sea
But a couple days later we came back and you and the chair were nowhere to be seen
You had magically moved to the closet eyes fixed on the spot where the dryer had been
Oh yes no one can stare at the wall as good as you my baby doll
And you're racist for playing along
You're almost human after all
Why on earth would I keep you locked up in here where you so love the fall
Well the patterns laid out on the bed
With hundreds of colors of thread
But you've got the needle I guess that's the point in the end
It's better to waste your life watching the scenery change at a comatose rate
And to put yourself in and turn into one of those cigarette ads that you hate
And while you were sleeping some men came around and said they had some dementions to take
I'm not sure what they were talking about but they sure a mess of your face
But still no one can stare at the wall as good as you my baby doll
And you're racist for coming along you're almost human even now
And just cause they call themself experts doesn't mean that they'll call
Oh they've got the permanent price and the homes with a stable address
And they've got excitement and life by the fistful but you've got the meaning
I guess that's the point of it all
Hitting the tables without you again no we'll wait no we promise we'll wait
June makes these excellent sewing machines out of common industrial waste
She spends a few months at a time on the couch
But she's safe she wears shades she wears shades
Oh but no one can stare at the wall as good as you my baby doll
And you're racist for playing along
You're only human after all
And you're learning that just 'cause they call themselves friends
Doesn't mean they'll call
They made the comment and just
But you've got the needle I guess that's the point of it all
Maybe a week in the tropics would help to remind you how nice life can be
We propped you right up in a chair on the deck with a beautiful view of the sea
But a couple days later we came back and you and the chair were nowhere to be seen
You had magically moved to the closet eyes fixed on the spot where the dryer had been
Oh yes no one can stare at the wall as good as you my baby doll
And you're racist for playing along
You're almost human after all
Why on earth would I keep you locked up in here where you so love the fall
Well the patterns laid out on the bed
With hundreds of colors of thread
But you've got the needle I guess that's the point in the end
It's better to waste your life watching the scenery change at a comatose rate
And to put yourself in and turn into one of those cigarette ads that you hate
And while you were sleeping some men came around and said they had some dementions to take
I'm not sure what they were talking about but they sure a mess of your face
But still no one can stare at the wall as good as you my baby doll
And you're racist for coming along you're almost human even now
And just cause they call themself experts doesn't mean that they'll call
Oh they've got the permanent price and the homes with a stable address
And they've got excitement and life by the fistful but you've got the meaning
I guess that's the point of it all
Lyrics submitted by zweiundzwei, edited by kberke, Cobalt0
Track duration: 05:33
"The Point of It All" as written by Amanda Palmer
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I thought it was about an old lady losing the ability to care for herself, and because of that her friends and family slowly refrain from her.
Surely not every line fits to that, but there are certain hints that always gave me this impression.
These lines
"And while you were sleeping some men came around and said they had some dementions to take
I'm not sure what they were talking about but they sure a mess of your face"
made me think that the woman had died and morticians (is it the right word?) came to do prep her for the funeral, doing (messy) make up.
And she looks "almost human, even now", even in death.
Respectively, she would have become so demented that they put her in a retirement home.
It's fascinating to know the other meaning, but I guess I'll always connect the song with an old lady, especially because of personal experience.
and it's "doesn't mean sweet fuck all" in the last verse.
although this has no bearing, i like the image of some men coming into the house saying they have to take some dimensions and beating up this comatose friend/roommate/partner. just a sick little scenario.
"The patterns laid out on the bed
with dozens* of colors of thread
but you've got the needle
I guess that's the point of it all"
The pattern represents a plan of action.
the colors of thread represent several options for how to go about it.
But you've got the needle- which means that the resources are available but it's up to you to use them.
I think this is about somebody who is depressed and has lost direction in their life. Overall the message is that there are plenty of people who will tell you how to fix yourself and get back on your feet but in the end it all comes down to you. Brilliant.
oh, what a noble, distinguished collection of fine little friends you have made
>> Sarcasm dripping in the first line, AP suggests that the subject of the song has made poor a choice in friends
hitting the tables without you again: no we’ll wait, no we promise, we’ll wait
>> and that they're flakey and unreliable
june makes these excellent sewing machines out of common industrial waste
>> as another poster suggested, a crack pipe perhaps
she spends a few days at a time on the couch but she’s fine
she wears shades, she wears shades
>> this suggests june is commonly spaced out on drugs. shades might indicate some sort of photophobia.
but no one can stare at the wall as good as you, my babydoll
>> the subject of the song is typically spaced out like June is. babydoll might be a pet name suggesting familiarity between AP and the subject.
and you’re aces for coming along
>> implies some context to the discussion, as though the subject was invited to some event, or a catch up over coffee.
you’re almost human, after all
>> this fits with the previous line, implying that they're spaced out so much they're hardly a person.
and you’re learning that just ‘cause they call themselves friends
doesn’t mean they’ll call...
>> possibly the subject has been pouring their heart out about the whole of the last verse.
they made the comment in jest
>> perhaps at the aforementioned coffee/catch up the subjects real friends made a few jibes about not seeing the subject any more, or noticing changes in their appearance.
but you’ve got the needle
i guess that’s the point of it all
>> imo the most chilling line in the song (and repeated throughout). the subject takes solace in their drugs, shrugging off reality.
maybe a week in the tropics would help to remind you how nice life can be
we propped you right up in a chair on a deck with a beautiful view of the sea
but a couple weeks later we came back and you and the chair were nowhere to be seen
>>the subjects' real friends (or family) want to get them out of this drugs-spiral. they take them out, away from the drugs, into a fresh environment. despite this the subject returns to their old habits.
you had magically moved to the closet
eyes fixed to the place where the dryer had been
>> possibly they've sold the dryer for drugs money?
oh, but no one can stare at the wall as good as you, my babydoll
and you’re aces for coming along
you’re almost human, after all
why on earth would i keep you propped up in here when you so love the fall...?
>> this last line suggests AP has grown tired/frustrated of trying to help the subject, suggesting he has no interest in escaping the drugs culture/lifestyle he's in.
the pattern’s laid out on the bed
with dozens of colors of thread
but you’ve got the needle
i guess that’s the point in the end
>> patterns/threads may be indicating drugs in this case. again the repitition of 'you've got the needle...' suggests the subects fixation on drugs.
but it’s better to waste your day watching the scenery change at a comatose rate
>> comatose rate relates back to the 'staring at the walls' comments earlier, suggesting being spaced-out on drugs.
than to put yourself in it and turn into one of those cigarette ads that you hate
>> i'd have to defer to our american posters on this one, not being from the US. it may be that they want to avoid the 'life's great because i'm smoking X brand' type of lifestyle as mentioned by another poster.
but while you were sleeping some men came around
said they had some dimensions to take
i’m not sure what they were talking about but they sure made a mess of your face
>> suggests dealers/loan sharks came round to beat up the subject for not paying money owed.
but still, no one can stare at the wall as good as you, my babydoll
and you’re aces for playing along
you’re almost human, even now
>> the 'even now' progression of this chorus suggests that things are getting worse, that the subject is slipping further.
and just ‘cause they call themselves experts
it doesn’t mean sweet fuck all...
>> he's casting off the opinions of experts (doctors, social workers etc.),
they’ve got the permanent press
>> permanent press is a procedure which means garments hold their shape and don't wrinkle.
homes with a stable address
>> this may be an explanatory line for the previous one. between them they suggest the 'experts' can't relate to the subject due to the stability of their lifestyles.
and they’ve got excitement
and life by the fistful
>> alternativley, it may relate to these two lines, suggesting that these 'experts' have lots going for them, but not the things the subject cares about, and so he's not interested.
but you’ve got the needle
i guess that’s the point of it all
I think might be about a friend who's very physically ill and has resigned herself to staying inside all day sewing. I get the sense that she's ill because of the lines about how they "propped" her up - no able bodied person needs her friends to prop her up on her deck.
Soon after falling ill most of her friends abandoned her, proving they were only "fair weather" friends (just cause they call themselves friends/doesn't mean they'll call).
The narrator, however, has stuck with her. She comes over often and tries to muster some enthusiasm in her friend and remind her that life is good (a beautiful view of the sea). But the friend is depressed and has lost interest in everything except her sewing. The narrator is getting increasingly frustrated at how the friend seems to have given up, hence the sarcastic tone of many of the lines (no one can stare at the wall as good as you/i guess that's the point of it all).
I think the friend has a terminal diagnosis and that is why she has given up. The narrator tries to instill hope in her friend, maybe the doctors are wrong (just cause they call themselves experts doesn't mean sweet fuck all), but the friend writes it off as naive optimism (which it probably is).
Now that I think of it, though, this interpretation works just as well even if the sewing imagery IS in fact a metaphor for drug use. It makes sense, too, that maybe the ill woman got hooked on drugs to cope with the pain of her disease.
As somebody who has been very seriously ill and has felt that sense of resignation, the feeling that it's just too hard and I don't have the energy to do anything or go anywhere outside the walls of my house, this song strikes a major chord with me.
I don't understand why everyone thinks this is about a guy. I thought it was about a gal who sews, but likely is also a heroin addict. I always figured it's about "Jen."
First, (has anyone said this?) I'm going to venture that the song is set in Atlantic City, judging from "hitting the tables" and the beautiful view of the sea, but really that's not a major point is it? (and it could of course be coincidence...since AC isn't exactly the tropics) :) I think it DOES factor into the idea of taking the risk of living, gambling. The tone seems to be self deprecating.
I agree with many that people are hyper focusing on the needle imagery. Get over the drug needle thing. If that's the image, it's an obvious one (and i'll give you the whole 'industrial waste/shades' thing cause I can't come up with anything else there haha). There is also obvious discussion of sexual abuse. Or rather, promiscuity as self abuse. I think the subtleties of phrase are important here. Detachment and depersonalization are at the core, I believe. The doll is a perfect example of this. A doll can be dressed up as it's user sees fit. A doll can be anything at all except itself.
I think the needle and thread are exactly that, the tools used to craft costumes for herself, or that others use to dress her up as whatever they'd like to see. It's difficult to find yourself in that situation, if you even want to, if you even believe there's a self of value worth finding. The fact that the costumes belong to you, even that they are of your own making (that you have the needle and thread) does not mean that they ARE you. But you can pretend it's who you want to be, anyway, right?
Isn't it easier to be the biggest, loudest, brightest, sharpest version of what you want people to see ? Instead of investing yourself and losing the gamble. Life can never live up to itself and ultimately, everyone becomes a statistic (just like those cigarette ads, eh?). So it's easier to stay outside it, when the reality is so full of awful. The trouble is that people only want to play with a doll, does anyone really care about/love a doll the way they do a 'real' person?
Or respect it? People will do things to you while you are 'sleeping'.
Bottom line, dolls and songs can both be whatever the player desires. This song is brilliant because it does that AND comments on the phenomenon. This song can and probably does mean a million specific things and a dozen abstract. It melts me to the floor every time.
You're almost human, even now