Cursive – The Lament of Pretty Baby

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I saw something I was not supposed to see
A ghostly memory that keeps on haunting me

(The kitchen door was open a crack,
So naively we peeked inside)

Oh, darling sister, have they hurt you, have they hurt you?
Oh, Pretty Baby, they won't touch you
They won't touch you again
We will fix this incident

I don't want to be seen as a pretty thing
'Cause it's the pretty things that we're always breaking...

(And now she whispers into the mirror:) I'm broken.

Oh doctor, doctor, can you fix me, can you fix me?

Oh Pretty Baby, you're so naive -- but it comes off so cute
We don't want to fix you
We love you just the way you are
The butterfly pinned to the page
The nightingale locked in the cage -- won't you sing for me?
Sing for me, uh-huh
Yeah, we love you just the way you are
Crushed 'neath fashion magazines
Trampled by circus pony dreams -- won't you kiss me?
Won't you kiss me, uh-huh

Oh please, mister, can't you fix me, can't you fix me? (uh-huh)
Someone, anyone, won't you fix me, won't you fix me? (uh-huh)
Oh, someone, please, the moon has raped me
I can feel it inside me
Oh, mama, please let someone fix me!
Let them fix me, uh-huh
Let them fix me, uh-huh

So cry yourself to sleep
Cry yourself to sleep 'cause I am strong and you are weak
Wait, you are strong, and I am weak
Fuck -- just cry yourself to sleep

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Lyrics submitted by jephque

Track duration: 03:15

"The Lament of Pretty Baby" as written by Tim Kasher, Matthew Ryan Maginn, Clint Frederick Schnase, Ted James Stevens

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


The Lament of Pretty Baby song meanings
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  • 0
    My Interpretation:I think the song is definitely about rape. Pretty Baby goes out drinking the night before (A Red so Deep), and flirts with guys to get back at Sweetie's presumed infidelities. She gets raped by a man she meets at a bar. This song is her reacting to the aftermath.
    Flag AvatarofWoahon February 21, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I've always thought this song was about a beautiful girl who was raped by her father, and no one cares, or, rather, no one wants to help that is capable of helping.
    Flag Fionnon February 24, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Just to throw this in, the moon has long been viewed as a symbol of femininity and that whole mystique. So, "the moon has raped me" is kind of like being raped by the feminine or by a higher almost deified feminine, if that makes any sense. I've always thought this song was in some way about how society destroys the natural image of female beauty (i.e. the moon), with all the "fashion magazines" and proscribed images of how women should be. The moon has raped me line is about guilt for being OK with your feminine side and the natural you. It's like a child feeling guilty for doing something wrong, the character in the song is begging for her mother to fix her. The last stanza is when she tries to make her stand by telling masculine society or the male off (maybe Kasher if you add the divorce part in). She's saying "cry yourself to sleep" which really destroys that whole masculine society thing since men aren't supposed to cry, and she asserts how strong she is. But, she gets confused because society has imposed on her that she's supposed to be the weak one, and in the end it's kind of ambiguous who comes out on top. I've always thought it interesting how much fucker sounds like "fuck her" in this song, and perhaps that's just Kasher's way of being clever. Either way, I've loved this song for quite some time and I'm pretty sure it's one of the best songs Cursive will ever write.
    Flag asSTARSfallxon February 13, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:sounds like a whole lot of vanity.
    Flag thequiettypeon January 05, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think the whole song is about women's sexuality and the effects of modern society. I don't think there is any literal rape, but perhaps the girl probably has lost her virginity, which stirs up these feelings. The picture of the dominant male and the "ideal female" imprisons the female psyche.
    Flag IcemanComethon July 23, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:basically to me shows how someone witness an action of rape and the witness is very close to the person who was being done being so naive took a peek and found out something that would scar them both for life especially the type of rape how the moon has raped me therefore is is a source of light that has illuminated on this person and the person aches for help in the end the only way to tranquilize is to sleep and forget about your problems temporarily.
    Flag mysenseofmindon June 27, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:have i really not commented on this song yet? wow. weird. cause i love this song. it has some fantastic lyrics
    Flag bitterbritteron May 19, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I love the intro to this song....And I like IwantedToHoldYou's take on what the lyrics could mean!
    Flag xXxJamminxXxon December 29, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I know all those comments are old and shit but I just had to say something to the people referring to cursive as post-hardcore. That makes absolutely no sense first of all how could Cursive or Fugazi have been post-hardcore if they existed before the hardcore that the post-hardcore we all know stems from. Hardcore back then was a lot different with more of a punk sound. Either way I don't think Tim Kasher makes his music to be classified he makes it to be appreciated in its own way by the individuals who listen to it.
    Flag CAPTAINMORGUNon December 02, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:can everyone stop tying rape into this song? the album, domestica, is written as a one act play that describes the pain, lies, etc that come with a divorce and this song is about a piece of said divorce. tim wrote it about his divorce from his now-ex kim, and the song meaning is really obvious. stop trying to write stupid meanings into it, none of them make sense anyway :-)
    Flag rielleon August 09, 2007   Link

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