Time
Has coloured in
The black and white
Of your sin
So burn
Burn the flag
Rip it up
Bury the rags

But I will find you still
Move in for the kill
You cut her hair

So live
Live long
See her face
In everyone
And turn
Turn the page
Start again
Change your name

But I will find you still
Move in for the kill
You cut her hair
You cut her hair
You cut her hair


Lyrics submitted by ThreeMilesDown

You Cut Her Hair Lyrics as written by Tom Mcrae

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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You Cut Her Hair song meanings
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8 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    well, as much as this probably ruins the interpretation of the lyrics for others, i read in an interview that tom wrote this song after seeing a picture of a young girl in a concentration camp in nazi germany. they'd cut all of her hair off, just to dehumanise her. i'm sure that it's still possible to attatch this to a more personal relationship, but after reading that, all i ever have in my head is how frightened that poor girl must have been.

    faded24on June 15, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    my friend taped this for me, it's truly beautiful. <3

    rahtwinkleon March 30, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think it's about him fantasizing of killing his ex's new boyfriend. Either that or he's mental.

    Meyanon July 07, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I got this as far more metaphorical; he's trying to destroy all the memories of his ex by 'killing her' in his mind. A truely eerie song

    randomorwhaton June 03, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Nothing to do with relationships. Think more about a particular country which "entered" another and destroyed it, in the name of peace. This country's flag is the symbol by which it is defined, and should be easy to guess. You cut her hair literally means reshaping the landscape, changing the features whilst destroying the country. Turn the page, change your name refers to the country rebuilding. Find you still/move in for the kill is about retribution and not forgetting.

    LegsEFCon June 03, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Yeah, that seems like the correct interpretation faded. Just look at the lyrics of the first verse! Black and white: most ww2 footage is b+w, also the time thats passed since then has 'coloured in' just how horrific it was, some people no longer see it as black/white good/evil. This haunting song is tom saying how time cannot make right the wrongs of the nazi attrocities. Also I believe many nazis changed their names post war to avoid persecution by the allies.

    This is written as though he has some personal attachment to event, from the point of view of the girls brother or similar, who survived maybe. It certainly speaks volumes to me, my grandfather was the only one of his family to escape the nazis.

    pignolion June 30, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I always thought it was about what people did after WW2 to girls who had just happened to fall in love with German soldiers. In most countries, these girls got their hair cut off "in shame", so that everyone could see who they were. Both the girls and any children they got with the foreign soldiers were harassed the rest of their lives.

    But it could just as well be about nazis cutting the hair of the concentration camp prisoners. Either way, it's about what humans are able to do to other human beings.

    vortyon October 20, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I had always thought the song was a brother singing about a crime done to his baby sister. It seemed to me that a psychopath had killed her, and that now all grown up he was going to hunt him down.

    But I think the above interpretation is right, about the girl in the concentration camp.

    It seemed to me that the song had so much feeling in it it must be very personal. But I just finished reading "the boy in the striped pajamas". book, and I see how this song can be both personal and about a larger crime.

    todreamalifeon October 11, 2008   Link

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