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Please don't cry
For the ghost and the storm outside
Will not invade this sacred shrine
Nor infiltrate your mind
My life down I shall lie
If the bogey-man should try
To play tricks on your sacred mind
To tease, torment, and tantalize
Wavering shadows loom
A piano plays in an empty room
There'll be blood on the cleaver tonight
And when darkness lifts and the room is bright
I'll still be by your side
For you are all that matters
And I'll love you to till the day I die
There never need be longing in your eyes
As long as the hand that rocks the cradle is mine
Ceiling shadows shimmy by
And when the wardrobe towers like a beast of prey
There's sadness in your beautiful eyes
Oh, your untouched, unsoiled, wondrous eyes
My life down I shall lie
Should restless spirits try
To play tricks on your sacred mind
I once had a child, and it saved my life
And I never even asked his name
I just looked into his wondrous eyes
And said : "never never never again"
And all too soon I did return
Just like a moth to a flame
So rattle my bones all over the stones
I'm only a beggar-man whom nobody owns
Oh, see how words as old as sin
Fit me like a glove
I'm here and here I'll stay
Together we lie, together we pray
There never need be longing in your eyes
As long as the hand that rocks the cradle is mine
As long as the hand that rocks the cradle is mine
Mine
Climb up on my knee, sonny boy
Although you're only three, sonny boy
You're - you're mine
And your mother she just never knew
Oh, your mother...
As long...as long...as long
I did my best for her
I did my best for her
As long...as long...as long as...as long
I did my best for her
I did my best for her
Oh...
For the ghost and the storm outside
Will not invade this sacred shrine
Nor infiltrate your mind
My life down I shall lie
If the bogey-man should try
To play tricks on your sacred mind
To tease, torment, and tantalize
Wavering shadows loom
A piano plays in an empty room
There'll be blood on the cleaver tonight
And when darkness lifts and the room is bright
I'll still be by your side
For you are all that matters
And I'll love you to till the day I die
There never need be longing in your eyes
As long as the hand that rocks the cradle is mine
Ceiling shadows shimmy by
And when the wardrobe towers like a beast of prey
There's sadness in your beautiful eyes
Oh, your untouched, unsoiled, wondrous eyes
My life down I shall lie
Should restless spirits try
To play tricks on your sacred mind
I once had a child, and it saved my life
And I never even asked his name
I just looked into his wondrous eyes
And said : "never never never again"
And all too soon I did return
Just like a moth to a flame
So rattle my bones all over the stones
I'm only a beggar-man whom nobody owns
Oh, see how words as old as sin
Fit me like a glove
I'm here and here I'll stay
Together we lie, together we pray
There never need be longing in your eyes
As long as the hand that rocks the cradle is mine
As long as the hand that rocks the cradle is mine
Mine
Climb up on my knee, sonny boy
Although you're only three, sonny boy
You're - you're mine
And your mother she just never knew
Oh, your mother...
As long...as long...as long
I did my best for her
I did my best for her
As long...as long...as long as...as long
I did my best for her
I did my best for her
Oh...
Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery, edited by Mellow_Harsher
Track duration: 04:38
"The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" as written by Steven Patrick/marr Morrissey
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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What the mother would never know is how the father really does not care for her. He did his best to show that he does, but he simply is not in love. There is no romance between them. Nevertheless, as long as his hand rocks the cradle (as long as he is involved with the child) the child will be thoroughly protected.
Ultimately, despite the possibility of lovelessness between the parents, there remains an absolute and unconditional love for the child and the father sweetly conveys that message.
I found this idea reinforced upon reading the lyrics on the sleeve of the 1984 'The Smiths' vinyl, which very interestingly states instead of 'I once had a child and it saved my life, but I never even asked his name', as he says on the album, reads 'I once had a child, it saved my life but whom I never even gave a name'. This suggests a completely different scenario and that the song relates to a child who has been born unto him and has been taken from him or that he gave away, rather than the tenuous suggestions that the song is about child abuse and the like.
This of course is based on my assumption that the lyric sheet is printed with the lyrics that Morrissey provides before recording, and he may have altered lyrics or just said what came naturally when recording his vocals for the track.
Nevertheless the difference between the written lyrics and what is actually said is very thought provoking, especially on such a poignant line.
"Suffer Little Children" is about the "Moors Murders" (you can look it up on Wikepedia) -- a series of child murders said to have affected Morrisey quite a bit. (One of the lines is, "Oh, Manchester, so much to answer for", and that was his general childhood area.
So my take is that this "Cradle" song ties into that... his emotional desire to protect children. And perhaps kind of "cross-pollinated with themes like those in "Pretty Girls Make Graves", which seems to me to be about, one one hand, his heterosexual experiences, and perhaps desire for that...and then, that that wasn't going to be his thing.
I don't mean to presume about his sexuality, have never researched it, but have a strong feeling.
So, again, the concept I have is that he has a natural, gentle paternalism, but won't be a father, but is horrified by children being hurt. And they just kind of blend into a "non-literal" poem about all these issues.
Maybe this is a presumptive reading, I guess only Morrisey can tell anyone. (I assume he hasn't...again, I don't really do research on this stuff, generally.)
"There'll be blood on the cleaver tonight
And when darkness lifts and the room is bright
I'll still be by your side"
I think that he's saying that he'll kill the mother, because of what he says in the end of the song (And your mother she just never knew) so the child can belong to him completely... you can read this part either as the mind of a child abuser or of a possessive father who once abandoned his son...
To me, this song is about someone trying to comfort a fearful friend or someone they care deeply for. And while the narrator has done bad things, it doesn't change how much he cares about "the child". The relationship has to stay secret though, possibly for fear of disapproval and forced separation. "The child" loves the narrator as well, though not as much or not in the same way. However, the "child" is too obsessed with it's fear and dread to be comforted or for their relationship to grow......that's just what I think...of course it has many other interpretations.
Where did a song like 'Hand That Rocks The Cradle' come from?
"Well, that comes from a relationship I had that didn't really involve romance. So if we're talking about romance, well, I don't really know that much about it. But in other things, I'm quite capable of making an observation."
- Morrissey, Melody Maker, March 16, 1985
When I first heard it I was stuck by the beauty, of the lyrics (Ceiling shadows shimmy by/And when the wardrobe towers like a beast of prey/There's sadness in your beautiful eyes), his delivery and Marr's arrangement. It first struck me as a song of fierce parental love, but I think it typifies passionate love in general (you can think about it many ways).
The child abuse angle is old hat, and so many fans/critics think that they're so clever seeing these allusions in Morrissey's writing that can obliquely be about child abuse. I give him more credit as a lyrical genius than that. He obviously would've realised that it was a possible interpretation people would make, but I think there are more layers and emotion and depth than that. It's at once stunningly beautiful, passionate and slightly ominous, as ever...
'Climb onto my knee, sonny-boy/Although you're only three, sonny-boy' are from Al Jolson anyway, but I don't see anyone rushing to claim he wrote about child abuse!
Apart from 'Suffer Little Children' which was by default related to real child abuse I just don't see it in his writing though, in this song or 'Reel Around the Fountain' (which he explained as being about your first sexual experience). Sorry folks, dig deeper I say. To accuse Morrissey of singing about child abuse does a disservice to his depth of talent.
"For you are all that matters // and I'll love you 'till the day I die" - This person obviously feels an incredible infatuation for the child. Either they truly "love" the child in the only twiste way they know how, or they pretend to love the child, when they don't really give half a damn. Either way, it still fits in with my theory.
"There never need be longing in your eyes" - They don't give half a damn about what the child thinks or feels, as long as their own needs are fulfilled.
"As long as the hand that rocks the cradle is mine" - The person believes that the child belongs explicitly to them. The child is considered property.
"I once had a child and it saved my life" - This suggests that this person was in contact with or had some relationship with another child. They may have had a similar relationship as the one with this current child. The "had" suggests that this person believed they owned the child. The "it saved my life", I can't explain, though. :P
"I never even asked his name" - I don't think that this refers to the child's name. I think it means that the person didn't ask what the child wanted, showing that they don't care for the child. A name is something that is particular to each person, just like their thoughts and feelings.
"untouched, unsoiled, wondrous eyes" - The eyes are considered the "windows to the soul". I think, therefore, that this line is referring to the innocence of the child.
"Never, never, never again" - They're obviously not proud of what they do.
"And all too soon I did return // just like a moth to a flame" - This shows that this is a recurring part of this person's life. It doesn't seem to be comething they can control. They seem to need it.
"So rattle me bones all over the stones I'm just a beggar-man whom nobody owns" is a quote from somewhere, but I'm not sure as to the meaning or the original use.
"climb up on my knee, sonny-boy // ALTHOUGH you're only three" - The idea of climbing up on someone's knee suggests sex. It alo suggests that the perspective is of a male. In a fatherly way, if he wanted this child to sit on his knee, the fact that the child is only three shouldn't be an issue. The "although" suggests, therefore that there is something not right about a three-year-old sitting on this man's lap, strengthening the idea of sex.
"You're- you're mine" - suggests a sort of weakness, anda desire for this child to belong to them. The stuttering suggests the weakness.
"And, your mother, she just never knew" - The mother either didn't know about this relationship, or she didn't consent to it = "You're mine, and your mother just never knew". This suggests that he believes that the mother was ignorant of the relationship's "rightness", and that he believed her to be wrong to suggest that it was wrong.
"As long... as long... as long // I did my best for her" - Suggests that he is trying to justify his relationship with this child, like he's trying to finish the sentence, "As long as I did my best to please her, this is all ok". Either that is meant or this: The man tried so hard not to hurt the mother, showing a relationship with her or a need to make it up to her (he may not have known her personally), and he wanted to show that he's not really a bad person.
Anyway, I think it's about child molestation.
I'm not sure of the relationship between the two people, three, if you count the mother.