This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
You and I fall together
You and I sleep alone
After all, things might be better
After one, and there's one that's long gone
For the moon you keep shootin'
Throw your rope up in the air
For the kids you stay together
You nap 'em and you slap 'em in a highchair
All you ever wanted was someone to take care of ya
All you're ever losin' is a little mascara
A little mascara
A little mascara
Afternoon, things are quiet
Settle back now if you can
Stations clip by like a rocket
Don't you worry if you wonder why he ran
All you ever wanted was someone to take care of ya
All you're ever losin' is a little mascara
A little mascara
A little mascara
That you cry, cry
That you cry,
Your eyes out
That you cry,
That you cry,
That you cry
Your eyes out
All you ever wanted was someone
Ma'd be scared of
All your ever losin' is
A little mascara
A little mascara
A little mascara
That you cry,
That you cry,
That you cry,
Your eyes out
That you cry,
That you cry,
That you cry
Your eyes out
Cry, cry, that you, cry
You and I sleep alone
After all, things might be better
After one, and there's one that's long gone
For the moon you keep shootin'
Throw your rope up in the air
For the kids you stay together
You nap 'em and you slap 'em in a highchair
All you ever wanted was someone to take care of ya
All you're ever losin' is a little mascara
A little mascara
A little mascara
Afternoon, things are quiet
Settle back now if you can
Stations clip by like a rocket
Don't you worry if you wonder why he ran
All you ever wanted was someone to take care of ya
All you're ever losin' is a little mascara
A little mascara
A little mascara
That you cry, cry
That you cry,
Your eyes out
That you cry,
That you cry,
That you cry
Your eyes out
All you ever wanted was someone
Ma'd be scared of
All your ever losin' is
A little mascara
A little mascara
A little mascara
That you cry,
That you cry,
That you cry,
Your eyes out
That you cry,
That you cry,
That you cry
Your eyes out
Cry, cry, that you, cry
Lyrics submitted by krushzed, edited by cevans, Replacementss
Little Mascara Lyrics as written by Paul Westerberg
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Oh, how beautifully perfect! Starts out with words consoling that poor, but strong mom who only wanted someone to love her & take care of her kids - but, he left and she soldiers on, for the kids' sake. That louse up & left her. Aren't all men like that? He's not worth the tears, honey...
Then, the kicker, right there at the end. The truth comes out... "All you ever wanted was someone ma'd be scared of"
She wanted a bad guy. She picked one on purpose. She wanted people to feel all sorry for her. She knew he wouldn't stick around. She hoped he wouldn't. Oh, isn't this fun, getting all of this attention, playing the martyr...
Pathetic
That “payoff” line you mentioned (“someone ma’d be scared of”) makes the listener (ok, maybe it’s just me 😂) return to the first sung variation of the lyric in that part of the (pre-) chorus, when he sings “All you ever wanted was someone to take care of you” and rethink it as not being just some innocent “wish” she’d made while she was younger, but to actually be truly faulty logic with which she has seemingly cornered herself. Except right at that time, she’s not yet learnt to look within for strength, she still believes the answer to happiness is a lasting relationship with another person. I can recall people giving me advice, when I was young, about not putting too much faith in others, or not getting too caught up in “wishing” for the future or whatever, but I know I had a hard time grasping exactly what they were trying to get across to me. Like the old folks say (and I know, cuz I’m one of them now 😂 ), “Youth is wasted on the young”, which of course is not REALLY true in an objective sense, but I can see what they meant now. But youth is really the time for committing errors in judgment; f’ing up isn’t fun, but in my experience, it’s been the best way to learn). <br /> <br /> Idk if this applies to all or most people but when I was younger, I had all kinds of ideas about what I might want or expect (aka, “demand” 😂) from my future romantic partner, which now makes me feel as if i ignored the reality (or just didn’t understand it at the time, which I gotta believe is fairly universal) that the only way to be “happy”, or to at least get on the road to a happier life (in the spirit of “life is a journey, not a destination”), is to figure out what’s going on inside my mind and try to deal with it with it while being rigorously honest with myself, as I’ve found that my biggest obstacle in life has always been my own feelings/thoughts/ideas/likes & dislikes, and the ways I’d learnt to deal with…life, as it’s coming at me a mile a minute (or so it can seem sometimes). And it sounds as if the female subject of “Little Mascara” is heading for an eventual showdown with her own psyche. But she’ll figure it out and get it together, even as she tells herself she’s doing it (persevering) “for the kids”.
I love this song, and I seriously think that if some country musician covered it, it would be a hit. Ya know, slow it down a bit, add some fiddle and pedal steel, have somebody with a dopey voice like Tim McGraw do the vocals. Get Nashville on the phone, this one could make PW the riches he deserves.
@Quonset If Kelly Willis can cover "They're Blind," why not?
Quonset, that's actually probably true, but I'd cringe every time I heard the country version of it--especially since I live in Nashville.
I dunno about that. I would think more that she had a bad relationship with her mother and so she picked a "bad boy" as kind of the ultimate screw you. Of course she didn't think the plan through and then he up and left her.
He's gone and left her with the kids.
In the afternoon, when they're napping, she cries... but the friend/narrator consoles her that she's only losing mascara when she cries - she hasn't lost anything - the guy's a bum.
Hell, get George Jones to do it. Or Merle. They'd do it justice!
The correct version of the lines are:
"All you ever wanted was someone Ma ain't scared of"
You can hear it more clearly in live versions of the song, for example at 2:25 in youtube.com/watch
@Replacementss It’s entirely possible that PW sang different variations of his lyrics live (which is not uncommon, at least that I’ve noticed), and the link you offered no longer works or I’d try to figure out what he sings at 2:25, as you recommended, but I am pretty sure (not 100%, but pretty close) that on the studio recording he sings exactly what is shown to be the lyrics, above (“someone Ma’d be scared of”). I hear just that.