Don't you mess with a little girl's dreams
Coz she's liable to grow up mean
(While the meaning of these two lines are pretty obvious, I really do think it refers to her childhood – her father messed with her dreams by being too controlling and dominating, and now she's grown up mean.
I know I may be totally off-base here, but this line especially causes me to think that this song is partly all the negative feelings that she had against her dad. It's from the album "Haunted", and the entire album is about her father, and how she came upon some tapes of some of his lectures, and it shook her to her core to hear her father's voice again after he's been dead for so long. Anyone ever listen to the entire album in sequence? It tells the whole story of her relationship with him, the ups, downs, rebellions etc, until it ends in peace and love with "If you were here"
One of the reasons this song is so powerful for me, and prolly why I'm so sure it's at least partly about her dad, is because this song NAILS my feelings towards my step dad, and how I'd like to feel if I should ever run into him again.)
Surprise you to find that I'm laughing?
You thought that you'd find me in tears
You thought I'd be crawling the walls
Like a tiny mosquito and trembling in fear
(This would probably be what she'd expect her father (or abuser, if this song is not about the father figure at all) to think she'd feel upon encountering him again. He'd expect her to still be the fearful, powerless (like a mosquito) victim he made her to be).
Well you may be king for the moment,
But I am a queen, understand?
And I got your pawns and your bishops and castles
All inside the palm of my hand
(In my life, as a teenager living with an absolute horrible step father, this verse nailed my feelings completely and gave me strength and hope that things would change eventually.
So, the abuser is obviously at this point still in a position of power, but she, the victim, knows that it's only a matter of time before she's no longer dependant on him, and then she'll be the one calling the shots)
While you were looking the other way
While you had your eyes closed
While you were likcing your lips
Cause I was miserable
While you were selling your soul
While you were tearing a hole in me
I was taking control
(She's saying that even while he was busy torturing her (in whatever way) and enjoying it and gloating over the pain it causes her, she was busy finding herself and her strenght, and he was too caught up in his pleasure at her pain to notice or do anything about it.)
Now I have taken control
Now I have taken control
Control
Well this is beginning to feel good
Watching your squirm in your shoes
A small bead of sweat on your brow
And a growl in your belly you're scared to let loose
(Now she's seeing him again, and he no longer has power over her. She is now strong and angry and she "grew up mean", and she can take him on. This scares him, and she's enjoying his unease.)
You thought you could keep me from loving
Yeah you thought you could feed on my soul
But while you were busy destroying my life
What was half in me has become whole
(She's stating what her destroyer's goals were, but once again that while he was too busy enjoying her pain, she was "becoming whole" and he was too caught up in her pain to notice)
While you were looking the other way
While you had your eyes closed
While you were likcing your lips
Cause I was miserable
While you were selling your soul
While you were tearing a hole in me
I was taking control
Now I have taken control
Now I have taken control
Control
So this is how it feels
To breathe in the summer air
Feel the sand between my toes
And the love inside my ear
All those things you taught me to fear:
I got them in my garden now
And you're not welcome here
(After breaking free, "taking control", she was able to do all of these things he taught her "to fear" through his actions, and she saw that the way he taught it to her was beautiful and precious, and she's cultivating them, and he can't come in and destroy them again)
This cannot be all that there is to life
Because in our confrontation with an enormous and cold universe
There's something comical to the idea
That we can really force our… our will on humanity
Power corrupts
(This is, for me, a reference to the fact that people try to get power over others, and they get corrupted by that power and start to abuse it. It's also ironic that it's her father saying it, while I suspect that the song is at least in part about him.)
@Lilandra Just to add to your excellent interpretation, there's a subtle point that's easy to miss in this stanza:
@Lilandra Just to add to your excellent interpretation, there's a subtle point that's easy to miss in this stanza:
Well this is beginning to feel good
Watching your squirm in your shoes
A small bead of sweat on your brow
And a growl in your belly you're scared to let loose
Well this is beginning to feel good
Watching your squirm in your shoes
A small bead of sweat on your brow
And a growl in your belly you're scared to let loose
While it represents the former victim triumphing against their abuser's conditioning, it also chillingly hints at the common potential for victims to "turn the tables" and become abusers themselves, or the Drama Triangle where the roles of Victim, Abuser, and Rescuer can all switch around at different points in the drama cycle or in reaction to circumstances.
Don't you mess with a little girl's dreams Coz she's liable to grow up mean (While the meaning of these two lines are pretty obvious, I really do think it refers to her childhood – her father messed with her dreams by being too controlling and dominating, and now she's grown up mean.
I know I may be totally off-base here, but this line especially causes me to think that this song is partly all the negative feelings that she had against her dad. It's from the album "Haunted", and the entire album is about her father, and how she came upon some tapes of some of his lectures, and it shook her to her core to hear her father's voice again after he's been dead for so long. Anyone ever listen to the entire album in sequence? It tells the whole story of her relationship with him, the ups, downs, rebellions etc, until it ends in peace and love with "If you were here"
One of the reasons this song is so powerful for me, and prolly why I'm so sure it's at least partly about her dad, is because this song NAILS my feelings towards my step dad, and how I'd like to feel if I should ever run into him again.)
Surprise you to find that I'm laughing? You thought that you'd find me in tears You thought I'd be crawling the walls Like a tiny mosquito and trembling in fear (This would probably be what she'd expect her father (or abuser, if this song is not about the father figure at all) to think she'd feel upon encountering him again. He'd expect her to still be the fearful, powerless (like a mosquito) victim he made her to be).
Well you may be king for the moment, But I am a queen, understand? And I got your pawns and your bishops and castles All inside the palm of my hand (In my life, as a teenager living with an absolute horrible step father, this verse nailed my feelings completely and gave me strength and hope that things would change eventually.
So, the abuser is obviously at this point still in a position of power, but she, the victim, knows that it's only a matter of time before she's no longer dependant on him, and then she'll be the one calling the shots)
While you were looking the other way While you had your eyes closed While you were likcing your lips Cause I was miserable While you were selling your soul While you were tearing a hole in me I was taking control (She's saying that even while he was busy torturing her (in whatever way) and enjoying it and gloating over the pain it causes her, she was busy finding herself and her strenght, and he was too caught up in his pleasure at her pain to notice or do anything about it.)
Now I have taken control Now I have taken control Control
Well this is beginning to feel good Watching your squirm in your shoes A small bead of sweat on your brow And a growl in your belly you're scared to let loose (Now she's seeing him again, and he no longer has power over her. She is now strong and angry and she "grew up mean", and she can take him on. This scares him, and she's enjoying his unease.)
You thought you could keep me from loving Yeah you thought you could feed on my soul But while you were busy destroying my life What was half in me has become whole (She's stating what her destroyer's goals were, but once again that while he was too busy enjoying her pain, she was "becoming whole" and he was too caught up in her pain to notice)
While you were looking the other way While you had your eyes closed While you were likcing your lips Cause I was miserable While you were selling your soul While you were tearing a hole in me I was taking control Now I have taken control Now I have taken control Control
So this is how it feels To breathe in the summer air Feel the sand between my toes And the love inside my ear All those things you taught me to fear: I got them in my garden now And you're not welcome here (After breaking free, "taking control", she was able to do all of these things he taught her "to fear" through his actions, and she saw that the way he taught it to her was beautiful and precious, and she's cultivating them, and he can't come in and destroy them again)
This cannot be all that there is to life Because in our confrontation with an enormous and cold universe There's something comical to the idea That we can really force our… our will on humanity Power corrupts
(This is, for me, a reference to the fact that people try to get power over others, and they get corrupted by that power and start to abuse it. It's also ironic that it's her father saying it, while I suspect that the song is at least in part about him.)
@Lilandra Just to add to your excellent interpretation, there's a subtle point that's easy to miss in this stanza:
@Lilandra Just to add to your excellent interpretation, there's a subtle point that's easy to miss in this stanza:
Well this is beginning to feel good Watching your squirm in your shoes A small bead of sweat on your brow And a growl in your belly you're scared to let loose
Well this is beginning to feel good Watching your squirm in your shoes A small bead of sweat on your brow And a growl in your belly you're scared to let loose
While it represents the former victim triumphing against their abuser's conditioning, it also chillingly hints at the common potential for victims to "turn the tables" and become abusers themselves, or the Drama Triangle where the roles of Victim, Abuser, and Rescuer can all switch around at different points in the drama cycle or in reaction to circumstances.