This is a sobering song that makes a tragic statement about the human condition of no real love and total self-involvement. Something all too common and something which remains an ongoing tragedy even more so now years later. The baby (i.e., Betty) is a victim representation of her young parents' apathy for family, marriage, or anyone else. Ambition and personal pursuits of individual interests by her parents ultimately abandon the baby Betty to the diminished role of a worn out novelty. The baby Betty's parents later make admissions to attempt to selfishly explain away and justify in hindsight any sense of guilt and responsibility for their abandonment of the baby Betty and deny their critical role in her tragic death. The baby Betty's father is a selfish, ambitious man who abandons his family to go to Texas where he becomes a wealthy tycoon in agriculture... and despite his great wealth selfishly chooses NOT to lift a finger to help (or even acknowledge) his former family. The baby Betty's mother (left to raise a baby on her own) feels trapped and alone... with little money, she becomes a stripper to pay the bills... not so much because she lacks the qualifications to do anything else, but moreover to cure her youthful sense of isolation and insatiable need for social adventure. The baby Betty was obvious a curious toddler left on her own while her mother was likely busy in the bedroom with some man she recently met at the bar. Because baby Betty was left unsupervised, she was able to explore and ultimately discover a bottle of aspirin (which she mistook for candy) and overdosed... dying all alone. Obviously this is a song about the sad notion that even someone so precious as a small child is expendable to the selfish needs and personal interests of parents... who possess all the necessary resources, but who lack capacity and desire to give of themselves.
@DuskRider -
The info on Betty's father is scant. "Agrophile" is kind of a made-up word and most definitions attributed to it could be just as easily interpreted to mean he's worm food, dead. At any rate, I highly doubt he's rich, as Betty's mom would see Betty as her meal ticket, and bleed HIM for money instead of sleazing up the local bar.
Everything else you have to say is right on the nose. The Band was ahead of its time in addressing many issues.
@DuskRider -
The info on Betty's father is scant. "Agrophile" is kind of a made-up word and most definitions attributed to it could be just as easily interpreted to mean he's worm food, dead. At any rate, I highly doubt he's rich, as Betty's mom would see Betty as her meal ticket, and bleed HIM for money instead of sleazing up the local bar.
Everything else you have to say is right on the nose. The Band was ahead of its time in addressing many issues.
This is a sobering song that makes a tragic statement about the human condition of no real love and total self-involvement. Something all too common and something which remains an ongoing tragedy even more so now years later. The baby (i.e., Betty) is a victim representation of her young parents' apathy for family, marriage, or anyone else. Ambition and personal pursuits of individual interests by her parents ultimately abandon the baby Betty to the diminished role of a worn out novelty. The baby Betty's parents later make admissions to attempt to selfishly explain away and justify in hindsight any sense of guilt and responsibility for their abandonment of the baby Betty and deny their critical role in her tragic death. The baby Betty's father is a selfish, ambitious man who abandons his family to go to Texas where he becomes a wealthy tycoon in agriculture... and despite his great wealth selfishly chooses NOT to lift a finger to help (or even acknowledge) his former family. The baby Betty's mother (left to raise a baby on her own) feels trapped and alone... with little money, she becomes a stripper to pay the bills... not so much because she lacks the qualifications to do anything else, but moreover to cure her youthful sense of isolation and insatiable need for social adventure. The baby Betty was obvious a curious toddler left on her own while her mother was likely busy in the bedroom with some man she recently met at the bar. Because baby Betty was left unsupervised, she was able to explore and ultimately discover a bottle of aspirin (which she mistook for candy) and overdosed... dying all alone. Obviously this is a song about the sad notion that even someone so precious as a small child is expendable to the selfish needs and personal interests of parents... who possess all the necessary resources, but who lack capacity and desire to give of themselves.
@DuskRider - The info on Betty's father is scant. "Agrophile" is kind of a made-up word and most definitions attributed to it could be just as easily interpreted to mean he's worm food, dead. At any rate, I highly doubt he's rich, as Betty's mom would see Betty as her meal ticket, and bleed HIM for money instead of sleazing up the local bar. Everything else you have to say is right on the nose. The Band was ahead of its time in addressing many issues.
@DuskRider - The info on Betty's father is scant. "Agrophile" is kind of a made-up word and most definitions attributed to it could be just as easily interpreted to mean he's worm food, dead. At any rate, I highly doubt he's rich, as Betty's mom would see Betty as her meal ticket, and bleed HIM for money instead of sleazing up the local bar. Everything else you have to say is right on the nose. The Band was ahead of its time in addressing many issues.