CRUCIFY~ GIRL~ SILENT ALL THESE YEARS~ PRECIOUS THINGS~ WINTER~ HAPPY PHANTOM~ CHINA~ LEATHER~ MOTHER~ TEAR IN YOUR HAND~ ME AND A GUN~ LITTLE EARTHQUAKES~ TAKE TO THE SKY~ THE POOL~ SWEET DREAMS~ UPSIDE DOWN~ SUGAR~
This song is one about organized religion, and Tori's opinion that we should stop "killing ourselves" for everyone else, including God. Tori speaks of "looking for a saviour beneath these dirty sheets". Tori's position in the song is one of always behaving and doing as she's told. Be this, be that; it's the story of how we are told to behave by any religious sect. The theme also connects to being "everybody else's girl".
Crucify is a song where one stands up and says, "I am not going to take this anymore! I'm not free; I'm imprisoned by someone else's life (namely Jesus)". Christianity is a religion filled with mentions of our sins, pointing the finger at us. Tori refuses to accept this form of blame anymore. None of us should have to die cruelly for everyone else's sins. We need only accept responsibility for our personal actions. We should be loved regardless. Angels should always be there for comfort.
One of my fave quotes from this song is "You're just an empty cage girl if you kill the bird". To me this means, if you kill your spirit, and forget the part of you with your own beliefs, hopes and dreams, you're a hollow shell of a human being.
If you want to fully understand this song, a brief refresher on basic Bible stories will help. :) Though I was never raised with a religion, I caught on easily without any readings; "it's your choice babe".
This is a song that rings of Tori's days with Y Kan't Tori Read, and how she listened to far too many people trying to make her a star. In the end, she flopped, and was never less true to herself. In a sense this song begins with the concept of Tori's true self calling from within, saying "Tori honey, listen, we need to have a cup of tea and chat about this. You're forgetting what you've always been: a girl and the piano. Your soul is there. Be who you want to be. Stop being what everybody else wants to see."
It's a contemplation about letting go of oneself in all manners, in all ways, from religion (again) to the pressures of "the man". "The white coats enter her room and I'm callin' my baby..." refers to, for me anyways, a numbing, a sedation of your true self. Tori is screaming to her real self to break free before it's too late, to re-emerge and speak up. It's truly a song of liberation for me.
This song again relates to the idea of "sit in the chair and be good now". It speaks to me of allowing people to walk all over you, and biting your tongue when really, you just want to scream at the world. It calls out to everyone who's kept silent and afraid to speak up, be heard, and not be ashamed to be honest. One of the most inspirational tracks for sexual assault survivors, it was used as a "theme" song for RAINN (the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network - cofounded by Tori herself).
One of the quotes I get asked about by friends as to meaning is "What if I'm a mermaid in these jeans of his with her name still on it?" Honestly? I still try to take the best meaning from this. This is how I appraoch it (and I'm sure there's better):
Mermaids are supposedly made of fantasy, but are believed in by some. Beautiful creatures on the outside, they are often quite cruel, vengeful and, in a word, "bitchy". Which is perhaps how Tori views herself..... The part about the jeans implies that for her latest man, she is fulfilling a fantasy that he's tried to fill over and over, the perfect, beautiful, special creature. Tori could be saying here, "Well what if I open my mouth and people think I'm a bitch when I speak and be me?"
The next line goes along with this: "Hey but I don't care......" This would seems to say, "Well who cares? I've finally found my voice and I need to let it out, regardless of what others think. So FUCK him and everyone!"
I love this song. The bridge especially calls to me..... "Years go by - will I choke on my tears til finally there is nothing left?"
This song speaks of the pain of childhood, and the conflict between a desire to be virtuous and the human yearning to be loved and touched. It also speaks of the pain of not fitting in, and learning life's truths too young. It's a song about letting go of those bad memories, no longer letting them hurt you.
This song is one of Tori's more brutally honest ones, and she doesn't hold back. Perhaps one of my favourite Tori quotes ever is "So you can make me cum - that doesn't make you Jesus". You can take the obvious meaning from this song: a man does not rule the world simply because he can provide sexual satisfaction. Or you can look at it from the point of view and remember that Tori's inner conflict with her sexuality versus strict Christian principles and her hiding away masturbating. Either way, this quote, and the entire song, are powerful and sincere.
"When you gonna love you as much as I do?" echoes Tori, summing up all that those who love us say and do. This is a song of growing up, growing apart from our peers and feeling different. It is also a reminder that we all deserve to be loved, and should love ourselves. Each of us is special, though we seldom remember that.
As we grow up we deny gender roles and stereotypes, or embrace them. In this song, Tori speaks of being pulled back and forth, knowing that she will grow into a woman, but fighting typical expectations and the inevitable arrival of the moment when she will have to part with childhood and be an adult. The song also speaks about the love of a father who wants what's best for his daughter, and sees the hard times approaching ("Things are gonna change so fast"). A beautiful song that moves me deeply.
This song is far more upbeat than the others on Little Earthquakes -- at least, upon the surface. Shrouded by upbeat piano, this somewhat light-hearted take on dying and feeling one's time drawing to a close has its more emotional lines upon reflection ("And the atrocities of school I can forgive/The happy phantom has no right to bitch").
It also speaks of what happens when we leave this earth, and how we question our loves and wonder, "Would he REALLY remember me if I died?" To me, this could be a more upbeat speech for a modern Hamlet -- "To be (a happy phantom) or not to be -- Tori answer the question". :)
"I can feel the distance getting close/you're right next to me, but I need an airplane". Those lines sum up the entire meaning behind China. It's about one of those relationships where the other person simply will not let you in on the deeper level. You may go about looking like a good couple, but it's all about appearances. There is no concrete connection between souls. Tori talks of how china decorates their table, something beautiful in appearance, and as a metaphor for the relationships, adds "funny how the cracks don't seem to show". Tori wants closeness, she wants to really know this guy on every level, but "how can I when you build the Great Wall around you?". Sad and lovely.
The lack of communication in relationships, and the use of sex as the only means of intimacy is revealed in the lyrics of Leather. Tori speaks as a woman questioning why she continues to sleep with someone despite the fact that he only loves what she can do for him. She tries to rationalize this behaviour by maintaining, "Love isn't forever anyway, so why not?"
The last verse refers to the movie "It's A Wonderful Life". This allusion could be a symbol of the fact that Tori feels alone, feels the woman within that craves love dying and slipping away. Perhaps she feels this part of her should die since no one seems to care about it. This is my take on this last verse, but I'd love to hear others.