The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Jodie wears a hat, although it hasn't rained for six days.
She says a girl needs a gun these days,
Hey, on account of those rattlesnakes, on account of those rattlesnakes.
She looks like Eve Marie Saint in "On The Waterfront."
She reads Simone de Beauvoir in her American circumstance, hey...
She's less than sure if her heart has come to stay in San Jose.
And her never-born child haunts her now as she speeds down the freeway;
As she tries her luck with the traffic police, out of boredom more than spite.
She never finds no trouble, she tries too hard.
She's oblivious despite herself, hey
She looks like Eve Marie Saint in "On The Waterfront."
She says all she needs is therapy- all you need is, love is all you need... ah-ahh.
Jodie never sleeps 'cause there are always needles in the hay, hey.
She says a girl needs a gun these days,
Hey, on account of the rattlesnakes, hey, on account of the rattlesnakes.
She looks like Eve Marie Saint in "On The Waterfront."
She reads Simone de Beauvoir in her American circumstance.
Her heart's like crazy paving, upside-down and back-to-front.
She says, ooh, it's so hard to love when love was your great disappointment.
On account of those rattlesnakes.
She says a girl needs a gun these days, hey, uht-uh-uh...mmm-hmm.
A girl needs a gun these days,
Hey, on account of the rattlesnakes, yeah, on account of those rattlesnakes.
She says a girl needs a gun these days,
Hey, on account of those rattlesnakes, on account of those rattlesnakes.
She looks like Eve Marie Saint in "On The Waterfront."
She reads Simone de Beauvoir in her American circumstance, hey...
She's less than sure if her heart has come to stay in San Jose.
And her never-born child haunts her now as she speeds down the freeway;
As she tries her luck with the traffic police, out of boredom more than spite.
She never finds no trouble, she tries too hard.
She's oblivious despite herself, hey
She looks like Eve Marie Saint in "On The Waterfront."
She says all she needs is therapy- all you need is, love is all you need... ah-ahh.
Jodie never sleeps 'cause there are always needles in the hay, hey.
She says a girl needs a gun these days,
Hey, on account of the rattlesnakes, hey, on account of the rattlesnakes.
She looks like Eve Marie Saint in "On The Waterfront."
She reads Simone de Beauvoir in her American circumstance.
Her heart's like crazy paving, upside-down and back-to-front.
She says, ooh, it's so hard to love when love was your great disappointment.
On account of those rattlesnakes.
She says a girl needs a gun these days, hey, uht-uh-uh...mmm-hmm.
A girl needs a gun these days,
Hey, on account of the rattlesnakes, yeah, on account of those rattlesnakes.
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This is one of the most heart breaking songs I have ever heard. Both the lyricist and Tori Amos have such sympathy with the character.
I believe rattlesnakes symbolise potential danger but the song itself conveys a story of someone who has got a little lost in the hurts of love and relationships and is left with no conclusion or solution, just a wish to never re experience those pains. The song is not about any immediate danger. She over compensates "Jodie wears a hat although it hasn't rained for six days". We hear the character has become apt at steering away from these situations "Jodie never sleeps cause there are always needles in the hay". I always felt that lyric was contrasting the more playful side of love and romance against the potential for hurt. The needles in the lovers hay stack. I feel the character wanting to cut herself off completely from any pleasure out of fear of pain so much so that "her never born child haunts her now as she speeds down the freeway" completely bored and at a loss with life and herself. She is reading philosophical books for meaning and still finds "she's oblivious despite herself". She acknowledges that love was her great disappointment. When she says all she needs is therapy it is as if a friend is echoing back to her "all you need is love, is all you need". In concert when Tori sings this she pays homage to the Beatles pausing over the lyrics "all you need is love".
Love this cover, it's amazing. I think it's about a lonely girl. So sad. 'Her never-born child haunts her now as she speeds down the freeway' is such a sad line. I think HawaiianHigh described it really well. It's about a girl who's been so hurt she's afraid to love again - because 'love was her great disappointment'. The rattlesnakes symobolise danger, perhaps just men in general (after all, snake, penis, c'mon.) She's scared of men, scared falling in love and getting hurt again. The 'she reads Simone de Beauvoir in her American circumanstance' line is such a good one, and very telling I think, given de Beavoir is a feminist.
Strange Little Girls further solidifies Tori's placement on the top shelf of the feminist(s) artists/musicians/songwriters archives.
For me, Tori's entire catalog to this point can be narrowed down to a single line (ironically from a cover). This is what Tori does for me, has been to me and will always remain...
"She reads Simone de Beauvoir in her American circumstance"
perfection.
what a line..."her hearts like crazy paving -upside down and back to front".<br /> out of interest Lloyd Cole the writer studied English/philosophy was born in Derbyshire-and moved to America hence the cross culturalism.<br /> dig out some Lloyd Cole -great stuff
i think the girl in this song has been raped by someone she knows... "wears a hat".. (to cover the societal shame) "never born child"... obvious... "all she needs is therapy"... again society's solution.... "when love was your great disappointment"... obvious... very sad song.... almost forgot... she needs a gun to shoot the perpertrator...