i have sensed provanity since i was ten
i picture alters in an eyeshadow den
in the bag i didn't drop there were
no cherry lollipops but cherry lipsmacker
and i got off
mary money have a child keep him pretty
ugly as you eat sushi and drink cocktails
and i'm sick of your smile
and i'm sick from your cake
and i'm sick of your meaningless blather
and i'm sick of your hair
and i wish it weren't there
maybe one night i'll visit you sleeping
there is no place i would rather be killed
then in my own backyard on my own
propane grill
in the lie i didn't stop a little boy moth
hardly old was caught and i felt bad as i
ripped it of many prizes can reward a
child for good behaviour but you should be
wary of those that involve drugs
and i'm sick when i breath
and i wish you would leave
at the very least have an abortion
i don't mean to damn life but i don't think
it's right for a woman to breed for
attention
i have been provanity since i could know
no one will ever care to see what i don't
show in the room i didn't look another
similar could see my spot and i let him
and withstood the shock imitating what i
knew i consequently grew into a foolish
performer and thought that was new...
and i'm sick of myself
and i wish you could help
if you want you can pull out the ladder
and it sounds self indulgent
amazing i've managed to keep you engaged
for four fucking minutes and
maybe you'd be happy to be
provanity


Lyrics submitted by zweiundzwei

Pro-Vanity song meanings
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    General Comment

    I like to take this as a first-person story rather than a life experience from the author. I like how the title plays around with the terms of "pro-choice" and "pro-life". It's an amazing song, probably because it's so depressing.

    "I’ve been pro-vanity since I was ten..." My version seems to refer to the child in the first stanza as a "he". I think the song is about a girl who realizes her mother isn't very proud of her because she wasn't born male and the father wants an heir "to pass on the name".

    "And I’m sick of your smile" The gap between her and her mother grows wider as she realizes this emotional absence going on. She begins to hate how her mother indulges in high society while leaving her out, although she hates the said culture in the first place.

    "There is no place I would rather be killed..." This stanza reminds me of all the horror stories about "honor killings" where a woman is killed because she has dishonored her family in some way. The murderers are praised for their actions.

    "And I'm sick when I breathe..." She may have asthma, a flaw that makes her even less desirable to her parents. Her mother becomes pregnant again, causing her to lash out because the child is another girl who will grow into the pressure of having a male heir for a wealthy husband.

    "I’ve been pro-vanity since I could know" She has one-night stands, or at least lovers she can't hold onto. Her father finds out.

    "And I’m sick of myself..." She tells her lover she's sick of life and thanks him for wasting his time. Another reference to an "accidental death" that reminds me of stories about honor killings, and maybe the reference to accidents Amanda makes in other songs (Ampersand, Girl Anachronism, The Kill, Truce...etc)

    Hm, all in all, the title refers to how the narrator is really trying to like herself, which in other terms is vanity.

    sheela_lon November 18, 2007   Link

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