Little girl in wire-framed glasses;
No one says she's beautiful.
But they say that she's a genius,
Gets the highest grades in school.
She built a model of the Hubble Telescope
When she was nine years old.
She says the only thing about space that scares her
Is people say it's cold...

She's just another fractal butterfly
Flapping up a storm.
Looking for a place to land,
Hoping she'll stay warm.
It's all causes and effects.
Here's what happens next.

Pre-teen science fiction princess,
Tries to say she doesn't care
That she'll never be the prom queen;
That the world just isn't fair.
She tries to tell herself that beauty isn't
Worth its weight in gold.
She sometimes thinks she'd sell her soul just
To come out of the cold...

She's just another fractal butterfly
Frightened of the wind.
Certain if she spreads her wings,
The future will begin.
It's all causes and effects.
Here's what happens next.

If I let you, you might kiss me;
If you kiss me, you might stay.
If you stay, then I might love you.
If I love you, who's to say?
It's just chemical reactions...
It's all lies, and it's all true.
It's all actions and reactions...
You to me and me to you.
It's all causes and effects.
Here's what happens next.

High school queen of mathematics;
Graduation's close at hand.
Hopes that college boys are different,
Hopes someone will understand.
She's made a lifetime out of being good,
And doing what she's told,
And now the only thing about life that scares her
Is that she's always cold...

She's just another fractal butterfly
Stronger than she knows.
Following the wind of change,
Whichever way it blows.
It's all causes and effects.
Here's what happens next.

You can't change the laws of physics;
You can't change the laws of fate.
By the time you see the patterns,
It's a hundred times too late.
It's just simple mathematics;
She's the girl I used to be.
All her tears and all her triumphs
Have been added up to me.
It's all causes and effects.
Here's what happens next.

If I let you, you might kiss me;
If you kiss me, you might stay...

Grown-up girl in wire-framed glasses,
Knows damn well she's beautiful.
The greatest proof that she's a genius
Is that she's learned to change the rules.
Now she looks up at space and wonders just
How much a sky can hold,
And there's not a thing about life that scares her,
Because nothing can stay cold...

She's just another fractal butterfly
A hurricane in flight;
As long as she keeps flapping, then
She knows she'll be all right.
It's all causes and effects.
Here's what happens next.

It's all causes and effects.
Here's what happens next.
Here's what happens next.
Here's what happens next.


Written on: 2006-08-01. Seanan McGuire


Lyrics submitted by Nonny

Causes and Effects song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

0 Comments

sort form View by:
  • No Comments

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Holiday
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday". I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.