I think this song's mostly about attempted rape. But as soon as I listened to this song, I knew Florence was singing from a male's perspective, even before I found out this was a cover.
'She told me not to step on cracks' -She warned him not to dare come near her.
‘I told her not to fuss and relax’ —He warned her not to struggle
'Pretty little face stopped me dead in my tracks' -He's obviously attracted to her, since her looks were the first that caught his attention.
'I took a knife and cut out her eye' -I can now safely assume she's rejected him, and succeeded to a certain point. This can also be interpreted as him wanting to teach her a lesson the hard way, since 'Sleeping with one eye open' is a phrase used to show distrust. So he's telling her, if you're so uptight, I'll teach to to permanently distrust everyone.
'That's the price she'll pay' -The price for rejecting him.
'She's lucky I didn't slip her a smile' -A reference to slitting her throat.
'Get your filthy fingers out of my pie' -Filthy, I assume, is because he's already had his way with her and wants nothing more to do with her, or he's insulting her because she refused him. I believe 'Pie' is most likely standing for either his life, or his business.
'I slipped my hand under her skirt, I said don't worry, it's not gonna hurt' -I assume, this is when he rounded up on her, trying to get whatever he can out of the girl.
'Oh my reputation's kinda clouded with dirt' -Apparently this wasn't the first time he's done something of the sort.
'I'll cut your little heart out cause you made me cry' -He obviously didn't cry, but i believe this is an alternative to saying she'd rejected him, and by doing that, insulted his pride. Then we see the second reference to killing in this song, 'Cutting her heart out'.
So, according to this, her pursuer has already decided her fate; he was going to kill her.
I too believe this is a song about a completely nasty, vicious sleaze-bag of a man, but you did a great job spelling out a story that I 'felt' but couldn't quite explain in words. There's definitely an element of delusion in his narrative, like he believes that it was the girl who pushed him into abusing her and not because he is a nasty, vicious sleaze-bag of a man.
I too believe this is a song about a completely nasty, vicious sleaze-bag of a man, but you did a great job spelling out a story that I 'felt' but couldn't quite explain in words. There's definitely an element of delusion in his narrative, like he believes that it was the girl who pushed him into abusing her and not because he is a nasty, vicious sleaze-bag of a man.
Your explanation about the "filthy fingers out of my pie" line also makes a lot of sense. I also see this line as representing the man's (heavily suppressed) guilt, where the image of the abused girl follows him around, tainting his life. Moreover, "girl with one eye" evokes an image of silent accusation as she watches him, relentlessly.
Anyhow, I feel as if I gained a new level of understanding in this amazing song. Thanks for the interpretation! :)
You are making the assumption of a male's involvement. That is not only presumptive, but sexist. Also note: women rape, too, it is just almost never reported.
You are making the assumption of a male's involvement. That is not only presumptive, but sexist. Also note: women rape, too, it is just almost never reported.
I think this song's mostly about attempted rape. But as soon as I listened to this song, I knew Florence was singing from a male's perspective, even before I found out this was a cover.
'She told me not to step on cracks' -She warned him not to dare come near her. ‘I told her not to fuss and relax’ —He warned her not to struggle
'Pretty little face stopped me dead in my tracks' -He's obviously attracted to her, since her looks were the first that caught his attention. 'I took a knife and cut out her eye' -I can now safely assume she's rejected him, and succeeded to a certain point. This can also be interpreted as him wanting to teach her a lesson the hard way, since 'Sleeping with one eye open' is a phrase used to show distrust. So he's telling her, if you're so uptight, I'll teach to to permanently distrust everyone. 'That's the price she'll pay' -The price for rejecting him.
'She's lucky I didn't slip her a smile' -A reference to slitting her throat. 'Get your filthy fingers out of my pie' -Filthy, I assume, is because he's already had his way with her and wants nothing more to do with her, or he's insulting her because she refused him. I believe 'Pie' is most likely standing for either his life, or his business.
'I slipped my hand under her skirt, I said don't worry, it's not gonna hurt' -I assume, this is when he rounded up on her, trying to get whatever he can out of the girl.
'Oh my reputation's kinda clouded with dirt' -Apparently this wasn't the first time he's done something of the sort. 'I'll cut your little heart out cause you made me cry' -He obviously didn't cry, but i believe this is an alternative to saying she'd rejected him, and by doing that, insulted his pride. Then we see the second reference to killing in this song, 'Cutting her heart out'. So, according to this, her pursuer has already decided her fate; he was going to kill her.
Just a thought...
I too believe this is a song about a completely nasty, vicious sleaze-bag of a man, but you did a great job spelling out a story that I 'felt' but couldn't quite explain in words. There's definitely an element of delusion in his narrative, like he believes that it was the girl who pushed him into abusing her and not because he is a nasty, vicious sleaze-bag of a man.
I too believe this is a song about a completely nasty, vicious sleaze-bag of a man, but you did a great job spelling out a story that I 'felt' but couldn't quite explain in words. There's definitely an element of delusion in his narrative, like he believes that it was the girl who pushed him into abusing her and not because he is a nasty, vicious sleaze-bag of a man.
Your explanation about the "filthy fingers out of my pie" line also makes a lot of sense. I also see this line as representing the man's (heavily suppressed) guilt, where the image of the abused girl follows him around, tainting his life. Moreover, "girl with one eye" evokes an image of silent accusation as she watches him, relentlessly.
Anyhow, I feel as if I gained a new level of understanding in this amazing song. Thanks for the interpretation! :)
You are making the assumption of a male's involvement. That is not only presumptive, but sexist. Also note: women rape, too, it is just almost never reported.
You are making the assumption of a male's involvement. That is not only presumptive, but sexist. Also note: women rape, too, it is just almost never reported.