I heard this song before I knew about the "official" meaning and (I was only a child) before I knew about the Romanovs either, so I wouldn't make the connection. I interpreted the lyrics to be about a female serial killer, who roams the world with a strange need to adopt young girls. Straight off, the song is tormented ("make it go, make them go") and rambling, like the painful reminiscence or bad dream of a mentally unstable person. I interpreted the tormenting "magpies" to be the police, who she is always trying to stay one step ahead of. Then we have the memory of Poppy, a girl she abducts from a restaurant ("I'll take you home"). The killer makes friends with Poppy and Poppy goes willingly with her at first, but shows some resistance to leaving her mother ("I know your mother is a good one, but Poppy don't go"). The killer is obsessed with the idea of childhood ("show me the things I've been missing..."). She wants to be a mother to these girls and is genuinely friends with them, luring them away pied-piper style, with dolls and games. But the fragile-minded killer finds the girls' demands too frustrating and always ends up snapping and killing them ("thought she'd deserve no less than she'd give. Well happy birthday, her blood's on my hands"). Being mad, she just continues in her lifestyle and adopts another girl. But there is some self-awareness, especially in the chorus ("we'll see how brave you are. We'll see how fast you'll be running"). The song ends with the killer's tormented bus ride in the rain, when she starts visualising all her victims standing at the sign-posts ("on the way down, all the girls seem to be there").
As I said, this is just my interpretation, based purely off the lyrics and no prior knowledge. It was quite a scary song for a child to listen to! The story I interpret rather reminds me of the identity-stealing, child-snatching witch Zozie of Joanne Harris' novel The Lollipop Shoes, although I hadn't read that book at the time.
Some additional points:
"Driving on the vine, over clothes lines" to me meant the precarious way they live running from the police, literally like trying to drive on clothes lines (the whole song is recounted in a delusional or nightmarish way). They bluff their way through life, often in haste (tin soldiers left on a windowsill). She doesn't like always being on the run ("what have we done to ourselves" / "my feet are slipping"). The final verse, "it's funny the things you find in the rain" is about where she disposed of the bodies - in the date mines, in...
Some additional points:
"Driving on the vine, over clothes lines" to me meant the precarious way they live running from the police, literally like trying to drive on clothes lines (the whole song is recounted in a delusional or nightmarish way). They bluff their way through life, often in haste (tin soldiers left on a windowsill). She doesn't like always being on the run ("what have we done to ourselves" / "my feet are slipping"). The final verse, "it's funny the things you find in the rain" is about where she disposed of the bodies - in the date mines, in a mall. And now she's hallucinating the girls in the rain, risen again.
"Come along now little darlin'
come along now with me
come along now little darlin'
we'll see how brave you are!"
I heard this song before I knew about the "official" meaning and (I was only a child) before I knew about the Romanovs either, so I wouldn't make the connection. I interpreted the lyrics to be about a female serial killer, who roams the world with a strange need to adopt young girls. Straight off, the song is tormented ("make it go, make them go") and rambling, like the painful reminiscence or bad dream of a mentally unstable person. I interpreted the tormenting "magpies" to be the police, who she is always trying to stay one step ahead of. Then we have the memory of Poppy, a girl she abducts from a restaurant ("I'll take you home"). The killer makes friends with Poppy and Poppy goes willingly with her at first, but shows some resistance to leaving her mother ("I know your mother is a good one, but Poppy don't go"). The killer is obsessed with the idea of childhood ("show me the things I've been missing..."). She wants to be a mother to these girls and is genuinely friends with them, luring them away pied-piper style, with dolls and games. But the fragile-minded killer finds the girls' demands too frustrating and always ends up snapping and killing them ("thought she'd deserve no less than she'd give. Well happy birthday, her blood's on my hands"). Being mad, she just continues in her lifestyle and adopts another girl. But there is some self-awareness, especially in the chorus ("we'll see how brave you are. We'll see how fast you'll be running"). The song ends with the killer's tormented bus ride in the rain, when she starts visualising all her victims standing at the sign-posts ("on the way down, all the girls seem to be there").
As I said, this is just my interpretation, based purely off the lyrics and no prior knowledge. It was quite a scary song for a child to listen to! The story I interpret rather reminds me of the identity-stealing, child-snatching witch Zozie of Joanne Harris' novel The Lollipop Shoes, although I hadn't read that book at the time.
Some additional points: "Driving on the vine, over clothes lines" to me meant the precarious way they live running from the police, literally like trying to drive on clothes lines (the whole song is recounted in a delusional or nightmarish way). They bluff their way through life, often in haste (tin soldiers left on a windowsill). She doesn't like always being on the run ("what have we done to ourselves" / "my feet are slipping"). The final verse, "it's funny the things you find in the rain" is about where she disposed of the bodies - in the date mines, in...
Some additional points: "Driving on the vine, over clothes lines" to me meant the precarious way they live running from the police, literally like trying to drive on clothes lines (the whole song is recounted in a delusional or nightmarish way). They bluff their way through life, often in haste (tin soldiers left on a windowsill). She doesn't like always being on the run ("what have we done to ourselves" / "my feet are slipping"). The final verse, "it's funny the things you find in the rain" is about where she disposed of the bodies - in the date mines, in a mall. And now she's hallucinating the girls in the rain, risen again.
"Come along now little darlin' come along now with me come along now little darlin' we'll see how brave you are!"
Spooky.