| Tori Amos – Sister Janet Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| I always thought sister Janet was a reference to the "good" sister in Kate Chopin's The Awakening. | |
| The Smashing Pumpkins – Disarm Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Disarm you with a smile And cut you like you want me to The song narrates an abusive relationship between a child and parent. The child attempts to "disarm" the parent by appearing happy and loving despite the abuse. This smile "cuts" the parent like they "want" to be cut because it reminds him/her that what s/he is doing is wrong. Of course, they "want" to be "cut" because they feel guilty about what they are doing to their child, which in turns causes the parent pain that then justifies the abuse again. Cut that little child Inside of me and such a part of you Ooh, the years burn This is probably reference to a cycle of violence. The parent is likely to have been abused his or herself as a child. By "Cutting" the child character of the song, the parent is dysfunctionally coping with the child that is "such a part" of themselves. The "years burn" because time--instead of healing wound--heightens it. This is true for Billy Corgan (or whomever you think the narrator of the song is) as well as the parent who is depicted in the song. I used to be a little boy So old in my shoes The child has to think and act in adult ways to survive. "Used to be" signals that the events described earlier in the song are now over. And what I choose is my choice What's a boy supposed to do? This is a subtle but important rhetorical shift. The declaration "what I choose IS my choice" is narrated in present tense; in other words, what I choose to do NOW (as an adult) is my choice (this is a much different idea than what I *chose was* my choice). As an adult, he must reminder himself that he is agent in his own destiny. He doesn't have to continue to be a victim (this probably also referencing a future cycle of my violence...my parents were abused, then abused me. I was abuse, but I have a choice). The fact that this line is followed by the question, "what's a boy supposed to do," seems to indicate that that little boy he "used to be" is still very much a part him. This idea also references back to the earlier line where he says in reference to his parents "Cut that little child/inside of me and such a part of you"; childhood is always a part of adulthood, but how do we cope with it? The killer in me is the killer in you Another reference to the cycle of violence. The parent takes out their own violent childhood on the child, the child then grows up with the same violence inside of him/her. We all have a "killer" in us, but if we agree with Billy Corgan that "what I choose is my choice," we can stifle this instinct instead of act on it. My love I send this smile over to you He thinks about his parents and "sends them a smile," which we already know "cuts them. This signals that he does not forgive them because, presumably, they "chose" to do the wrong thing--continue the cycle of violence instead of stop it. In this way, the now grown child still has a "killer" in him, but he places the blame on his own parents instead of taking it out on an innocent child. And....I gotta run and pick the kids up from school...sorry if you were enjoying my analysis! Disarm you with a smile And leave you like they left me here To wither in denial The bitterness of one who's left alone Ooh, the years burn Ooh, the years burn, burn, burn I used to be a little boy So old in my shoes And what I choose is my voice What's a boy supposed to do? The killer in me is the killer in you My love I send this smile over to you The killer in me is the killer in you Send this smile over to you The killer in me is the killer in you Send this smile over to you The killer in me is the killer in you Send this smile over to you |
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