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All I Really Want Lyrics
Do I stress you out?
My sweater is on backwards and inside out
And you say: "How appropriate!"
I don't want to dissect everything today
I don't mean to pick you apart, you see
But I can't help it
There I go jumping before the gunshot has gone off
Slap me with a splintered ruler
And it would knock me to the floor
If I wasn't there already
If only I could hunt the hunter
And all I really want is some patience
A way to calm the angry voice
And all I really want is deliverance
Do I wear you out?
You must wonder why I'm relentless and all strung out
I'm consumed by the chill of solitary
I'm like Estella
I like to reel it in and spit it out
I'm frustrated by your apathy
And I am frightened by the corrupted ways of this land
If only I could meet the Maker
And I'm fascinated by the spiritual man
I am humbled by his humble nature
What I wouldn't give to find a soul-mate
Someone else to catch this drift
And what I wouldn't give to meet a kindred
Enough about me, let's talk about you for a minute
Enough about you, let's talk about life for a while
The conflicts, the craziness and the sound of pretenses
Falling all around... all around
Why are you so petrified of silence
Here can you handle this?
...Did you think about your bills, your ex, your deadlines?
Or when you think you're gonna die?
Or did you long for the next distraction?
And all I need now is intellectual intercourse
A soul to dig the hole much deeper
And I have no concept of time other than it is flying
If only I could kill the killer
All I really want is some peace, man
A place to find a common ground
And all I really want is a wavelength
All I really want is some comfort
A way to get my hands untied
And all I really want is some justice...
My sweater is on backwards and inside out
And you say: "How appropriate!"
I don't want to dissect everything today
I don't mean to pick you apart, you see
But I can't help it
Slap me with a splintered ruler
And it would knock me to the floor
If I wasn't there already
If only I could hunt the hunter
A way to calm the angry voice
And all I really want is deliverance
You must wonder why I'm relentless and all strung out
I'm consumed by the chill of solitary
I like to reel it in and spit it out
I'm frustrated by your apathy
If only I could meet the Maker
And I'm fascinated by the spiritual man
I am humbled by his humble nature
Someone else to catch this drift
And what I wouldn't give to meet a kindred
Enough about you, let's talk about life for a while
The conflicts, the craziness and the sound of pretenses
Falling all around... all around
Here can you handle this?
Or when you think you're gonna die?
Or did you long for the next distraction?
A soul to dig the hole much deeper
And I have no concept of time other than it is flying
If only I could kill the killer
A place to find a common ground
And all I really want is a wavelength
All I really want is some comfort
A way to get my hands untied
And all I really want is some justice...
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OK...the lyrics are the result of a brilliant-minded 20- year old free-spirited girl who could read Chaucer by age 6, but was enthralled by the psycho-babble of Ayn Rand and Sigmund Freud so that by her teens she could blow the minds and excel in mental gymnastics, besting any 17 year old boy ready to spray shorts. So she (allegedly) hooks up with a 30-year old tv star, Dave Coulier (My Two Dads) who rocks her world in bed, but is emotionally detached to her; she's just dying to get inside his head after sex, but he won't open up. Frustrated by his lack of communication, she takes pen to paper and writes 2 of the all-time man-eating rants based (allegedly) on their relationship.(The other song being the lurid tale of, among other things sex in a theater, "You Oughtta Know"). Alanis came out of nowhere and seized the zeitgist of feminist-angst, especially the 20-something year-old grrrls who weren't gonna take crap from no neanderthal, mysogonistic cretin...dude. So strict interepretation of this song is futile, besides, maybe Dave didn't want to know what goes on inside a head like hers.
(From www.definitelyalanis.com):Alanis compares herself to a woman named "Estella". This is a reference to the character Estella in Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations. Estella has a tendency to use the men in her life and be used by them at the same time, hence the lyric "I'm like Estella. I like to reel it in and then spit it out. I'm frustrated by your apathy." As Alanis put it, "Estella has man troubles to say the least."
Personally...what a great way of expression she uses here!...hmmmh, my fave lines: "What I wouldn't give to find a soulmate Someone else to catch this drift And what I wouldn't give to meet a kindred" "All I really want is some peace man A place to find a common ground And all I really want is a wavelength All I really want is some comfort A way to get my hands untied And all I really want is some justice"
crazy how artists can just nail the most beautiful dyagnosis for your soul
I co-managed the Alanis Morissette Mailing List online fanclub in '96 and '97.
Most (of the over 900 members) saw AIRW as a straight-up an expression of Al's hope to find intimates who can communicate at her stratospheric level of both consciousness and conceptualization. It's consistent with the later "21 Things I Want in a Lover."
Al started seeing (much) older men when she was =ten=, after all. Most people do not have 140+ IQs and find developmental and interpersonal psychology all that fascinating. She does.
Al was aware that she actually "got hot" when she got "deeply into it" with other people as truth-telling as she is. "I don't want to dissect everything today... I don't mean to pick you apart, you see... But I ca-ya-ah-ah-ahn't =help= it."
It's clear from many of her other tunes that she understands her obsession with communication. It's =really= important to her. (Or was then, anyway.)
i love how all of alanis's cds tell her life story. you see the angst in the first album, then the recovery in play in the second, and finally the postive and more content personality in the third. it's like a novel explaining a perplexed charater that lies in everyone.
i LOVE the first and sixth verse! "Do I stress you out? My sweater is on backwards and inside out and you say how appropriate" haha great lyrics! so random thats why i fucking love it.
Probably my second favourite song of Alanis's after You Oughta Know.
I'm not sure if I ever really saw it as being misunderstood as others have pointed out. Perhaps that played into it, but I always saw this as a stream of consciousness kind of song. I mean lines and thoughts dont connect. It's like artwork in the written form. Getting all her cards on the table so to speak.
I feel like I've had conversations with my own mother dozens and dozens of times where it always ended with her saying "I dont get you" or "What do you mean" and I always related to this song because I always felt THIS, THIS is what I mean. THIS is what I want. Get it now?
Just about EVERY line is the best line. I cant select a favourite, theyre all just too damn good.
I always thought it was just "Stella",from "A Street Car Named Desire"... "Sttteeeeeelllllaaaaaaaa"!!!! ??
In this song Alanis compares herself to Estella from Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations while having a confrontation with her partner about their uncomfortable relationship. Alanis confrontationally vents about the dissonant, frustrating, and often constrictive nature of a relationship. Touchstone demons include being a misfit, impulsive, needy, and lonely.
My favorite Alanis song! Thanks Agatha, for the interp.