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A Little Soul Lyrics
hey man, how come you treat your woman so bad?
that's not the way you do it.
no no no you shouldn't do it like that.
i could show you how to do it right.
i used to practice every night on my wife now she's gone.
yeah, she's gone.
you see your mother and me we never got along that way you see.
i'd love to help you but everybody's telling me
you look like me but please don't turn out like me.
you look like me but you're not like me i know.
i had one, two, three, four shots at happiness.
i look like a big man but i've only got a little soul.
i only got a little soul.
yeah, i wish i could be an example.
wish i could say i stood up for you and fought for what was right.
but i never did.
i just wore my trenchcoat and stayed out every single night.
you think i'm joking?
well, try me.
yeah, try me.
yeah come on, try me tonight.
i did what was wrong though i knew what was right.
i've got no wisdom that i want to pass on.
just don't hang 'round here, no, i'm telling you son.
you don't wanna know me.
oh, that's just what everybody's telling me.
and everybody's telling me you look like me
but please don't turn into me.
you look like me but you're not like me i hope.
i have run away from the one thing that i ever made.
now i only wish that i could show you
wish i could show a little soul.
wish i could show a little soul.
that's not the way you do it.
no no no you shouldn't do it like that.
i could show you how to do it right.
i used to practice every night on my wife now she's gone.
yeah, she's gone.
you see your mother and me we never got along that way you see.
you look like me but please don't turn out like me.
you look like me but you're not like me i know.
i had one, two, three, four shots at happiness.
i look like a big man but i've only got a little soul.
i only got a little soul.
wish i could say i stood up for you and fought for what was right.
but i never did.
i just wore my trenchcoat and stayed out every single night.
you think i'm joking?
well, try me.
yeah, try me.
yeah come on, try me tonight.
i did what was wrong though i knew what was right.
i've got no wisdom that i want to pass on.
just don't hang 'round here, no, i'm telling you son.
you don't wanna know me.
oh, that's just what everybody's telling me.
but please don't turn into me.
you look like me but you're not like me i hope.
i have run away from the one thing that i ever made.
now i only wish that i could show you
wish i could show a little soul.
wish i could show a little soul.
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It is an estranged father telling his long-lost kid not to grow up the way he did - "I had one, two, three, four shots at happiness" suggests he has been married three times since the child's mother and blown every one of them.
I love the title's play on words: "I may be a big man but I've only got a little soul", "wish I could show a little soul" and the idea that a child is "a little soul".
It's about his own Dad most likely - He was by all accounts a 'colourful' character... It's the old mans pathetic excuses...
I think this song means about being the one you want to be, and the one you really are. Sometimes we are afraid to do some things because of lazyness or shame, even when we know that things are good ones. I love the video, with mini-members of pulp as their souls.
Yeah you're right. See the video and you'll see that you were spot on.
I'd also add that this is about his regret specifically about having left the child behind or whatever. "I have run away from the one thing that I ever made..." He thinks he's too seedy or whatever to be of value as a father, yet also realizes he might be in a unique position to help the child avoid his own fate.
"A Little Soul" is an amazing song. First, any way you look at it, it's a dad telling his child not to turn out the way he did. It seems like he doesn't have a good self-image, because although he is obviously concerned for his child ("please don't turn out like me", "I have run away from the one thing that I ever made") he doesn't show any desire to come back to look after him. I love this song - it's heartfelt.♥
"In 1998, Jarvis Cocker and his sister Saskia flew to Australia to meet and reconcile with their estranged father." from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Cocker
Definitely about Mac Cocker, his father. I loved this album but wasn't a fan of this song, I think I was too young - it hits me a lot harder now. I wonder if that's what Mac said, I guess this came out of him and Saskia meeting him.
several weeks ago, a workmate of mine asked me which song summed up, me, completely. i told her this was a huge question and i couldn't possibly answer it. last night though i was listening to pulp and suddenly realised this was the song. I can't explain why, since i've never had (or abandoned) kids, and i doubt i'm anything like jarv's father ...still, absolutely love the song
also, when he says "i look like a big man", i've always thought he was saying "i look like piglet", always makes me think of winnie the pooh