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The Icicle Melts Lyrics

When
When will the icicle melt,
And when
When will the picture show end
I should not have read the papers today
'Cause a child,child he was taken away

There's a place for the baby that died
And there's a time for the mother who cried
And she will hold him in her arms sometimes
'Cause nine months is too long

How could you hurt a child
Now does this make you satisfied
I don't know what's
happening to people today
When a child, he was taken away

There's a place for the baby that died
There's a time for the mother that cried
And she will hold him in
her arms sometimes
'Cause nine months is too long

There's a place for the baby that died
And there's a time for the mother that cried
And you will hold him in
your arms sometimes
'Cause nine months is too long
Song Info
Submitted by
novartza On Jun 03, 2001
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Cover art for The Icicle Melts lyrics by Cranberries, The

I'm from Australia and even i know what this song is about. A few years back, there was a whole saga when a couple of teenages stole a baby from a supermarket. they took the baby down to the railway station and beat it, threw rocks at it etc until it died. this is what the song is about.. the loss of a child and how people can be so cruel. make sense now?

tunes xo

@tunes It was the murder of James Bulger in 1993

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_James_Bulger

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Cover art for The Icicle Melts lyrics by Cranberries, The

I'm sure I read somewhere that it was about a case of child murder or abuse - maybe the Bulger case, maybe not, but it's abut the feelings engendered by hearing about anything like this; how can we, as human beings, inflict this on others. The pain of realising this kind of thing happens, and the fear that people are becoming more desensitized to other people's pain. "How could you hurt a child, Now does this make you satisfied?" It's a very human reaction to very inhumane events.

Cover art for The Icicle Melts lyrics by Cranberries, The

This song is about abortion. What is wrong with people these days hurting, killing babies. A child died a mother cried because abortion hurts all involved. A babies life was ended because 9 months was too long to carry it to birth.

@manuel1127 no one has an abortion after 10 weeks. pls do ur research before sharing these strong opinions. abortion doesn’t “hurt” anyone. no babies are killed, they were simply not alive in the first place.

@manuel1127 while I agree abortion is wrong, this song is NOT about abortion it’s about the James bulger case.

@kelsey1170 you’re very ignorant Kelsey. Abortion does kill something. So why don’t YOU do your research instead of advocating for murder. If it wasn’t alive then you would’ve miscarried. I forget being stupid is a trend for you people

Cover art for The Icicle Melts lyrics by Cranberries, The

wow I can't believe people actually thought this song was about abortion.

@motorbreath23 It is about abortion and she is against it. What is wrong with people these days killing babies, because 9 months is too long?

Cover art for The Icicle Melts lyrics by Cranberries, The

I think I agree with dmode on this one, it sounds about right to me...

This can't be about abortion... ' I should not have read the papers today 'Cause a child,child he was taken away'

Why would an abortion be in the news? And I don't think the baby is actually a baby.. I think it's more like they will always be that woman’s baby no matter how old they get.. We’re all somebody’s daughter or son..

I think it's about how uncaring and unfeeling people are today, until something massive happens e.g. 9/11 and the tsunami no one cares. It's sort of saying what will it take to get a little compassion from people.

Cover art for The Icicle Melts lyrics by Cranberries, The

I take it you're talking about the James Bulger case? If so It wasn't 'A few years back' it was 12 years ago... they also weren't teenagers they were 10. He also wasn't a baby he was nearly 3. This does make sense though since No Need To Argue was released the year after his death.

Cover art for The Icicle Melts lyrics by Cranberries, The

I always thought that this song was about abortion cause of the nine months thing and they say that you'll see that child on your judgement day (hold him in her arms sometime)

But who knows, it could be about war and what not...innocent civilian deaths, but then the 9 months thing comes out of no where.

I don't think the 9 months is so random. I'm inclined to agree with tunes that it's about the James Bulger case, or another similar case. I think the fact that it says a child was "taken away" implies something other than abortion. And "9 months is too long" to carry a child to not bond with him. And the fact that a mother's child will always be her child, no matter how old he is.

Not Valid
Cover art for The Icicle Melts lyrics by Cranberries, The

yeah, i think it's about abortion, but i think she's against it, sixedheart is right on about the judgement thing. i think it's like, a combination though, of abortion and war and death and stuff, because a lot of their songs are about how innocent children die from war (Bosnia on To the Faithful Departed soundtrack).

Cover art for The Icicle Melts lyrics by Cranberries, The

Abortion. And yes " I should not have read the papers today 'Cause a child,child he was taken away'

This is about that in Ireland, Catholic religion is against abortion, so for the girls who have this done are basically looked down at.

And "'Cause nine months is too long" is saying that she thinks abortion is wrong and that what's nine months in a life-time.

@Lonster no. It’s about James Bulger

Cover art for The Icicle Melts lyrics by Cranberries, The

Sounds like it's about the James Bulger-case, I don't know much about it, but that makes the most sense. The picture show... was there a lot of media attention? It can't be abortion, because then you don't carry a child for nine months. Why would an abortion be in the papers? I think the icicle is the pain the mom's feeling: when will it end (melt)? when will the papers leave it alone?

it's about a mom, losing her son, but still having the connection between them (because nine months is too long NOT to have one)