Blood Roses

This has got to be one of my favourite songs. The harpsicord was a good choice, played on piano or organ, the song loses, to a degree, it's passion and power.

Now the lyrics, they're great. <3 Obviously, and not just with Tori's, lyrics can be intepreted in several different ways according to your mood and such, so I will try to explain what the lyrics mean to me. To me, this song is about the darker side of love & sex etc.; being used, abused, and mainly just the hurt and bad things associated with love and attraction. One could take the song as just about some sort of relationship; we definately know there is a man in this relationship, and he's the antagonist. "He likes killing you after you're dead." "At least when you cry now, he can't even hear you."

"Blood roses, blood roses," - there is a repeated theme of blood throughout the song. The word "roses" on it's own sounds nice because we think of roses as things that are well, nice. XD; But when the word "blood" is before, we know something's gone wrong. The relationship's turned. I see the line "back on the street now" in two ways. One, as maybe the man figure in the song, he's a criminal or whatever, and now he's out, he's "back on the street." He's back to re-offend. And two, as the other figure in the song, recovering from what's happened, She(maybe?)'s slowly getting better, she's "back on the street."

"Can't forget the things you never said" - I think this is saying "well, you could have said you were sorry, you could have least tried to make amends, but you didn't." The victim is saying, she can't forget it if he never said it.

"And on days like these starts me thinking" - It's after what's happened. She's pondering relationships. She's pondering love.

"Chickens get a taste of your meat" - I take this as a "they're picking on you to make themselves feel big" sort of thing.

"You gave him your blood and your warm little diamond" - you've gave him so much, done so much for him...

"He likes killing you after you're dead" - ..and he doesn't care. But he knows you're weak, so he persists.

"You think I'm a queer" - I always think it turns into the sort of thing where someone gets creeped out when you like them. Even if it's a heterosexual attraction, where "queer" wouldn't fit so well.. I don;t think the word queer is used as in the homosexual/bisexual way though. I think it is just "I think you're weird" however "queer" could have been used because the first line of that part is "You think I'm a queer" and so the antagonist of the song has said that, and she's repeating it because it was not only offensive, but intolerant.

"I think you're a queer, said I think you're a queer" - And she's saying it back, she's saying, "no, you are. you're the queer - you're the weird one for everything you've done. you're the one with the problem, you're the one with the obsession." or whatever. She's firing the insult right back at him.

"I shaved every place where you've been boy" - "You disgust me. I'm getting rid of the skin where you've touched me."

"God knows I've thrown away those graces" - "I'm done with you, and possibly men. I've learnt my lesson."

"The Belle of New Orleans tried to show me once how to Tango" - This always strikes me as using some sort of magic, (voodoo is implied), for revenge. She learnt more at this point, more about love and vengance; "tried to show me once how to Tango."

"Wrapped around your feet, wrapped around like good little roses" - The roses he gave her wrapped themselves around him. She's perhaps dead; this is her vengance from beyond the grave. They're on his feet, so maybe he can't move...

The lines "Blood roses, blood roses, back on the street now" after this part makes me think that despite everything, it's just going to happen again. He's "back on the street" again. Other people are "back on the street." It's always going to happen.

"You've cut out the flute from the throat of the loon. At least when you cry now, he can't even hear you." - Most of my thoughts on this are about her literally cutting out her voicebox. After that, he can't even hear her if she cries. Maybe this could signify safety, with the part "At least." However it sounds like suicide too, slashing her throat. At least if she cried after that, he wouldn't hear her.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, Oh when he sucks you deep, yes, sometimes you're nothing but meat." - "C'mon, c'mon" and "when he sucks you deep" I'd say was about sex. Yeah, it's passionate maybe. But when it's over, she knows he thought nothing of it. "Sometimes you're nothing but meat." She's not important, not anything special, just another woman he's gone down on. She's no better than anyone else; they're all meat, she's meat. Her lover is meat.