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You Keep It All In Lyrics

You know your problem
You keep it all in
You know your problem
You keep it all in

That's right
The conversation we had last night
When all I wanted to do was
Knife you in the heart
I kept it all in

You know your problem
You keep it all in
You know your problem
You keep it all in

Midnight, a husband getting ready to fight
A daughter sleeps alone with the light
Turned on, she bears but
Keeps it all in

Just like that murder in '73
Just like that robbery in '62
With all there things that have happened to me
I kept it all in
Why do you keep on telling me now

You know your problem
You keep it all in
You know your problem
You keep it all in

That's sweet
That conversation we had last week
When you gagged and bound me up to my seat
You're right, I do
I keep it all in
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Cover art for You Keep It All In lyrics by Beautiful South, The

this song is about domestic violence the secret that the women is being hit is kept as a secret on both sides

Cover art for You Keep It All In lyrics by Beautiful South, The

omg no comments, its one of the best beautiful south songs

Cover art for You Keep It All In lyrics by Beautiful South, The

this song is about domestic violence

Agreed, but what do the murder in '73 and the robbery in '62 have to do with anything?

They're both things which people have famously kept quiet about, I think.

I assumed the robbery was the Great Train Robbery, after which none of the gang ate cheese on the others even as most of them were tracked and arrested. The murder in '73 could be Jimmy Hoffa, the US trade union leader whose death/disappearance and the location of his body have been a secret ever since? Although actually I have a feeling Hoffa disappeared a few years later.

The murder could also be Kathleen Feeney, a 14 year old who was shot dead by the IRA in...

Not Valid

@Reiver I think it's a metaphor and he's not referencing a specific crime. I think the song is about how a husband is thinking keeping his feelings in is a good thing in the grand scheme of things, unlike a murder in 73 and a robbery in 62 which was the result of emotions not being controlled.

@Reiver The “robbery in ‘62” may be a reference to the robbery of a safety deposit vault in London. It was depicted in the movie ‘Bank Job’ starring Jason Statham. Amongst the stolen items were alleged to be some incriminating photographs of a Royal family member. The UK press were issued a “D-Notice” from the British government to refrain from reporting on the crime, which they largely adhered to. The crime went largely unreported, the movie went some way to bringing the incident into the public spotlight. Admittedly the crime took place in 1971 which does not match the lyrics,...

Cover art for You Keep It All In lyrics by Beautiful South, The

I think the abuse might be simply figurative, not physical. The 'keeping it all in' is about not really opening up to your other half, not letting them in, not talking to them about anything other than the everyday and mundane. Or receiving verbal abuse from your partner, how it's described both times as a 'conversation'.

I don't know...every time I look back at these lyrics my opinion changes...

I finally found this video online, hoping it would give me a better idea of the song's meaning....nope, not one bit...

Not Valid
Cover art for You Keep It All In lyrics by Beautiful South, The

Never thought it was about domestic abuse.

Just more that the bloke keeps all his feelings bottled up, and although he did feel like knifing her in the heart, he didn't.

The crimes are other things he's done, that he thinks he probably shouldn't tell people.

Cover art for You Keep It All In lyrics by Beautiful South, The

In general, I agree with the abuse angle -- though not necessarily physical.

The song feels like a cynical response to a "You keep your feelings bottled in" barb from a "loved" one (and I think they've kept it open ended so that either gender and your adult/ child/ parent can connect): "Of course I keep my feelings bottled up! What do you expect after years of systematic abuse where you neglected, bullied, failed to love me (or years of watching your miserable, failed relationship if you're seeing things from the daughter's angle)?"

I guess, what I'm saying is that the song seems to be about the damage inflicted over time by a vast majority of relationships which causes us to shut down emotionally.

Cover art for You Keep It All In lyrics by Beautiful South, The

Domestic violence without a doubt. He has seen or done things in his life, bottled them up, and clearly has anger issues! Possibly his wife is trying to force him to open up talk

"That's sweet That conversation we had last week When you gagged and bound me up to my seat You're right, I do I keep it all in"

Cover art for You Keep It All In lyrics by Beautiful South, The

The murder in 1973 is probably: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_McGreavy

And the robbery in 1962 is the payroll at Heathrow Airport? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_Hogan

The Great Train Robbery was 1963, perhaps they actually meant that?

Cover art for You Keep It All In lyrics by Beautiful South, The

The main character keeps being told that his problem is he keeps it all in. He retorts that keeping it all in is a virtue. It's better to bottle things up in an angry conversation than actually stab your partner. It's wise to keep quiet about your murders and robberies. It's heroic to refuse to break when you're tied to a chair to be tortured and interrogated. The irony is that for this angry hateful murderer/robber, keeping it all in is not "his problem", it's the least of his problems, and arguably a good thing in his case.

My Interpretation
Cover art for You Keep It All In lyrics by Beautiful South, The

This isn’t about domestic violence at all. It’s about (and I’ve felt this way since I first heard the tune) a woman saying a typical (and 99% true) thing to her partner that he’s emotionally closed off. But he just takes the piss in return: “just like that murder in 63”, or whatever. It implies he has nothing to hide and isn’t even thinking of anything in particular when he goes silent. Most women are apt to assume blokes have some hugely deep thought going on if they’re quiet, but this isn’t the case at all, as men themselves will tell you! They’re remarkably simple creatures, and while they def have an inner life, they don’t volunteer their thoughts as a social connecting mechanism the way women do. No way he could have committed a robbery and a murder and she didn’t notice signs of a criminal or delinquent life when she started dating him.
I’ve had the same attitude from a new bf: one of our first mornings after I’d made us breakfast at mine and was then watching something on TV that I really enjoyed (probably a cartoon of some sort) he goes “K, I’m just trying to figure out what you’re thinking”. I was v taken aback as I’d NEVER been asked that by a man before. I just said “I’m just watching the TV!” I was genuinely surprised that he’d ask that question because it’s usually women who do that.

@meadowgroove PS: the gagged and bound phrase is, in my opinion, not to be taken literally. I think he means she wouldn’t stop quizzing him on what he was thinking. And the stabbing thing: equally so. I defy anyone to be in a LT relationship or marriage and NOT want to throttle the OP at some point. Or maybe every day.