She's In Parties

"In the can" is slang for something being finished - like a scene in a movie that has been deemed successful by a director and therefore is "in the can"....complete. According to an interview w/Peter Murphy, the song is about Marliyn Monroe (who happened to mix pills and alcohol on a regular basis) - I believe this song could refer to her death as being her last performance, and that it is actually her life that is "in the can".

"She's 'in parties'" like other people say "she's in movies" in an idiomatic kind of way

she's staging her life, and possibly caught up in the cinema and the detached acting gig of it all.

The song is full with music industry jargon forms:

Learning lines in the rain = "learning lines" = studying the script? The graveyard scene = the classic graveyard scene under the rain with umbrellas? It's in the can = this means "the movie is ready to be delivered, it's finished" Freeze frame = the still frame technique in movies Hot heads = I think this means "the bad ones" in movies, the bad character? Fall guys = jargon for stereotypa characters in movies cutting room = the room where film was cut, where physical fragments of film used to fall in the cutting phase Cigarette props = fake cigarettes for scenic use Dialogue dub = dubbing now heres the rub = here's the problem She's acting her reaction = She's acting, she is reacting in the movie, she is answering to the other actor's line

Holy shit this song rules.

as far as i can remember at the time it was released, it was said in interview that this song is about marilyn monroe

She's in parties, its in the can She's in parties, its in the can

Cracked Pleasures said - "In the can" is slang for something being finished - like a scene in a movie that has been deemed successful by a director and therefore is "in the can"

"In the can" can also mean "it is well known". The song seems to have political undertones, In the film-clip the girl is dressed in a Nazi or similar type uniform, maybe it is a reference to "political" parties.

The references about film seem to metaphors "Fall guys tumble on the cutting room floor" could be a reference about a seductive woman who uses her sex appeal to exploit men.

I think the most important point in unveiling the meaning of this song is the line: "She's acting her reaction." I can't begin to wonder what it could stand for. Personally I think it could go along very well with the political interpretation of the song.

Peter Murphy said the song was about Marilyn Monroe. A particularly dark (obviously) look at her life as it was. She was Marylin on screen, she was Marylin at home and Marilyn at parties. I saw a documentary on her where a person told her not to take pills with alcohol and she said “it hasn’t killed me yet“. “ In the can” is the term for a wrapped up, finished, bit of film. Reels of film used to be stored in film canisters. A fall guy is a term often used for stuntman but also for a sucker or a scapegoat. Marilyn had many. I think this song is about Peter Murphy‘s perspective on the tragedy that Norma Jean actually became Marilyn Monroe. Perfect, but, soulless; because she was not real. It wasn’t a role in a film, it wasn’t even just her Hollywood persona. She became Marilyn and played Marylin almost all the time making it difficult to tell where the acting ended and life began.

I always felt like it was about some dark underground gathering where things happen that are not supposed to be known in public. The 'parties' could refer to that, as do the 'special effects' that may refer to the events happening there. I could be totally wrong though. Brilliant song, and a great video. The whole look of the boys, the clothing, the haircuts, it's like one of those old horror films based on old gothic novels. The essence of gothic music was captured in this song and its video.

JadeGold: I think you've nailed it. Norma Jean being a HUGE fake but not a terrible actress. Her public image being so far removed from her "real" self. The video though doesn't really seem to give a lot of clues.