She'll hang the baskets on the walls
Don't you know I've seen it all before?
She'll hang the baskets on the walls
But I've seen it all before heard the slamming of the door
Come summer come fall come winter
There'll be baskets on the floor
He'll go to buy her turtle wax but in his mind he won't be coming back
She'll hang the baskets on the walls
But I've seen it all before heard the slamming of the door
Come summer come fall come winter
There'll be baskets on the floor

But I've seen it all before heard the slamming of the door
Come summer come fall come winter
There'll be baskets on the floor
She'll hang the baskets on the wall
She'll hang the baskets on the wall


Lyrics submitted by Eamon

She'll Hang the Baskets Lyrics as written by John M Mccrea

Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing

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She'll Hang the Baskets song meanings
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  • +2
    My InterpretationWhen I first heard this song, I also thought of a bad relationship, but not one in which the wife does all the work and the man doesn't put anything into it. What I heard was a story of a wife who has explosive episodes ("slamming of the door") but is normally calm and tending to her hobbies (apparently she doesn't like any season except spring, as it is not mentioned as a season in which the baskets will be on the floor). The relationship is generally good, but because of those episodes, the husband doesn't want to be there anymore, but he loves her and doesn't blame her so he stays. It only says, "in his mind". He knows he'll be back, but there's that part of him that wants to be freed from this. Those trips to buy her things after she blows up are his temporary escape. He fantasizes about driving away and leaving her. I also see this as being in the 50s on a farm. Hanging baskets on a wall just makes me think of that. And, "he'll go to buy her Turtle Wax". I hear that and think of someone "going into town" from the country.

    I almost forgot perspective! I think the POV is from someone who knows the couple and has seen this play out over and over with them. And he's talking to someone who's just seeing the baskets being hung and doesn't know the history.
    sword_guyon October 19, 2014   Link
  • +1
    General CommentYes, "there'll" is a word. Contractions are valid words.
    Eamonon July 17, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General CommentSome kind of metaphor? There's obiously a problem by a he and a she. He won't be coming back, she's maybe slamming the door? Cryptic.
    lewikeeon October 08, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Commentmaybe about a guy who gets a girl pregnant then ditches her? and is there'll really a word?
    tunasandwich77on January 26, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General CommentThere'll = There will
    SOMEONE150on July 18, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General CommentIn an reversal of the context of what seems like many a lyrical thread in most of CAKE's songs, "She'll Hang the Baskets" has the woman playing the role of "hanger-on" in the face of a relationship gone totally kaput. Throughout the song this poor gal still goes through the motions of maintaining a harmonious household (over & over "she hangs the baskets on the wall") in the face of the reality of hearing slamming doors-- even how her s.o. blatantly uses the excuse of going to get her Turtle Wax as his cue to "never come back" (an unusually clever way to bail out--IMHO, the best line in the whole song, LOL). And even as time goes by to where those lovingly hung baskets start falling off the walls, the woman is *still* there to hang those darn things back on the walls in her state of futility...just in case...
    pharmageekon March 18, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General CommentSounds to me like "she" wants to do something, but no matter when you ("I") check (come summer, come fall, come winter..) it is not yet accoumplished. She wants to hang some baskets on the wall, but they ever always just lie on the floor.
    Just like "she will" do somthing she never actually does, he will get her something (and come back), but he never actually does.
    The slamming of the door is the moment he finally leaves her because of the promises she doesn't keep?
    No idea what the baskets or the Turtle Way actually stand for.
    For me the song is about a couple with plans and wishes that gets lost in everyday business and doesn't accomplish anyhing in the end. The fault seems to be more with her then with him, so he leaves her.
    Flinton April 04, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General CommentI'd say that the song is about two people in a relationship, two completely incompatible people. The woman has some annoying habit/hobby/mannerism, represented here by "hanging baskets on the wall." The guy can't take it, and over time it will drive them apart and ruin the relationship. I think that "come summer, winter, fall," etc, means the passing of time, after which they'll be split and he can tear down those annoying baskets. Slamming doors symbolizes the actual breakup, ie, arguing and then leaving in anger, slamming the door behind you. The part about turtle wax depicts him helping to support her hobbies, when he'd really rather be leaving.
    CrazyAssailanton July 30, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General CommentI think this song is just about a typical relationship gone wrong.
    "She'll hang the baskets on the walls" represents her putting work into the relationship, the baskets falling represents all the work falling apart. The part about seeing it all before confirms the fact that this is something that has happened many times before. The change in seasons represents time going by.
    Another interesting thing is the Turtle wax. The song puts so much emphasis on what the girl does, but has 1 line about the guy putting work into their relationship.

    So my take is that this song is about a relationship that deteriorates over time. The guy loses interest as the girl does as much as she can to keep the relationship together, but in the end the work she puts in is for nothing (baskets on the floor)
    ImOLJOEon May 01, 2009   Link
  • 0
    My InterpretationI interpret this song quite literally.

    There's a relationship between a man and a woman, and the author knows that it is doomed, from his own experience, because the guy can only see the world through his own eyes.

    Sort of like "Men Are From Mars; Women Are From Venus" (trite reference, I know):
    Women tend to be "home-makers", performing little decorative things such as hanging baskets on the walls. Men are almost incapable of appreciating such things. Smart men will act interested; stupid men will not.

    It's inevitable that the relationship will fail, the guy doesn't appreciate the things she does, like hanging baskets on the wall. The guy makes half-assed efforts, such as buying Turtle Wax, but it is still doomed.

    Girl leaves, guy goes back to being a bachelor slob, the baskets end up on the floor. Literally.

    (I've lived through similar stuff. My ex-wife literally hung baskets on the wall. I have given my married friends' simple advice; simple things, like to compliment their wives when they change their hair styles. They never do it. I once complimented a friend's wife on her new hairstyle, and she kissed me on the lips, right in front of her husband. He didn't get it.)
    hottoddyon November 30, 2009   Link

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