Do you remember how it was when you bled?
When you loved and burned in those flames that you've kept
Because Vesta's long been sleeping
Now you've come to accept
That your anatomy defines more than a few

Of the gaping holes in our social fabric
And it defines more than a few
One night stands
And I mention more than a few
Prison bars melted into (melted into)
Melted in, melted in
Melted into wedding bands

We've made you all the peasants and
We've made ourselves the kings
Our queens are still subordinate as an angel
But we make it easy to belong
Which means it's easy to be wrong
Put some plastic in your tits
And you look better as a blonde

I remember when you were hopeful
Never thought your life would be
Lived inside a coffin, with a moral
Sacrifice, a million social obligations
(Labels and expectations)
(When you were young and a modern seventeen)
(In vogue) and vague
(Pursuit) of a
(Cosmopolitan dream)

So when you bled on the bed as you fed those expectations
As a whore, not a human
You embraced with hesitations
The very parameters of all you can be
Not a mother, not an aunt
Not a sister that's not subdued
Because dignity is not physical
And your flesh means more than you
(Your flesh means more than you)
(Your flesh means more than you)
(Your flesh means more than-)

And I know
Know we'll all wake up one day
With a gun to the back of our brains
You'll be asking for your rib
And I'll smile and I'll call you brave
(Maybe someday) maybe someday, when
When this bloody skull has dried
Know our city is in ruins
When our greatest source of pride
A monument of dicks and ribs
And the gender crown we wore
Where underneath, a plaque will read, a plaque will read
"No woman, no woman, no woman, no woman is a whore"

Maybe someday, when
When this bloody skull has dried
Know our city is in ruins
When our greatest source of pride
A monument of dicks and ribs
And the gender crown we wore
Where underneath, a plaque will read, a plaque will read

(Maybe someday) maybe someday, when
When this bloody skull has dried
Know our city is in ruins
When our greatest source of pride
A monument of dicks and ribs
And the gender crown we wore
Where underneath, a plaque will read, a plaque will read

(Maybe someday) maybe someday, when
When this bloody skull has dried
Know our city is in ruins
When our greatest source of pride
A monument of dicks and ribs
And the gender crown we wore
Where underneath, a plaque will read, a plaque will read

Maybe someday, when
When this bloody skull has dried
Know our city is in ruins
When our greatest source of pride
A monument of dicks and ribs
And the gender crown we wore
Where underneath, a plaque will read, a plaque will read
"Ready, aim"


Lyrics submitted by Inoue versus Date

Turn Soonest to the Sea Lyrics as written by Lucas Hoskin Arif Mirabodlbaghi

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Turn Soonest to the Sea song meanings
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  • +2
    Song Meaning

    The song is most certainly not from the perspective of Kezia, as the lines seem to be made to apply to her:

    "I remember when you were hopeful And you never thought your life would be lived inside a coffin with a moral sacrifice and a million social obligations"

    This is stated by someone who has obviously known Kezia since she was young (>17), before she was tied down by the expectations of society and presumably before she gave up her virginity ("bled on the bed as [she] fed those expectations"). She hesitated to fill the role set before her by society which was a strict boundary of what she couldn't be: "Not a mother, not an aunt, not a sister who's not subdued."

    "I know we'll wake up one day with a gun to the back of our brains You'll be asking for your rib and I'll smile and call you brave"

    The above lines are a bit confusing. It may be that the "we" refers to the author of the note and Kezia and that they'll both be martyrs for the cause of egalitarianism. Or it may be that the "we" refers to men as a whole, in which case I feel that the next lines must be interpreted entirely differently, as it would seems that the women would have turned the tables and be instead the oppressors of those that had oppressed them (mankind). Or it may be something completely different (feel free to comment).

    "Maybe someday when - when this bloody skull has dried I'll know our city is in ruins when the greatest source of pride is a monument of dicks and ribs and gender crowns we wore"

    If it is the first case, and the gun is also to the back of Kezia's head (and the author's), then the bloody skull belongs to either of them and its drying obviously refers to the event occurring (long) after they have died. The city may be in ruins, but the monument to what has been accomplished is still intact. However, I find the other scenario to be more plausible. The "we" refers to "man" and they are in turn oppressed in the same manner as women were once oppressed. The city (world) would then be in ruins when instead of the objectification of women you have a similar idol set to the dicks and ribs (rather than breasts, as now) and other gender symbols of man. The plaque's reading then takes on a new meaning of an oppressive regime rather than a message of hope.

    Also, good catch AmpleVoltage. I didn't know that Young and Modern was a magazine, but it certainly makes sense that they would slip in more examples of objectification in society.

    7IHdon April 08, 2010   Link

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