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Stolen Children Lyrics

Were that I the one that died in place of you
Rather then prematurely paralyzed by you
Would you have worn your grief like laurels bestowed upon you?
Or misuse the gravity still felt by all but you?

You know that I wouldn’t mind—
I must have lied a thousand times
And how I wanted to die
Just to sanctify my strife
And as that I’m being honest
This was all that I wanted
Most of the time

Could I offer up the years I spent resenting you
For the nine years of my life that went away with you?
On the ground above you, I’d lie
So solemnly contrite
And I could finally forgive you
For every time you saved my life
We may have both come unwanted
But you were all that she wanted
Most of the time

Through all the years I casually exploited you
And still it never occurred to me I was approaching you
Or that the last six years of my life were overtaking you
With an indifference divine
My life down I will lie
You were only a kid then
Just one of God’s stolen children
Blessed with less time
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Cover art for Stolen Children lyrics by Parenthetical Girls

"i must have lied a thousand times"

"so solemnly contrite"

Cover art for Stolen Children lyrics by Parenthetical Girls

thanks

Cover art for Stolen Children lyrics by Parenthetical Girls

So very pretty.

Cover art for Stolen Children lyrics by Parenthetical Girls

i don't know i'm not sure if people really talk about the actual song meanings anymore or not but i really wanted to talk about my interpretation: i look at it as someone who had a sibling and they were in some sort of accident and the narrator's sibling saved his/her life but died while doing it, so everyone is distraught over the loss of the one child but the one who lived feels horrible and resentful towards their sibling and wanted to die/commit suicide just to show everyone that he/she felt horrible too and just to be like "yeah i feel like shit" and and they would also act out and just be rude and stuff and when people would try to call them out of it they would casually exploit the dead sibling by being like "well my brother/sister died saving my life so i'm in a lot of pain and i can do whatever i want" but they just really resent the dead sibling for leaving him/her with so much guilt and while they were so resentful towards the sibling that died they would still just lay at the dead one's grave. i also see it as both of the children were born to a mother who never really wanted them/were accidents but as soon as the one died, that child was the only thing the mother ever wanted and idk it's just a beautiful song and it made me think a lot so

My Interpretation

@wellok I think you're 90% correct. The lyrics here are somewhat off though so not your fault. I don't think he/she intentionally meant "they saved my life" as in they would have actually "died" without them there to literally save them. I just don't think they meant to convey an actual life or death situation. I think they meant that the lying on someone (dead sibling) for years to feel good as way of dealing with the grief. The song states in the correct verse: Could I offer up the years I spent resenting you For the nine years of my...

Cover art for Stolen Children lyrics by Parenthetical Girls

I interpreted "Stolen Children" to be about a narrator's apology letter to their passed away sibling. It's about resenting a dead loved one (sibling) for being the one who gets the most attention, and using the death to exploit, and being extremely sorrowful to them once you, in hindsight, see everything you did and why clearly. The lyrics here are somewhat off here. I think the "I'd lie" was literally about the narrator telling lies on/about the person/sibling that died after their death because they were resentful. This makes the rest of the song make the most sense and is quite emotionally complex, beautifully put, and a human TRUTH. The guilty narrator apologizes to a dead sibling for how they handled their death so grossly. Resentment, jealousy causing suicidal ideation, exploitation, survivor's guilt, entitlement, anger, self-centered sadness, contempt, and disrespect, and delusional thoughts they held for so long that were born out of sheer but complex grief. It's such a beautifully (spiritual almost) song!

 
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