I Just Had to Die

I was so pleased when I figured out there were Springsteen lyrics in there.

The Knife's lyrics are always a bit on the cryptic side though, I guess it means whatever you interpret it to.

Somebody saw me Watching schoolgirls on their knees But I don't know why I am a schoolgirl's dream I am a hunger ready to eat But I don't know why

I just had to die (aaaaaaa....)

Somebody saw me Watching schoolgirls on their knees But I don't know why I am a schoolgirl's dream I am a hunger ready to eat And I can't tell you why

I had this urge to die (aaaaaa......)

I got a bad desire I'm on fire I got a bad desire I'm on fire Hey little girl is your daddy home? Got a bad desire I'm on fire

It's "I am the school girl's dream/queen I am HUNGER READY TO EAT." And then at the end it's "I've got a BAD DESIRE"

But yeah, I fucking love this song. First song I ever heard by the Knife.

Is this song about a paedophile not knowing why he has that bad desire? the 3rd last line is spot on.

i'm pretty sure it's not "i'm not afraid of the shire" but rather "got a bad desire" in reference to Bruce Springsteen's song, "I’m On Fire" :

Hey little girl is your daddy home Did he go and leave you all alone I got a bad desire I'm on fire

the rest of the song doesn't make much sense either, but i would agree it's hard to understand what she is singing. thanks for posting.

Incredible song. Possibly their best? But I have no clue what it is about...

i think this song is about someone who is pretty much perfect but feels like they want to die, and so kills them self. seems like the literal explaination.

I think the cryptic nature of this song comes from the muliplicity of meanings. There is the paedophile character. But there are also other characters hinted at. Overall it is about that "bad" feeling or feeling of shame that makes the characters feel like they have to die.

Before you understand the nature of the desire you feel, you might feel bad about it (like I have a friend who had a rape fantasy and hated herself for it, but when she was able to finally act it out with her husband whom she loves very much she realised it was about the way she was raised, i.e. to feel bad for enjoying sex. So that to enjoy sex she had to pretend she wasn't the one doing it. Which is pretty fucked up but hey at least she worked through those desires and now is totally over both the fantasy and the bad feeling.) Anyway I digress, but I think this song is about those feelings, that "bad desire", some of which cause actual pain to others (paedophilia) and some of which are just confusing.

It's a beautiful song.

"i had this urge to die" - the girl

"i've got a bad desire" - the voyeur / paedophile(?)

who is responsible for her death?

I think it's about her committing suicide and wanting to take the schoolgirls with her. She could also be seen as a metaphor for the suicide of young girls, depression, etc. It does seem like she could be a pedophile because of "somebody saw me watching schoolgirls on their knees" and "hey little girl is your daddy home?" but I think it is because she is a metaphor for their suicide.

"I am a schoolgirl's dream" could mean that schoolgirls want to die, to commit suicide. Because it implies that the narrator committed suicide with "I had this urge to die." And maybe she committed suicide by lighting herself on fire, or maybe that is another metaphor for her "lighting them on fire" aka killing them, or being suicide in itself.

I don't know but there have been some interesting theories, thought I would share mine.