Trout Heart Replica

Oh my lord can we all just chill the fuck out for a second? This is why vegetarians get such a bad reputation. Obviously there is the pro-vego message in here, but we don't have to jump down each other's throats every time a contrasting opinion is voiced.

I'm surprised no one has made the comparison between this song and "Have To Drive" - she's using the death of an animal (something that, for many reasons, moved her deeply) as a starting point for a discussion of her mental and emotional state. Her experience at the trout farm triggered reflections not only on the omnivorous lifestyle but on life itself.

It seems like she's employing the way some omnivores (including herself) keep eating meat even when they deep down know they don't feel right about it as a metaphor for how she's living her life; "just keep touring/keep on ignoring/be a good little trout" Something feels so fundamentally wrong but she is too scared to face what she knows she feels.

What really consolidates that interpretation for me is the shift from asking for a smaller heart to the end result of that request. Her heart is "the size of a 6 sided die cut in half" - that's what happens when you keep ignoring what you feel, what you know, what you want. Much like how the butcher can nonchalantly toss aside the still beating heart of a dead animal simply by not thinking about the reality of the situation, if you refuse to let yourself acknowledge your emotions, there comes a point where either you hold your breath until you hit the floor, or you lose your ability to feel full stop. You don't think about what's on your plate for your entire life, it's near impossible to view it from a different perspective. You don't think about the reality of what's in your mind, you lose touch with yourself to the extent that you lose who you are, perhaps even your ability to love, and slide into numbness.

I saw Amanda last night, and she told the story behind this song. Basically, she went to a trout farm where you pick out a trout and then you watch it get butchered. And there was this building with all these different tanks lined up, getting bigger and bigger as they went along, and each one had different sized trout in it. So they picked out some trout and they went into the butchering room, and Amanda decided to stay because she was reading The Omnivore's Dilemma. When the butcher killed the trout, he pulled out a heart that was still beating, and just kind of put it off to the side nonchalantly, and it just sat there beating. Amanda felt like that was a metaphor for where she was in her life, and she started crying. Andd then she wrote this song.

So basically, this song is about the dilemma we run into with not wanting to know where our food really comes from, and not wanting to think about the consequences of our actions. But at the same time, it's about Amanda's life, and her relationships falling apart, and feeling trapped.

This song live is incredibly heartbreaking.

I get the impression it's about committing suicide. But then I think that maybe it's about the stress of touring and not being able to find yourself. Always moving and never getting the chance to think and stay neutral. I Don't know but it's a rather interesting song.

The lyrics I heard were slightly different:

They've been circling, they've been circling Since the day they were born It's disturbing, how they're circling Fifty feet from the pond Pretty often, pretty often I don't wanna be told It's a problem, it's a problem It's a problem, I know

And I won't keep what I can't catch In my bare hands without a net It's hard enough to walk on grass So conscious of the consequences

They've been jerking, they've been jerking In a pail by the dock I know that oxygen Might make them blossom and die But I'm not gonna talk Feed them details, feed them e-mails They'll eventually grow It's not working, it's not working Not as far as I know

And killing things is not so hard It's hurting that's the hardest part And when the wizard gets to me I'm asking for a smaller heart

And I got you, and I got you Now I'll ruin it all Feeling helpless, acting selfish Being human and all And they're jumping, and they're jumping But they'll never get out Just keep touring, keep ignoring Be a good little trout

And the butcher stops and winds the clock And lays their lives down on the block He raises up his hatchet and the Big hand strikes a compromise

Wait, we'll trade you, wait Please, just one more day Then we'll go with no complaining No complaining, no complaining Stop

And they're killing, and they're cutting And I think that I know And they're gutting, and they're gutting And I think that I know And it's beating, it's still beating And I think that I know And it's beating, look it's still beating But I don't wanna know

And killing things is not so hard It's hurting that's the hardest part And when the wizard gets to me I'm asking for a smaller heart And if he tells me no I'll hold my breath until I hit the floor Eventually I know I'm doomed To get what I am asking for

Now my heart is exactly the size Of a six sided die cut in half Made of ruby red stained glass Can I knock you unconscious As long as I promise I'll love you and I'll make you laugh And my heart is exactly the size Of a six sided die cut in half Made of ruby red stained glass Can I knock you unconscious As long as I promise I'll love you and I'll make you laugh

Killing animals is a big deal. The song is profound enough without looking for it's metaphors.

I don't need to argue with someone as ignorant and stubborn as you.

I never said that this song doesn't have a double meaning. I'm just saying it's no reason to discard the literal interpretation.

the song tells a story. that story is valid but it also has a deeper meaning. it's all real.

also, why submit lyrics to a song if you don't know what they are? so that you can have your name up and people will think you had it first? wtf.

i thought this was about feeling pain when watching trouts get killed, and wishing you could be more heartless. this is a pretty obscure song though so I'm not sure if that's what it's about but that's the impression i got.

I think it's pretty obvious what this song is about. We know that Amanda is a pescetarian, and she says she used to be vegan.

Here's her blog about watching the trout getting killed: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=90535988&blogID=455060105

The narrator of this song represents the vast majority of people. We look for easy solutions, but we never think of changing ourselves. We'd sooner ask for smaller hearts, than decide that we need to stop hurting animals.

It's about watching yourself kill off all relationships with people, and hurting about it. you stop giving the trout oxygen, aka love, and it dies. so do relationships. it still jerks, for a while, but then it's over and you're left with just the hurt.