Mowgli's Road

Since Mowgli, the main character of "The Jungle Book" by Rudyard Kipling, was someone who didn't live in a human society and was raised by wolves, I think that the allusion she's making is that she wants to take "Mowgli's road" and not have to live a wealthy, pressured life. Not necessarily in the wild like Mowgli, but the pressure she feels is starting to drive her mad. (Hence the "We are the spoons, they're telling me" little bit.)

"Ten silver spoons coming after me, One life with one dream on repeat."

She lives in luxury, and the authority figures in her life are practically smothering her with their ideas. And "one life with one dream on repeat" could mean that these authority figures want her to take one path and one path only, and keep telling her to take it as though if they say it all the time, she'll end up believing it.

"I'll escape if I try hard enough, Till King of the Jungle calls my bluff"

She has tried for a very long time to act like this is what she wants, but at one point it just stops working. She knows what she wants and how to get it, but there are a lot of things and she has to take a chance and do what she wants to do quickly before her future is set down for her. She's sick of luxury, she realizes that there are more things out there for her.

"Oh Lord, (Oh Lord) I have been told, (I have been told) I must take the unforsaken road (Forsaken road)."

She's been told that she has to take the path that everyone else has taken, "forsaken" means given up, so the road that hasn't yet been given up on for her is the one that she's supposed to take. "Oh Lord," she's not happy about this.

"There's a fork in the road, I'll do as as I am told, Well, I don't know, don't know, don't know, don't know, don't know Who, who I want to be."

There is an opening for her, and even though she's afraid to take it, she knows that it's there and is always on the edge of taking it. However, she's unsure of where it might lead and even though her lifestyle is slowly strangling her, it protects her. She is unsure of who she is.

"Cuckoo!

You say Y-E-S to everything, Will that guarantee you a win? Do you think you will be good enough, To love others and to be loved?"

Here I think she's lashing out at herself. She's ashamed of the way she is, and she is sick of saying yes to everything around her. She wants to make her own choice, and is almost mocking herself by saying "Do you think you will be good enough to love others and to be loved?"

"Oh Lord, (Oh Lord) Now I can see, (Now I can see) The cutlery will keep on chasing me, (Forsaken road)"

She realizes that whatever choice she makes will haunt her, the cutlery will keep chasing her.

"There's a fork in the road, I'll do as as I am told, Well, I don't know, (Don't know, don't know, don't know, don't know) Who...I want to be. 'We are the spoons,' they're telling me 'We scooped our way into your dreams, To knock the knives out bloody cold, And lead you down the unforsaken road!'"

Somebody, maybe her friends, is advising her and telling her that they'll help her along the way and the forsaken road is dangerous. The "knives" could be her rebellious streak, and whoever's advising her wants to knock them out so they no longer have to deal with this. They 'scooped their way into her dreams' and are trying to control her.

Marina said in an interview that this was about how she wasn't sure who she wanted to be, I think she's referring to her relatives or friends wanting her to take a career path other than her dreams of being a singer. As we all know, she took the forsaken road and is an amazing artist because of it. Are You Satisfied is another song that has a similar meaning to this.

Aside from all that, this is just an awesome song.

i think think song is about the choice marina has to make as an artist. the lines do you think you will be good enough to love others and to be loved is her asking herself if she is good enough to go her own way and not do what all other artists are doing. as we all know, marina is an incredibly individual artist. this song is her questioning wether thats a risk that she will choose to take or if she sould give in to the pressures telling her to be like everyone else. you can see from the rest of the songs on her album (the family jewels) that sometimes she goes through periods of time when she has very low self esteem. in the lines you say y e s to everything will that guarantee you a win she is reffering to how other artists just say yes yes yes to their producers and go with whatever and she is questioning if that will always be a successful solution. of course there are several other takes on this song but this is what i think

I do as I am told

The title of this song most likely comes from the book "The Jungle Book," in which the main character is Mowgli, the "man-cub" who has been abandoned as a baby in the forest and brought up by wolves.

The animated movie of the same name is the story of Mowgli living as a creature of the forest and discovering his true roots as a child of Man. It is determined that he must return to the "man village" to be safe from the tiger Shere Khan, but Mowgli does not want to go. He then goes through a period of events in which he attempts to follow his own path (staying in the jungle) while his friends continually attempt to convince him to go to the "man village" where it is safe, and where he can be brought up with his own kind. Meanwhile, there are many dangers that Mowgli experiences in the jungle.

//Ten silver spoons coming after me, One life with one dream on repeat, I'll escape if I try hard enough, Till, King of the Jungle calls my bluff//

"Ten silver spoons" may refer to being born into a life of luxury (according to the old phrase "born with a silver spoon in his mouth").

This stanza may refer to having a dull, repetitive life of opulence that the narrator wishes to break free from, but in methods that may be foiled by the very powers/authorities that are helping him. In the movie, Mowgli wishes to escape the fate of being sent to live in the "man village" and King Louie, an orangutan, offers to help him stay in the jungle if he makes fire. Mowgli, having been brought up by wolves, does not know how to make fire, and pretending that he can constitutes his bluff.

//Oh Lord, (Oh Lord) I have been told, (I have been told) I must take the unforsaken road (Forsaken road)//

This stanza explains that people are pressuring the narrator to take the "safe road," much like Mowgli is pressured to flee to safety in the "man village." This may also hearken back to Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken," in which the narrator must choose to go down either of two roads, one of which has been less traveled.

//There's a fork in the road, I'll do as as I am told, Well, I don't know, (Don't know don't know don't know don't know) Who I want to be.//

This stanza says that when made to decide between two options, the narrator will do what others are advising her to do, since she does not know what choice she alone wants to make.

In the movie, Mowgli is torn between wanting to follow his friends' advice to go to the "man village" and staying with his friends in the jungle.

//You say Y-E-S to everything, Will that guarantee you a win? Do you think you will be good enough, To love others and to be loved?//

In this stanza, the narrator may be speaking to herself or repeating what someone else has told her. She expresses her confusion about whether following other people's advice blindly is fine for her future, and if what others think is best for her actually is what is best. She also questions whether following others' suggestions blindly will develop her as an individual who is worthy of loving and being loved.

//Oh Lord, (Oh Lord) Now I can see, (Now I can see) The cutlery will keep on chasing me, (Forsaken road)//

"Cutlery" can either refer to only knives, or the whole set of knives, forks, and spoons. In this case, it may refer back to the "ten silver spoons" in the first stanza, and as seen in the next stanza, other types of silverware as well. This verse indicates a sort of menace and fear that comes from being chased by the cutlery. The narrator comes to the realization that no matter what she does, her past/the people giving her counsel/her responsibilities/her fears will continue to be a constant in her life, no matter what road she takes.

//We are the spoons, they're telling me We scooped our way into your dreams, To knock the knives out bloody cold, And lead you down the unforsaken road.//

In this stanza, those that are counseling the narrator are convincing her that their advice is best for her, and that their advice can save her from some sort of injury or harm that going down the forsaken road will bring her.

In the movie, Mowgli's friends insist to him that staying in the "man village" will keep him safe from the dangers of the jungle.

//There's a fork in the road, I'll do as as I am told, Well, I don't know, (Don't know don't know don't know don't know) Who I want to be.//

The constant return to the chorus implies that she still does not know what she wants to do, but will follow the advice of her counselors nonetheless.

the lyrics are;

Cuckoo! x 2

Ten silver spoons coming after me, One life with one dream on repeat, I'll escape if I try hard enough, Till, King of the Jungle calls my bluff,

Oh Lord, (Oh Lord) I have been told, (Have been told) I must take the unforsaken road (Forsaken road) There's a fork in the road, I'll do as as I am told, I don't know,(Don't know don't know don't know don't know) Who I want to be.

Cuckoo!

You say Y-E-S to everything, Will that guarantee you a win? Do you think you will be good enough, To love others and to be loved?

Oh Lord, (Oh Lord) Now I can see, (Now I can see) The cutlery will keep on chasing me, (Forsaken road) There's a fork in the road, I'll do as as I am told, I don't know, (Don't know don't know don't know don't know) Who I want to be.

We are the spoons, THEY'RE TELLING ME We scoop our way into your dreams, To knock the knives out bloody cold, [as in to knock them out.. punch them!] And lead you down the unforsaken road.

There's a fork in the road, I'll do as as I am told, I don't know, (Don't know don't know don't know don't know) Who I want to be.

I think this song is about the pressure of the media and the image that celebrities are meant to potray. She's trying to escape (I'll escape if I try hard enough) and all of the cutlery are metaphors for people. I also think that she is unsure of what type of celebritie she should be, like whether or not to be like everyone else or not...I don't know.

Here's what I hear:

Cuckoo!

Ten silver spoons coming after me One life with one dream on repeat I'll escape if I try hard enough Till King of the Jungle calls my bluff

Oh Lord, I have been told I must take the unforsaken road (forsaken road) There's a fork in the road I'll do as as I am told I don't know (don't know don't know don't know don't know) Who I want to be

Cuckoo!

You say Y-E-S to everything Will that guarantee you a win? Do you think you will be good enough To love others and to be loved?

Oh Lord, now I can see (now I can see) The cutlery will keep on chasing me (forsaken road) There's a fork in the road I'll do as as I am told I don't know (don't know don't know don't know don't know) Who I want to be

We are the spoons nattily mean (?) We scoop our way into your dreams You know the knives are bloody cold And lead you down the unforsaken road

There's a fork in the road I'll do as as I am told I don't know (don't know don't know don't know don't know) Who I want to be

As for meaning, I have no idea. Perhaps it has something to do with the obligations of being born to wealth and privilege (silver spoons) and doing what you want with your life versus what others (ie; your parents) expect you to do (I have been told/I must take the unforsaken road/There's a fork in the road/I'll do as as I am told).

Florencefans lyrics are the version I hear too.

I think it's about trying to find your own life and identity, perhaps trying to move away from wealth and find your own path.

I partially agree with Caffinated. The song seems to allude to a power figure (Mowgli, in the title, being the hypnotic snake in The Jungle Book), who is dictating which road she should take and she is obeying ("I'll do as I am told"}. Being compared to Mowgli suggest a malicious edge for the power figure, a trickster out for their own benefit who is deluding her. Since it's the "unforsaken road", it seem that the road she has been ordained is one where she is not allowed to give something up, or leave something behind. She claims should could escape, until her bluff is called. So, she's attempting to break free from the control of this power figure and achieve autonomy, but outside of what has been decided for her, she doesn't know what she wants to do. She's stuck in a situation where she's saying "I don't want to do this" but is faced with the question "What do you want to do, then?" for which she doesn't know to answer yet. Hence "I don't know who I want to be".

I could be reading too much into this, but there are some possible religious references. For example, Mowgli in The Jungle Book is often compared to the Snake that tempted Eve into eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The word "unforsaken" is often used in a religious context and there is the line "Oh lord!" which could just be an exclamation like "oh my god!" or could actually refer to god.

The only thing I can't figure out is the cutlery references. There's a fork in the road, the spoons are chasing her and knocking the knives out cold. Anyone got any ideas? Or is she just being awkward for the sake of art?

She must choose between the seductive easy & comfortable path that the world is clamouring her to take, and the sharper forsaken path of her own dreams.