"R.I.P. Burn Face" as written by Sierra Rose Casady and Bianca Leilani Casady....
In her mourning
In her grave
Don't you miss the way
That she brushed her heavy hair
Oh la la la la la
Acid burned face clowny tear smile
She's the one who made you wild
She made you question all your answers
Made you beg for her forgiveness
Baby girl, don't cry
Momma's gonna buy you a glass eye
And it will glimmer like starlight
She's got no reservations
Ain't got no place to be
He graveyard's in the backyard
Where the meadows used to be
Lord knows my destination
Lord's heard my inner prayer
Mom'll find me by the river
Sunken with her party balloons
Flowers for the ones you loved
Flowers for the lost at sea
Flowers for the ones you loved
Flowers for the lost at sea
In her grave
Don't you miss the way
That she brushed her heavy hair
Oh la la la la la
Acid burned face clowny tear smile
She's the one who made you wild
She made you question all your answers
Made you beg for her forgiveness
Baby girl, don't cry
Momma's gonna buy you a glass eye
And it will glimmer like starlight
She's got no reservations
Ain't got no place to be
He graveyard's in the backyard
Where the meadows used to be
Lord knows my destination
Lord's heard my inner prayer
Mom'll find me by the river
Sunken with her party balloons
Flowers for the ones you loved
Flowers for the lost at sea
Flowers for the ones you loved
Flowers for the lost at sea
Lyrics submitted by mexicanpony, edited by arpadime
"R.I.P. Burn Face" as written by Sierra Rose Casady Bianca Leilani Casady
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
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I take it to be about the terrible punishments and "honour killings" that take place in Islamic communities all over the world when women don't behave as the men around them would wish; when they show too much independence or date outside of Islam or just don't behave like Muslim doormats.(She's the one who made you wild/ She made you question all your answers) These women end up with acid thrown in their faces (Acid burnt face/Clowny tear smile) to destroy their looks, confidence and sight (Baby girl, don't cry/Mama's gonna buy you a glass eye) or else they 'disappear' altogether; presumably into a river or shallow grave. (The graveyard's in the backyard Where the meadow used to be... Mom'll find me by the river)
The parts in Farsi talking about tears, about sight, about God etc. only bolster this meaning for me: (I swear to God I don't see my family anymore)It's an extremely controversial subject but one CocoRosie as women wanted to tackle somehow - how female power is feared and punished by Islam.
In her mourning, in her grief
Don't you miss the way
That she brushed her heavy hair
Oh and la la la la la
So in this part the singer is addressing the man who mutilated and killed the woman, presumably his wife, or perhaps daughter, 'don't you miss the beautiful woman you destroyed?'
Acid burnt face
Clowny tear smile
She's the one who made you wild
She made you question all your answers
Made you beg for her forgiveness
So here is what he's done to her and the reasons for it - the acid has burned her face away leaving a melted, grotesque clowny-looking face - perhaps the lips are burned away so it looks like a crying, clowny smile (I told you this is a really dark, horrible interpretation - but I'm pretty certain it's correct - CocoRosie have a way of taking the most ugly things and taking them beautiful which I really admire.) And he did this to her because she made him question his beliefs - perhaps his faith - and basically she didn't behave right for him and it made him wild, angry, crazy - but now he is perhaps begging for her forgiveness inside because he has done this awful thing but realises it is wrong and misses the memory of her beautiful hair burned away.
Baby girl, don't cry
Mama's gonna buy you a glass eye
And it will glimmer like starlight
In these acid attacks the eyes are usually destroyed, hence needing glass eyes - I'm guessing perhaps she survived the acid and tried to live on but was too upset by her disfigurement to continue with life, although her mother is trying to comfort her here, I feel.
She's got no reservations
And got no place to be
The graveyard's in the backyard
Where the meadow used to be
Now in this part I think either the burned girl is ready to die rather than live with her disfigurement or perhaps more likely the man who burned her is consumed with guilt when he looks at what he has done to her and decides to kill her (That earlier line,"Made you beg for her forgiveness" suggests he feels some kind of shame or remorse at what he's done).
Because of her disfigurement or because of her lifelong oppression, "She's got no reservations/And got no place to be", no one will miss her so he can safely dispose of her, "The graveyard's in the backyard". I also think saying that she has no reservations also refers to what she is being punished for - not showing a proper degree of reservation in her behavior, in her modesty - perhaps she dared to go out with her beautiful hair uncovered?
Lord knows my destination
Lord hears my inner prayer
Mom'll find me by the river
Soaking with her party balloons
Here are further references to religion, to God, and that this Mother figure who has been present in the background throughout this song knows where her daughter's body is - but will most likely not be telling anybody lest she meet the same kind of fate. These terrible events are hidden within the family and even other women are too scared or too conditioned to come out and protect or report the murders of their daughters, and in that sense are implicated in the crimes. If you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem.
So, a nasty story but told beautifully - and in such a way that hopefully CocoRosie will not be kidnapped and murdered for speaking up. One has to be so careful these days!
@sahar11616 it's completely true
I've included the translations in parentheses along with the lyrics where they are found in the song.
(If we laugh, this laughter is a because I have stopped crying... I don't have tears anymore.)
Baby girl don't cry
Mama scared the boy who had cloud sigh
And it will glimmer life's so alive
(I swear to God I don't see my family anymore)
She's got no reservations and got no place to be
The graveyard's in the backyard where the meadow used to be
Lord knows my destination
Lord hears my inner prayer
One will find me by the river
Soaking with her party balloons
(There is nothing that is left for me to do for her...)
Flowers for the ones you loved
Flowers for the lost I'd see
(...I guess I just have to be alone)
Flowers for the ones you loved
Flowers for the lost I'd see
Flowers for the ones you loved
Flowers for the lost I'd see
Flowers for the ones you loved
Flowers for the lost I'd see
(I will never see my family...
There is nothing that is left for me to do for her...)
I can't believe I just realized this after listening to the song, it really adds a cool element to it. For reference, the ellipses indicate that the words were truly untranslatable due to the volume of the instrumental track.
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the live version is like a completely different song and that's why i love cocorosie. i have to admit i love the live version a bit more since it conveys the sadness of the song but both versions are magic!!
Mama's gonna buy you a glass eye
And it will shimmer like starlight
She's got no reservations and got no place to be
He graveyards in the backyard where the meadow used to be
Lord knows my destination
Lord hears my inner prayer
Mom'll find me by the river
Soaking with her party balloons
^^ those gotta be right. bought the CD and lyrics were in the cover
Whole album is a masterpiece, as usual.
Don't you miss the way
That she brushed her heavy hair
Oh and la la la la la
Acid burnt face
Clowny tear smile
She's the one who made you wild
She made you question all your answers
Made you beg for her forgiveness
Baby girl, don't cry
Mama's gonna buy you a glass eye
And it will glimmer like starlight
She's got no reservations
And got no place to be
The graveyard's in the backyard
Where the meadow used to be
Lord knows my destination
Lord hears my inner prayer
Mom'll find me by the river
Soaking with her party balloons
Flowers for the ones you loved
Flowers for the lost at sea
OMGGG, love it. i thought the song was called flowers but im sooo happy that this is on their new album. Can't wait to hear it, i can tell it's gonna be my fav :D
In the beginning she sings "in her mourning, in her grief" not "morning" and "grave". And I think it says something like "make you beg for her forgiveness" instead of "baby be for her forgiveness". Later on it definitely does not say "mama scared the boy who had cloud sigh / and it will glimmer life's so alive" but "mama's gonna buy you a glass [hive] / and it will glimmer like starlight" ("hive" may or may not be correct). And it's not "flowers for the lost I'd see" but "flowers for the lost at sea".
The spoken word, for anyone interested, is Farsi. I can't hear everything she says, but the first time she speaks the translation is "If we laugh, it is the laughter that comes from tears / I have no more tears". After "glimmer like starlight" she says "I think to myself I'll never see my home again." The rest I can't make out.
samples from god has a voice she speaks through me.