In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Bodies, can't you see what everybody wants from you?
Forgive the kids, for they don't know how to live
Run the alleys casually cruel
Cruel, oh
Bodies, can't you see what everybody wants from you?
For you could want that, too
They could take or leave you
So they took you, and they left you
How could they be casually cruel?
Cruel, oh
Cruel, cruel, oh
Bodies, can't you see what everybody wants from you?
If you could want that too, then you'll be happy
You were the one waving flares in the air so they could see you
And they were a zephyr, blowing past ya
Blowing fastly so they can't see ya
Cruel, cruel, oh
Cruel, cruel, oh
Cruel, cruel, oh
Cruel, cruel, oh
Forgive the kids, for they don't know how to live
Run the alleys casually cruel
Cruel, oh
Bodies, can't you see what everybody wants from you?
For you could want that, too
They could take or leave you
So they took you, and they left you
How could they be casually cruel?
Cruel, oh
Cruel, cruel, oh
Bodies, can't you see what everybody wants from you?
If you could want that too, then you'll be happy
You were the one waving flares in the air so they could see you
And they were a zephyr, blowing past ya
Blowing fastly so they can't see ya
Cruel, cruel, oh
Cruel, cruel, oh
Cruel, cruel, oh
Cruel, cruel, oh
Lyrics submitted by j0nnynoname
Cruel Lyrics as written by Anne Clark
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I don't know that I feel this has to do with societal pressures on women (but then again, I'm not female, so Annie Clark may have more to say about that) so much as it has to do with the anxiety of being seen as the means to an end and the nature of objectification that is essential in treating another person as something sub-human–that is, cruelty.
Cruelty, at its core, is defined as indifference to or pleasure in the suffering of another person. "They could take or leave you / So they took you / And they left you" is an exceptionally demonstrative verse–the person at the core of the lyrical narrative is being treated by others more so as a set of options or preferences than as a living, breathing individual with emotions and desires. Not only that, they are being callously "taken" and "left" …Â like a bit of used up crayon that someone has discarded after they wore it down to a wax nub. The narrative voice is defined by what "… everybody wants from [her]"; taken and left–she's denied intrinsic value and expected to derive worth solely from what she's provides others, from what utility she serves to those around her.
I'd say we don't need to pigeonhole the gender of the narrative voice–the song's about our society's casual dehumanization/objectification of its constituents and the resulting turmoil and distress this causes to the individual. Brilliant music and lyrics always …Â god, Annie has a knack for formulating a phrase, lyrically and musically.
I think people with the interpretation about a house wife are getting that from the music video which is not a good way to go about interpreting songs.<br /> <br /> I agree with what you said and want to add:<br /> <br /> Addressing "Bodies" goes along with the objectification theme. <br /> <br /> The kids who run the alley casually cruel and take and leave you seem to be implying rape in an alley. <br /> <br /> "Bodies, can't you see what everybody wants from you? For you could want that, too" <br /> If your body could simply want what the other body wants then rape wouldn't be a problem.<br /> <br /> "How could they be casually cruel?" How can someone committing such a terrible act do it without any remorse or empathy or somberness.