Cheerleader

It's also a disservice to her sex to say that women behave these ways solely in pursuit of a man. A lot of the behaviors she's describing are predatory, and in the refrain she's disavowing the sycophantic veneer she assumes as a convoluted chore and, ultimately, a frivolity. It's reminiscent Lady MacBeth's line, "Look the innocent flower, but be the serpent under't", only Annie is saying that she'd rather discard the flower-act and let others know she's a damn serpent, and she's not a picky eater. She's expressing a weariness with the subtlety society expects of her (or subtlety she's simply learned as the path of least resistance) used in pursuit of dubious ambitions. Like most of her songs, the lyrics contain a degree of ambivalence; does she want to live an honest life and throw away her devious tendencies with her exhausting assumed persona, or does she have every intention to be just as perverse a person as she's been up until now with the exception that she will no longer hide it from those around her? Can a person discard guile whilst still being fundamentally twisted, or will society's pressures ultimately force a person who adulterates themselves to resort to artifice in order to survive?

It doesn't matter what Annie Clark "is talking about here". She said it herself. It should be able to be interpreted and thought of in different ways to be relatable to different people. People shouldn't be so stuck on what Annie Clark was thinking when she wrote this that they can't identify with the song.

Swooping, what you're saying is fine–when an artist is discussing their own work. They're allowed to have that degree of control over their artifice as it is THEIR artifice, first and foremost, and normally, I'd agree with you–the more interpretations there are of a work, the richer and fuller an understanding of it can be had by all.<br /> <br /> But, personally, I'm sick of nine out of ten women feeling the need to frame all of Annie's songs in the "woman-empowers-herself-by-being-a-bitch-whilst-still-living-a-life-that-is-centered-around-pursuit-of-men-'cause-god-forbid-she-should-have-to-exist-without-a-man" manner (she's not Madonna, for Christ's sake!) and thinking that this somehow makes them revolutionary and feminist–it doesn't; it's a demeaning stereotype, and I'm not even female. Annie's art is way too nuanced to be reduced to something so crude. If people want to interpret her songs that way while they're screaming along to her songs in their cars, that's fine. But if you want to have an honest, critical discussion in attempts to analyze her music and lyrics, you're going to have to stretch your brain a little more than that–it's all about context.<br /> <br /> Unfortunately, if you want to dispense with contentious interpretation and critical analysis, you're essentially advocating that we discard with this website entirely because that's what songmeanings is pretty much all about–analyzing lyrics and music.

Moreover, to refer back to what I was saying earlier, if you're GOING to make any valid attempt at analyzing lyrics, you can't speak text-extrinsically. She mentions "bad guys" all of once at the beginning of the song–the bulk of the lyrical content is musing on her dubious intentions and beguiling behavior. So why is it that every interpretation you're going to read about on here is going to be something to the effect of: "zomg! this ttly reminds me of wehn my relationship with my one ex sucked and blahblahblah"? The song is clearly not primarily about gender relations–why is it that every other poster is going to read it that way? I maintain that it has less to do with what Annie is saying and more to do with what self-absorbed people are hearing.

umm... sumeragi. Good on ya for taking an art theory class, but you're not giving earlier commenters the credit they deserve. Let's face it. There's more than just "one line" where gender relations could be suggested: "held your bare bones with my clothes on," and "I don't know what good it serves, but for you I could work," could very well suggest unhealthy romantic relationship. Also, the image of cheerleader is loaded with implications for gender discussion: females standing on the sidelines of usually male-dominated sports events wearing little clothing and dancing for the audience. Hmmm. <br /> <br /> Although I admit that you are right that Annie definitely goes further than JUST gender issues in this song. Lines like "America with no clothes broaden the scope big time.

Caveman7 got it right. With references to cheerleaders and "good times" with bad guys, holding bare bones and seeing America naked, well, you can't really knock anyone for assuming that this song is commenting on sex and relationships somehow. Can it be about something else? Of course. But strong evidence is there to suggest that Annie is writing about the dumb things girls can do to impress guys.