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Doing the Right Thing Lyrics
And they're making children
And they're making love
With their old excuses
We are built for reproduction
But I find it soothing
When I am confined
I'm just fearing one day soon
I'll lose my mind
Then I'll lose my children
Then I'll lose my love
Then I'll sit in silence
Let the pictures soak
Out of televisions
Float across the room
Whisper in to one ear
Out the other one
Then I'll take my clothes off
And I'll walk around
Because it's so nice outside
And I like the way the sun feels
And when it's dark
I'll call out in the night for my mother
But she isn't coming back for me
Because she's already gone
But you will not tell me that
'Cos you know it hurts me every time you say it
And you know you are doing the right thing
You must know you were doing the right thing
I have lost my children
I have lost my love
I just sit in silence
Let the pictures soak
Out of televisions
Out of televisions
Out of televisions
Out of televisions
Out of televisions
And they're making children
Everyone's in love
I just sit in silence
Let the pictures soak
And they're making love
With their old excuses
We are built for reproduction
But I find it soothing
When I am confined
I'm just fearing one day soon
I'll lose my mind
Then I'll lose my love
Then I'll sit in silence
Let the pictures soak
Out of televisions
Float across the room
Whisper in to one ear
Out the other one
And I'll walk around
Because it's so nice outside
And I like the way the sun feels
I'll call out in the night for my mother
But she isn't coming back for me
Because she's already gone
But you will not tell me that
'Cos you know it hurts me every time you say it
And you know you are doing the right thing
You must know you were doing the right thing
I have lost my love
I just sit in silence
Let the pictures soak
Out of televisions
Out of televisions
Out of televisions
Out of televisions
Out of televisions
Everyone's in love
I just sit in silence
Let the pictures soak
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Well, the video to it makes it sound as if the song is about an elderly person with dementia or alzheimers. They are slowly losing themselves and those around them they love as they can't remember who those people are anymore. But not going on the video, to me its about someone who is disillusioned with life. If you think about it, all we really do in life is get a job, get married, reproduce, and die. I think its about someone who is not buying in to all that, and is depressed by it.
Brilliant start to the new album, hope there are some more atmospheric songs on there as well. Looking forward to getting the vinyl/cd.
Interesting lyrics
I agree with LoudSilences above about the speaker being disillusioned with life. I also think that this woman feels some regret. Since she didn't buy into the expectations to get married and reproduce, she is left alone. Her mother is dead, so she has no family. The only person she seems to have is this friend (or lover maybe since this person hears the speaker call out in the night) who is doing the "right thing" by refraining from reminding the speaker that her mother is gone. It hurts to much to think about that loss.
It's a haunting song that can be read more than one way, but in this vein, it's kind of like the speaker has lost her children and her love (big Love--not the lover who hears her in the night) before she even had them. It is soothing, especially as an artist, to be confined, but I believe there is a fear that she will be left alone one day with only the "pictures" to fill her up. That is, besides the time she spends with herself, exercising her creativity.
@mbryarwood **too much
@mbryarwood **too much
Elena Tonra had this to say:
“I never sit down and think ‘I’m going to write a song about this’, so when ‘Doing The Right Thing’ happened, that was a really odd one. It started feeling like it was about one thing, and then really quite instantly drifted into being about my Grandmother and trying to see the world from her perspective. That in particular was something I didn’t realise I was so affected by until I saw it coming out in these songs. I’d stop halfway through writing the song and realise ‘oh, I’m actually very sad about this’.”