Seether Lyrics
You guys are so funny.... In a radio interview in Australia, 1994 on Triple J, Louise explained the song was about her vile and uncontrollable temper. She would scream the most vicious abuse at her family and friends when she had one of these massive tantrums, saying things she would feel terrible about later. She, her family and her closest friends saw her as a completely different person when she was in this state, so she tended to think of her temper in the third person, someone she called The Seether. Louise explained that she could feel this temper coming on, but there was nothing she could do nothing about it, gentle or harsh: 'Keep her on a short leash', 'rock her in my cradle', 'knock her out', 'cram her back in my mouth'. The Seether of course 'is not born like other girls' because she comes from within and Loiuse 'knows how to conceive her' because The Seether is part of her. As an extension, The Seether could also live in other girls of all ages, sizes and races, something she could identify with and talk about, because if a guy sang about the same thing he would be considered sexist. During the interview both girls were laughing about all the whacky meanings people had attributed to the song. Read the lyrics though with this in mind and they all make sense.
Thank you! And Nina's nod to "Seether" in "Volcano Girls" ("Well, here's another clue if you please: The seether's Louise!") certainly agrees with this. Though, Nina wrote the song, not Louise...
Thank you! And Nina's nod to "Seether" in "Volcano Girls" ("Well, here's another clue if you please: The seether's Louise!") certainly agrees with this. Though, Nina wrote the song, not Louise...
Well, that's a lie by either Walternate, or Louise, because Louise didn't write the song, Nina did. And Nina said in a recent interview with Spin that she wrote it after her friend got pregnant and failed at trying to give her self an abortion, and couldn't afford to have it done professionally. So, there you go.
Well, that's a lie by either Walternate, or Louise, because Louise didn't write the song, Nina did. And Nina said in a recent interview with Spin that she wrote it after her friend got pregnant and failed at trying to give her self an abortion, and couldn't afford to have it done professionally. So, there you go.
@walternate Song was written by Nina, but both Louise and Nina credit it to what you described (and it has nothing at all to do with abortion). Here's from an interview from Radio.com (June 17, 2014) for the 20-year commemorative anniversary of the song single release:
@walternate Song was written by Nina, but both Louise and Nina credit it to what you described (and it has nothing at all to do with abortion). Here's from an interview from Radio.com (June 17, 2014) for the 20-year commemorative anniversary of the song single release:
Nina Gordon: "No, it’s not true! I haven’t heard that one. I thought you were going to say something way scarier. [laughs] Many songs, when I was writing early on, were inspired by William Blake. But “Seether” I don’t think was. It’s possible that the idea of the “seether,” a character, a made-up person…I did...
Nina Gordon: "No, it’s not true! I haven’t heard that one. I thought you were going to say something way scarier. [laughs] Many songs, when I was writing early on, were inspired by William Blake. But “Seether” I don’t think was. It’s possible that the idea of the “seether,” a character, a made-up person…I did love how in Blake’s work, he would just come up with these mythical character names, like Dr. Seuss or even Prince. So it is possible that the character or even creature could’ve been inspired by the Blake-ian tendency to do that.
I had a really strong desire to hurt somebody. I had this vision of taking a person’s face and scraping it on the sidewalk. And it was very disturbing, this vision. And I saw the person’s face looking back at me after I had done that, looking back at me like “How could you do this to me?” with outrage. And I was really terrified of that instinct in me to want to hurt someone like that physically. So I thought, oh my god, I’m seething with this anger, this violence, and this desire to do something really awful to somebody. So I thought about seething, and I thought I’m gonna write about the “seether,” this internal rage in me."
Louise Post: "That’s all in there too! Nina didn’t set out to write a feminist song or song with feminist content, but that is what was inherent in the song. I guess to go a little deeper with it, she and I grew up the ways we grew up. We had some relationships with people in our families…where we had a lot of anger and rage that was boiling under the surface that we really had to get out artistically and creatively. And I think “Seether” represented that coming of age for us, coming out of the closet creatively and beginning to express ourselves as young women."
Personally, I always felt this song perfectly described when a woman (speaking about myself mostly, but could be other women too) is menstrual and uncontrollably angry and feels little self-control over her own emotional outbursts. That was how I always interpreted Seether.
I think it comes from when you're seething with anger and lose control. You're so angry that you can't control your own actions, the person who's in control is "the seether". There's a girl who lives inside us all called the seether and she comes out when we're mad, even if we try to stop her.
I like the line from "Volcano Girls" - "the seether's Louise" - because my name's Louise and I get that way sometimes.
@Lougolas There is no doubt that is the A-line story of the song. But Nina has specifically mentioned that the whole album is largely about young women discovering sexuality and power. I think many of the interpretations attached to the song are valid. Even if not completely consciously intended by the author, if that is the case. That's kind of how poetry works.
@Lougolas There is no doubt that is the A-line story of the song. But Nina has specifically mentioned that the whole album is largely about young women discovering sexuality and power. I think many of the interpretations attached to the song are valid. Even if not completely consciously intended by the author, if that is the case. That's kind of how poetry works.
It may not have been intentional on their part, but there's also another very interesting connection with this song. The word 'seether' is derived from and related to the Old Norse word 'seiðr' (pronounced 'SAY-ther'), which is basically the shamanic mystical tradition of Northern Germanic heathenry and was traditionally practiced by women. A seiðu is a practitioner of seiðr, and that word is also related via their common Indo-European origins to 'saddhu', the Sanskrit word designating a 'holy man' in India. So the way 'seether' is described in this song is very closely descriptive of the energy-states experienced by someone practicing seiðr. 'Boiling water' and 'seething' are also ideas used by the South African !Kung tribe ('bushmen') to describe their trance-energy state achieved by ecstatic dancing. It can't be fought, it boils up within you, is both calm/healing but also powerful and dangerous (analogous to kundalini or "serpent fire"). Try to push it down but you can't - also this is the root of language itself, speaking being a manifestation of that very same energy opening up the throat chakra. And in the song video, many of the images - especially all the cats! - are also very symbolic and indicative of this. It's that ultra-wild, seething, raging, feline, serpent, Kali energy. Absolutely brilliant song imo.
Seether is neither a good or bad song.
Seether is neither a good or bad song.
@smallpebble You nailed it. Thanks.
@smallpebble You nailed it. Thanks.
@smallpebble oh it’s female Kali energy for sure!
@smallpebble oh it’s female Kali energy for sure!
angry song
this is the first veruca salt song i ever heard. immediately afterward i died, literally. when they brought me back to life, this was my favorite song.
Well, that's a lie by either Walternate, or Louise, because Louise didn't write the song, Nina did. And Nina said in a recent interview with Spin that she wrote it after her friend got pregnant and failed at trying to give her self an abortion, and couldn't afford to have it done professionally. So, there you go.
Right... Well, I don't really get this song. Anyone want to help explain?
the seethers louise.....
Veruca Salt rocks, and this song is awesome. Wish it made sense to me though. lol
no its not.....
It's amazing how many people fall for the trolls. They make up shit at interviews to mess with the fans. Isn't that obvious? It's about getting mad. "YOU" do not have some deep insight to prove you are smarter than everyone else. Now stop the BS.