“5am
Friday morning
Thursday night
Far from sleep
I'm still up and driving
Can't go home
Obviously
So I'll just change direction
Cause they'll soon know where I live
And I wanna live”
She starts the song the morning after the incident. Regardless of the lack of sleep, she keeps driving in order to lose the rapists, even though they may be at home, or driving home. Her driving around in order to lose the rapists isn’t literal; rather, she is still running away from this incident in her mind. She cannot just forget about it, and physically trying to get away as far as possible is one coping mechanism and natural reaction. Fight or flight-obviously she lost the fight, so she is flying away in order to stay safe. Paranoia plays a role here. Although the rapists are not seeking out 5am Friday morning to rape her again, she cannot help but feel it may happen again. If they did it again, she would not be able to cope, and therefore may resort to suicide as a way out.
“Got a full tank and some chips
It was me and a gun
And a man on my back
And I sang "holy holy" as he buttoned down his pants
You can laugh
It's kind of funny, things you think
At times like these
Like I haven't seen Barbados
So I must get out of this”
She can drive for hours and hours, as long as she can get away from them. The gun can be seen as both literal and figurative. If they rape her again, she’ll kill them or herself. Also, the gun can be seen as a phallic symbol, a symbol of power the man had over her, destroying her spirit during the violent act. Her mind wanders to Barbados, a place she has never been to. Yet anywhere is better than being raped, so Barbados serves as the place she must escape to so she can be free.
“Yes I wore a slinky red thing
Does that mean I should spread
For you, your friends, your father, Mr. Ed”
Thinking that her sex appeal was the trigger for the rape is normal for people who are victims of rape; they tend to think it was their fault for a time. Since she is singing about this the morning after, she knows that it wasn’t, but at the time, she may have regretted wearing that red dress.
”Me and a gun
And a man
On my back
But I haven't seen Barbados
So I must get out of this”
Escape equals freedom.
”Me and Jesus a few years back
Used to hang and he said
"It's your choice babe just remember
I don't think you'll be back in 3 days time
So you choose well"
Tell me what's right
Is it my right to be on my stomach
of Fred's Seville”
The irony in this situation is that she never did have a choice. What he said was a mockery.
”Me and a gun
And a man
On my back
But I haven't seen Barbados
So I must get out of this”
”And do you know Carolina
Where the biscuits are soft and sweet
These things go through you head
When there's a man on your back
And you're pushed flat on your stomach
It's not a classic cadillac”
Again, her mind wanders to better things. This is a normal reaction when enduring a traumatic experience. The biscuits mentioned above echo comfort, something familiar, unlike the man on her back.
”Me and a gun
and a man
On my back
But I haven't seen Barbados
So I must get out of this”
“5am Friday morning Thursday night Far from sleep I'm still up and driving Can't go home Obviously So I'll just change direction Cause they'll soon know where I live And I wanna live”
She starts the song the morning after the incident. Regardless of the lack of sleep, she keeps driving in order to lose the rapists, even though they may be at home, or driving home. Her driving around in order to lose the rapists isn’t literal; rather, she is still running away from this incident in her mind. She cannot just forget about it, and physically trying to get away as far as possible is one coping mechanism and natural reaction. Fight or flight-obviously she lost the fight, so she is flying away in order to stay safe. Paranoia plays a role here. Although the rapists are not seeking out 5am Friday morning to rape her again, she cannot help but feel it may happen again. If they did it again, she would not be able to cope, and therefore may resort to suicide as a way out.
“Got a full tank and some chips It was me and a gun And a man on my back And I sang "holy holy" as he buttoned down his pants You can laugh It's kind of funny, things you think At times like these Like I haven't seen Barbados So I must get out of this”
She can drive for hours and hours, as long as she can get away from them. The gun can be seen as both literal and figurative. If they rape her again, she’ll kill them or herself. Also, the gun can be seen as a phallic symbol, a symbol of power the man had over her, destroying her spirit during the violent act. Her mind wanders to Barbados, a place she has never been to. Yet anywhere is better than being raped, so Barbados serves as the place she must escape to so she can be free.
“Yes I wore a slinky red thing Does that mean I should spread For you, your friends, your father, Mr. Ed”
Thinking that her sex appeal was the trigger for the rape is normal for people who are victims of rape; they tend to think it was their fault for a time. Since she is singing about this the morning after, she knows that it wasn’t, but at the time, she may have regretted wearing that red dress.
”Me and a gun And a man On my back But I haven't seen Barbados So I must get out of this”
Escape equals freedom.
”Me and Jesus a few years back Used to hang and he said "It's your choice babe just remember I don't think you'll be back in 3 days time So you choose well" Tell me what's right Is it my right to be on my stomach of Fred's Seville”
The irony in this situation is that she never did have a choice. What he said was a mockery.
”Me and a gun And a man On my back But I haven't seen Barbados So I must get out of this”
”And do you know Carolina Where the biscuits are soft and sweet These things go through you head When there's a man on your back And you're pushed flat on your stomach It's not a classic cadillac”
Again, her mind wanders to better things. This is a normal reaction when enduring a traumatic experience. The biscuits mentioned above echo comfort, something familiar, unlike the man on her back.
”Me and a gun and a man On my back But I haven't seen Barbados So I must get out of this”