This song is about a girl who uses and destroys men. Billy's lyrics are really poetic, and while they seem to be a bunch of random images, he's actually trying to say specific things. However, we all have different takes on what he means. Here's what I think:
"Clung to the sweater from the day you were born":
The girl attaches to men and uses them, as she has her whole life.
"Never knew better, that's what you swore":
The girl says she doesn't think she's doing anything wrong. To me, this implies that the girl knows that she's doing wrong, and doesn't care.
"Mother heard you cause the walls were thin":
I think this is about the girl having sex in her house as she seduces guys, and her mom hears it.
"In saturnine, sweetness, and horatio fin":
Hah I have no idea what all this means. Saturnine is obviously the song from the Machina II EPs, and I think its about a person of the same name. I heard somewhere that "saturnine" is an astrological term in which the planet saturn entrances people; perhaps Saturnine is the name of the girl who Billy is singing about.
"No boy could spell you out":
Even though this girl seduced lots of guys, none of them ever suspected her intentions.
"In the grass at night
Beneath the stars
You grew right past the streets where you were raised
Sneakin' out early to a secret place":
I think this is also about sex.
"Like a hole in the wall":
I'll get to the part about the hole in the wall at the end.
"Into the bed you hang your sling
To watch your man as he seeks relief":
The guys that the girl sleeps with are tired and world-weary, and they sleep with her to "seek relief". However, she uses them for her puposes and then leaves them.
"You cut out his heart and watch him die
So we can know you, and that you're alive
As the hole in the wall
You are the hole in the wall":
She doesn't actually kill the guys she sleeps with, but she causes them pain. These lines explain why the girl hurts these guys; it's almost like she's doing it for sport, or out of a whim, like a kid might tear down an anthill just because he can. It's interesting to note that when Billy sings these lines, he doesn't really sound angry. This isn't an angry song, its more resigned and sad.
"No one can know your song
In kisses and noise
Now you belong to them all":
I think that, in a way, these lines say that the girl is only one of many other women who use men selfishly. Billy says that the girl 'sings the same tune' as other women who seduce men; now, she belongs in the same group as these women.
"Awake to the dawn and scratch your eyes
Light the prayer candles that you remind to
Send you a boy that you could waste
A little piece of heaven to set you straight
Through the hole in the wall
You are the hole in the wall":
This verse is interesting; it discusses how the girl wants to ruin boys in spiritual terms. The girl prays ("lights her prayer candles") and asks ("reminds the candles") for a boy to waste. The entire verse is pretty ironic, because when people usually pray, they are asking for good things to happen, not for bad things to happen to other people. It's a creative way for Billy to show how bad of a person this girl is.
The rest of the song I don't really understand, sorry. As for the repitition of "the holes in the wall", well, I don't understand that so much either. In a lot of his music, Billy Corgan takes a random object and makes it a symbol for something specific. For example, in Muzzle, he calls his relationship with the girl he loves "the world", and when they broke up, he "knew the silence of the world". I can't help but think that the holes in the wall is some kind of metaphor, but I can't figure it out. Well hope this helped people.
This song is about a girl who uses and destroys men. Billy's lyrics are really poetic, and while they seem to be a bunch of random images, he's actually trying to say specific things. However, we all have different takes on what he means. Here's what I think:
"Clung to the sweater from the day you were born": The girl attaches to men and uses them, as she has her whole life.
"Never knew better, that's what you swore": The girl says she doesn't think she's doing anything wrong. To me, this implies that the girl knows that she's doing wrong, and doesn't care.
"Mother heard you cause the walls were thin": I think this is about the girl having sex in her house as she seduces guys, and her mom hears it.
"In saturnine, sweetness, and horatio fin": Hah I have no idea what all this means. Saturnine is obviously the song from the Machina II EPs, and I think its about a person of the same name. I heard somewhere that "saturnine" is an astrological term in which the planet saturn entrances people; perhaps Saturnine is the name of the girl who Billy is singing about.
"No boy could spell you out": Even though this girl seduced lots of guys, none of them ever suspected her intentions.
"In the grass at night Beneath the stars You grew right past the streets where you were raised Sneakin' out early to a secret place": I think this is also about sex.
"Like a hole in the wall": I'll get to the part about the hole in the wall at the end.
"Into the bed you hang your sling To watch your man as he seeks relief": The guys that the girl sleeps with are tired and world-weary, and they sleep with her to "seek relief". However, she uses them for her puposes and then leaves them.
"You cut out his heart and watch him die So we can know you, and that you're alive As the hole in the wall You are the hole in the wall": She doesn't actually kill the guys she sleeps with, but she causes them pain. These lines explain why the girl hurts these guys; it's almost like she's doing it for sport, or out of a whim, like a kid might tear down an anthill just because he can. It's interesting to note that when Billy sings these lines, he doesn't really sound angry. This isn't an angry song, its more resigned and sad.
"No one can know your song In kisses and noise Now you belong to them all": I think that, in a way, these lines say that the girl is only one of many other women who use men selfishly. Billy says that the girl 'sings the same tune' as other women who seduce men; now, she belongs in the same group as these women.
"Awake to the dawn and scratch your eyes Light the prayer candles that you remind to Send you a boy that you could waste A little piece of heaven to set you straight Through the hole in the wall You are the hole in the wall": This verse is interesting; it discusses how the girl wants to ruin boys in spiritual terms. The girl prays ("lights her prayer candles") and asks ("reminds the candles") for a boy to waste. The entire verse is pretty ironic, because when people usually pray, they are asking for good things to happen, not for bad things to happen to other people. It's a creative way for Billy to show how bad of a person this girl is.
The rest of the song I don't really understand, sorry. As for the repitition of "the holes in the wall", well, I don't understand that so much either. In a lot of his music, Billy Corgan takes a random object and makes it a symbol for something specific. For example, in Muzzle, he calls his relationship with the girl he loves "the world", and when they broke up, he "knew the silence of the world". I can't help but think that the holes in the wall is some kind of metaphor, but I can't figure it out. Well hope this helped people.