Despite the furious guitar, I don't actually hear much anger or bitterness here, which may be why this song has always moved me. Not that I don't enjoy plenty of angry and bitter songs (and "Sick of Food" strikes me as the classic example from this album), but I think Eitzel is going for something a bit different here.
I think the singer simply wants to help a friend who has fallen into a bad relationship, but he doesn't know how. She loves this guy despite the damage that his mistreatment of her has done to her self-esteem ("he has taken everything"). The singer sees in her what the boyfriend does not, and he's urging her to view herself once again through her own eyes, preferably, or at least his, in a pinch.
Despite the furious guitar, I don't actually hear much anger or bitterness here, which may be why this song has always moved me. Not that I don't enjoy plenty of angry and bitter songs (and "Sick of Food" strikes me as the classic example from this album), but I think Eitzel is going for something a bit different here.
I think the singer simply wants to help a friend who has fallen into a bad relationship, but he doesn't know how. She loves this guy despite the damage that his mistreatment of her has done to her self-esteem ("he has taken everything"). The singer sees in her what the boyfriend does not, and he's urging her to view herself once again through her own eyes, preferably, or at least his, in a pinch.