I would agree with rich20b - this is a song about domestic violence, about children who are physically abused and eventually killed, by family members.
It's about a man who, like the 'little girl' (his daughter?), is appalled by man's cruelty. Both the little girl and the man desperately need to believe that the suffering is part of an overall plan for eternal happiness for all of us. But whereas the little girl will accept that there's a heaven, if Grandpa tells her that it's true, the man knows that it's probably not true, and desperately wishes he could believe it ('don't tell that little girl, tell me').
Line 9 ("Grandpa says....") sends chills down my spine. What a brilliant song.
I would agree with rich20b - this is a song about domestic violence, about children who are physically abused and eventually killed, by family members.
It's about a man who, like the 'little girl' (his daughter?), is appalled by man's cruelty. Both the little girl and the man desperately need to believe that the suffering is part of an overall plan for eternal happiness for all of us. But whereas the little girl will accept that there's a heaven, if Grandpa tells her that it's true, the man knows that it's probably not true, and desperately wishes he could believe it ('don't tell that little girl, tell me').
Line 9 ("Grandpa says....") sends chills down my spine. What a brilliant song.