To me, this song has a lot of references to children born with various intersex conditions and the way doctor's approach it. It's a really crude interpritation, but I see a lot of physical representations of genetalia in the lyrics. Ex: "You're quite a stubborn bud". The flower that refuses to bloom can be seen as the genetalia that remains ambiguous.
It seems like either the doctor or the parents is speaking, saying "We'll make a man out of you yet" and meaning, we're going to decide your sex for you. This is especially evident in the lines "The insides are all useless, but the rest is fertile soil. I'll take the belt from off the hook and watch the garden grow." The insides will never work the way they're supposed to because it's possible the child has either non-functioning or female organs, but they've built a working phallus and that's "as good as it will get". By the same token, the child may have a female mentality, but it was, until recently, believed that that could be beaten out of them with very harsh therapy.
To me, this song has a lot of references to children born with various intersex conditions and the way doctor's approach it. It's a really crude interpritation, but I see a lot of physical representations of genetalia in the lyrics. Ex: "You're quite a stubborn bud". The flower that refuses to bloom can be seen as the genetalia that remains ambiguous.
It seems like either the doctor or the parents is speaking, saying "We'll make a man out of you yet" and meaning, we're going to decide your sex for you. This is especially evident in the lines "The insides are all useless, but the rest is fertile soil. I'll take the belt from off the hook and watch the garden grow." The insides will never work the way they're supposed to because it's possible the child has either non-functioning or female organs, but they've built a working phallus and that's "as good as it will get". By the same token, the child may have a female mentality, but it was, until recently, believed that that could be beaten out of them with very harsh therapy.