I agree with Kimface that it's mainly aimed at her mom. The song is asking what she needs to do to make her mom happy, as her mom never makes her feel like she's good enough.
(I'm going to assume the song is auto-biographical)
'This is my Vietnam
I'm at war
Life keeps on dropping bombs
And I keep score'
Pink feels like she's at war with her mom. Life keeps on 'dropping bombs' on her... and she has to try to calmly deal with it... to just keep score. (Although this score has now added up to her realising her mom is a lunatic, and writing a song about it to fight back)
'Mama was a lunatic
She liked to push my buttons
She said I wasn't good enough
But I guess I wasn't trying'
The reason for the constant fighting with her mom is that her mom always tried to annoy her, and make her angry. Nothing pink did was ever good enough for her mom, and Pink always put this down to not trying hard enough.
'Never liked school that much
They tried to teach me better
But I just wasn't hearing it
Because I thought I was already pretty clever'
The thing her mom would have nagged most about would be school- which Pink didn't try hard at because she didn't like it. School could see she was having problems, but she wasn't having any of it because she didn't think she needed their help.
'What do you expect from me?
What am I not giving you?
What could I do for you
To make me okay in your eyes? '
She's asking what she needs to do to be accepted in her crazy mother's eyes.
Now back to the beginning..
'Daddy was a soldier
He taught me about freedom
Peace and all the great things
That we take advantage of'
Her father isn't around much... he's a soldier. But one of the things he taught her was freedom. Something she doesn't have with her mom, as nothing she ever does is good enough for her mom.. she's always trying to be ok in her mom's eyes, and so doesn't feel free to just be. Another thing he taught her was peace... again, she doesn't have this with her mom, as she's always 'at war' with her. We take advantage of these great things- until we know what it's like to be without it. Her dad knows what it's like to be without it, because he's a soldier. She knows what it's like to be without it, because of her mother. But her mother takes advantage of it.
'Once I fed the homeless
I'll never forget
The look upon their faces as I
Treated them with respect'
Because she's learnt about peace and freedom and respect through her father, and the importance of having them through not having them, she's able to show it to the homeless.. she'll never forget the look on their faces... because, like her, they've never been treated with respect before either.
I agree with Kimface that it's mainly aimed at her mom. The song is asking what she needs to do to make her mom happy, as her mom never makes her feel like she's good enough.
(I'm going to assume the song is auto-biographical)
'This is my Vietnam I'm at war Life keeps on dropping bombs And I keep score'
Pink feels like she's at war with her mom. Life keeps on 'dropping bombs' on her... and she has to try to calmly deal with it... to just keep score. (Although this score has now added up to her realising her mom is a lunatic, and writing a song about it to fight back)
'Mama was a lunatic She liked to push my buttons She said I wasn't good enough But I guess I wasn't trying'
The reason for the constant fighting with her mom is that her mom always tried to annoy her, and make her angry. Nothing pink did was ever good enough for her mom, and Pink always put this down to not trying hard enough.
'Never liked school that much They tried to teach me better But I just wasn't hearing it Because I thought I was already pretty clever'
The thing her mom would have nagged most about would be school- which Pink didn't try hard at because she didn't like it. School could see she was having problems, but she wasn't having any of it because she didn't think she needed their help.
'What do you expect from me? What am I not giving you? What could I do for you To make me okay in your eyes? '
She's asking what she needs to do to be accepted in her crazy mother's eyes.
Now back to the beginning..
'Daddy was a soldier He taught me about freedom Peace and all the great things That we take advantage of'
Her father isn't around much... he's a soldier. But one of the things he taught her was freedom. Something she doesn't have with her mom, as nothing she ever does is good enough for her mom.. she's always trying to be ok in her mom's eyes, and so doesn't feel free to just be. Another thing he taught her was peace... again, she doesn't have this with her mom, as she's always 'at war' with her. We take advantage of these great things- until we know what it's like to be without it. Her dad knows what it's like to be without it, because he's a soldier. She knows what it's like to be without it, because of her mother. But her mother takes advantage of it.
'Once I fed the homeless I'll never forget The look upon their faces as I Treated them with respect'
Because she's learnt about peace and freedom and respect through her father, and the importance of having them through not having them, she's able to show it to the homeless.. she'll never forget the look on their faces... because, like her, they've never been treated with respect before either.