I may be totally off the 'mark' (sorry for pun) here, but this song seems to be about herion (or other needle drug) addiction. The first two stanzas of the lyrics focus purely on her arms, and her emotional disconnection from them. If we are sticking to the herion interpretation, this could also refer to the fact that herion junkies 'use up' their arms with injections, leaving track marks that forces them to inject the stuff into the back of their knees, or into their eyes, or other unpleasant places. The "I want to get it out" refers to her wanting to be clean of her addiction, to remove the chemical dependency from her system.
The song may also be about an abusive relationship (thematically very similar to drug addiction, a vicious love/hate cycle). The "I wish every time he touched me left a mark" is so hauntingly saddening, the wish for deformity so that people would see what a mess you are. The tragic thing about drug addiction and abusive relationships is that sometimes they can be so hidden that by the time friends and family find out about them it can be too late to help. EMA seems to be begging for some physical presence for her mental anguish so it can be better identified. Absolutely heartbreaking song.
I may be totally off the 'mark' (sorry for pun) here, but this song seems to be about herion (or other needle drug) addiction. The first two stanzas of the lyrics focus purely on her arms, and her emotional disconnection from them. If we are sticking to the herion interpretation, this could also refer to the fact that herion junkies 'use up' their arms with injections, leaving track marks that forces them to inject the stuff into the back of their knees, or into their eyes, or other unpleasant places. The "I want to get it out" refers to her wanting to be clean of her addiction, to remove the chemical dependency from her system.
The song may also be about an abusive relationship (thematically very similar to drug addiction, a vicious love/hate cycle). The "I wish every time he touched me left a mark" is so hauntingly saddening, the wish for deformity so that people would see what a mess you are. The tragic thing about drug addiction and abusive relationships is that sometimes they can be so hidden that by the time friends and family find out about them it can be too late to help. EMA seems to be begging for some physical presence for her mental anguish so it can be better identified. Absolutely heartbreaking song.