Summary: I think this song is about a loss of independence during the span of a relationship. She becomes submissive and docile, purposeless and depressed after a while of just letting things be when things didn't go right. This song is just an expression of how wrong she'd been in thinking that that was the average way -- the right way.
"Used to be a major scale,
But the melody went stale,"
The two lines above seem to refer to the love the two once had. It used to be all-consuming -- a harmony -- but it is no longer pleasant to hear, not a 'melody' that could soothe her head and heart.
"Musical cacophony let,
Insy Winsy spider free.:
Here, it carries on with music symbolizing their love. While in love, it's like a passionate whirlwind, one never thinks but merely does, it's either a fury of emotion consuming them or the deep, impacting movements of molten lava. But -- with either type -- this love has ebbed away, leaving her to think about their 'love.' The Insy Winsy spider is free, symbolizing 2 things: the loss of her purpose (the spiders role in the story was to get out of the spout, now it's done that, then what's next?) and the revelation of her loss of purpose and independence.
"You're a rich little boy,
Who's had to work for his toys,"
She describes him nearly scornfully, but notably still announces the remainder of feeling for him -- she is his toy, but he worked for her. She liked him 'courting' her and misses it.
You've got all the sensibilities, oh,
Of an upper class guy.
He's grown cold and condescending and she is almost blaming him for her loss of self. She is basically saying "You made me like this by treating me inferior, so I played the part."
No, no I'm not your little slave,
No I don't twist and turn that way,
She's fed up with being the inferior one in the relationship. Now she will not let this role become hers till death.
Only got bad things to say,
You're always asking what is up, up with me,
I think she is saying that HE has only bad things to say but then asks why she's upset. She is pointing out the irony of him asking why she's depressed when he is the very reason.
Could never tell you what happened,
The day I turned seventeen,
This refers to my previous statement, which is that he is the reason she's depressed but she can't tell him that. I'm assuming that 17 is the year they met and when it all began.
The rise of a king and the fall of a queen,
Oh seventeen,
Seventeen.
Her husband is the king and she was a queen. I think this symbolizes her loss of independence in her own world. She no longer rules herself and, ever since the day they met -- 17, she has been bowing to him.
Oh, you were embarrassed of me,
'Cause I used my tongue freely,
Bet you wish I couldn't speak,
'Cause when I do, you know,
I tell you why you appear weak.
I think this part refers to a time just after she realized that she had lost her independence as a woman to him because it seems as though he is embarrassed by her sudden change in behavior and sudden disdain for him (as she blames him for her being like this).
You want a hassle free life?
Go get your upper class wife,
She refers to him becoming who he is now and who she became after her loss of self. He became rich and condescending because he didn't want worries. Now that he's living luxuriously, she's unhappy and decides to abandon his perfect version of her and live as she wants to be. She doesn't like that they both forgot who they were and are.
She's got all the personality, oh
Of a lemon that has been.
Truly sucked dry.
The relationship with him has turned her bitter and made her lose her purpose. What use is a lemon if you cannot use it for making lemonade?
You teach me how to behave,
I felt you question the way,
I was brought up as a baby,
Well you don't know fuck about my family.
This is a reference to their loss of intimacy. He knows nothing about her and instead of trying to find out about her or why she's become like this, he tries to train her. The baby eludes to the naive self she'd been at 17, but she becomes defensive because she misses that self and the life that brought her up to be that way.
Could never tell you what happened
The day I turned seventeen
He's the reason she's depressed. Her life was doomed since the day that they met -- 17 -- but she can't tell him that.
The rise of a king and the fall of a queen
Oh seventeen (seventeen),
Oh seventeen,
Oh seventeen,
The rise of the king and the fall of a queen,
Oh seventeen.
The rise of him ruling her world and her loss of independence and self-sufficiency when they met.
Never felt like a princess,
I used to kill myself in this dress,
She reflects on her initial reactions to the docile role she'd begun to assume: she hated it and never felt like the happy, pampered up snob that she appeared to be. But now she is one -- to her dismay -- as is made obvious the distress and hopelessness in her tone as she sings.
Thought (the lyrics are wrong) it was just how things,
Were meant to be,
Oh seventeen,
Seventeen.
The only reason she became like this was because she thought love was sacrificing things for one another but in the end, the day they met brought her to her doom. Unintentionally, she'd begun to believe the lie she made so he could be happy and may have destroyed their love in the process.
Summary: I think this song is about a loss of independence during the span of a relationship. She becomes submissive and docile, purposeless and depressed after a while of just letting things be when things didn't go right. This song is just an expression of how wrong she'd been in thinking that that was the average way -- the right way.
"Used to be a major scale, But the melody went stale,"
The two lines above seem to refer to the love the two once had. It used to be all-consuming -- a harmony -- but it is no longer pleasant to hear, not a 'melody' that could soothe her head and heart.
"Musical cacophony let, Insy Winsy spider free.:
Here, it carries on with music symbolizing their love. While in love, it's like a passionate whirlwind, one never thinks but merely does, it's either a fury of emotion consuming them or the deep, impacting movements of molten lava. But -- with either type -- this love has ebbed away, leaving her to think about their 'love.' The Insy Winsy spider is free, symbolizing 2 things: the loss of her purpose (the spiders role in the story was to get out of the spout, now it's done that, then what's next?) and the revelation of her loss of purpose and independence.
"You're a rich little boy, Who's had to work for his toys,"
She describes him nearly scornfully, but notably still announces the remainder of feeling for him -- she is his toy, but he worked for her. She liked him 'courting' her and misses it.
You've got all the sensibilities, oh, Of an upper class guy.
He's grown cold and condescending and she is almost blaming him for her loss of self. She is basically saying "You made me like this by treating me inferior, so I played the part."
No, no I'm not your little slave, No I don't twist and turn that way,
She's fed up with being the inferior one in the relationship. Now she will not let this role become hers till death.
Only got bad things to say, You're always asking what is up, up with me,
I think she is saying that HE has only bad things to say but then asks why she's upset. She is pointing out the irony of him asking why she's depressed when he is the very reason.
Could never tell you what happened, The day I turned seventeen,
This refers to my previous statement, which is that he is the reason she's depressed but she can't tell him that. I'm assuming that 17 is the year they met and when it all began.
The rise of a king and the fall of a queen, Oh seventeen, Seventeen.
Her husband is the king and she was a queen. I think this symbolizes her loss of independence in her own world. She no longer rules herself and, ever since the day they met -- 17, she has been bowing to him.
Oh, you were embarrassed of me, 'Cause I used my tongue freely, Bet you wish I couldn't speak, 'Cause when I do, you know, I tell you why you appear weak.
I think this part refers to a time just after she realized that she had lost her independence as a woman to him because it seems as though he is embarrassed by her sudden change in behavior and sudden disdain for him (as she blames him for her being like this).
You want a hassle free life? Go get your upper class wife,
She refers to him becoming who he is now and who she became after her loss of self. He became rich and condescending because he didn't want worries. Now that he's living luxuriously, she's unhappy and decides to abandon his perfect version of her and live as she wants to be. She doesn't like that they both forgot who they were and are.
She's got all the personality, oh Of a lemon that has been. Truly sucked dry.
The relationship with him has turned her bitter and made her lose her purpose. What use is a lemon if you cannot use it for making lemonade?
You teach me how to behave, I felt you question the way, I was brought up as a baby, Well you don't know fuck about my family.
This is a reference to their loss of intimacy. He knows nothing about her and instead of trying to find out about her or why she's become like this, he tries to train her. The baby eludes to the naive self she'd been at 17, but she becomes defensive because she misses that self and the life that brought her up to be that way.
Could never tell you what happened The day I turned seventeen
He's the reason she's depressed. Her life was doomed since the day that they met -- 17 -- but she can't tell him that.
The rise of a king and the fall of a queen Oh seventeen (seventeen), Oh seventeen, Oh seventeen, The rise of the king and the fall of a queen, Oh seventeen.
The rise of him ruling her world and her loss of independence and self-sufficiency when they met.
Never felt like a princess, I used to kill myself in this dress,
She reflects on her initial reactions to the docile role she'd begun to assume: she hated it and never felt like the happy, pampered up snob that she appeared to be. But now she is one -- to her dismay -- as is made obvious the distress and hopelessness in her tone as she sings.
Thought (the lyrics are wrong) it was just how things, Were meant to be, Oh seventeen, Seventeen.
The only reason she became like this was because she thought love was sacrificing things for one another but in the end, the day they met brought her to her doom. Unintentionally, she'd begun to believe the lie she made so he could be happy and may have destroyed their love in the process.
-K