This song is very literal. There aren't many veiled messages, just a lot of pulse-words that are meant to deliver the meaning with little else. Imagine being in a long-term relationship for quite some time, and then it ends, and you are left to your own devices, leading your own life apart from them (especially with the aspect of being a "tough girl" and not crying).. she says she comes home from work or whatever on her own, no one has attempted to contact her all day, she pretends to be busy anyway as if it doesn't matter that no one is trying to see her, order some take-out, watch TV all night (informercials = pay TV...), and then wake up alone only to repeat the process. She says it quite literally that it's agony to be so alone with so many standards to uphold, to look strong and tough, to look unbothered by a major event in her life, and then finally just admitting that despite all the make-up and smiles and pretending to be something, that she is in pain and her heart is breaking.
There is a saying, and a song by Fergie, "big girls don't cry"... this is saying exactly the opposite, that it doesn't matter how old you are, if it hurts, you will feel it, and it is okay to cry.
She's stuck in a perpetual loop of being expected to remain strong, look pretty, sit up straight, don't cry, and not being able to do it, seemingly resulting in a public breakdown because she has been hurt and by someone she loves/loved and she is lonely.
Sia also wrote the song Pretty Hurts by Beyonce, and if you compare the lyrics to this song with that one, it's almost like they could be counterparts to the same story, most likely direct experiences from her life.
This song is very literal. There aren't many veiled messages, just a lot of pulse-words that are meant to deliver the meaning with little else. Imagine being in a long-term relationship for quite some time, and then it ends, and you are left to your own devices, leading your own life apart from them (especially with the aspect of being a "tough girl" and not crying).. she says she comes home from work or whatever on her own, no one has attempted to contact her all day, she pretends to be busy anyway as if it doesn't matter that no one is trying to see her, order some take-out, watch TV all night (informercials = pay TV...), and then wake up alone only to repeat the process. She says it quite literally that it's agony to be so alone with so many standards to uphold, to look strong and tough, to look unbothered by a major event in her life, and then finally just admitting that despite all the make-up and smiles and pretending to be something, that she is in pain and her heart is breaking.
There is a saying, and a song by Fergie, "big girls don't cry"... this is saying exactly the opposite, that it doesn't matter how old you are, if it hurts, you will feel it, and it is okay to cry.
She's stuck in a perpetual loop of being expected to remain strong, look pretty, sit up straight, don't cry, and not being able to do it, seemingly resulting in a public breakdown because she has been hurt and by someone she loves/loved and she is lonely.
Sia also wrote the song Pretty Hurts by Beyonce, and if you compare the lyrics to this song with that one, it's almost like they could be counterparts to the same story, most likely direct experiences from her life.