Thumbelina Lyrics

Lyric discussion by ScottEF 

Cover art for Thumbelina lyrics by Pretenders

This song surely references both the film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) and the follow-up TV series Alice (1976-1985); both feature a mother of a young son whose husband dies in a traffic accident. She then moves from New Mexico to Tucson (New Jersey to Phoenix in the series) to take a waitressing job and establish a new life.

"Thumbelina" is a story by Hans Christian Anderson about a woman the size of an adult person's thumb (based on the older English story of "Tom Thumb.") The titular character is threatened less by larger creatures than by prospective partnerships/marriages to a toad, stag beetle, and mole, all of whom are unappealing mates from whom she must escape.