Pretty Dress

this song is so beautiful. the first time i heard this song, i got goosebumps. this song reminds me of my childhood. my entire life, i was always so ecentric, so different.. kids always made fun of me. but i've left my small town and live in a big city across the country. the people i was in school with are now jealous & wondering what i'm up to. this song fits my situation perfectly..

pretty sure it's 'ribbons' not 'red buns'

don't like this song at all but love Rosies other tracks. just wish she would sing more happier songs but i am awaiting her latest cd at the mo so fingers crossed??!!

To me, it feels that while Rosie is offering some sort of consolation to this imaginary girl, who is obviously ridiculed by peers, she is also trying to make her fit in and change ("Put your red dress/boots on, and they'll wave to you").

Maybe Rosie plays the part of this little girl's mother. The red dress/boots show her being kinda materialistic, maybe?

It definitely sounds motherly. She loves her daughter and tells her to not worry about rejection or ridicule. It's only temporary. She tells her to be the beautiful girl that she is and not to be like the ones bringing so much negatively and judgment in the world. She fills her daughter with hope and promise that one day people will recognize her for her grace and poise.

I can agree with Onora and redasblue. I think it was someone who was close to this girl, telling her to be strong because in the future, she'll be better than the people that made fun of her when they were children. Her peers will want to be her friend (they'll wave to you), and because she endured ridicule as a young girl, she won't make fun of others. Hopefully. That's just how I think of it.

I think there's a motherly tone here too (although maybe that's just because I'm a mother.) Every parent feels like they want to protect their child from the cruelty of other kids, and wishes that all nice little girls could grow up to be homecoming queen.

There are lots of allusions to fairy tales too - the "pretty dress" she's putting on for the dance reminds me of Cinderella ("all the pretty princes will see you"), and the "red coat" and "walking in the woods" could reference Little Red Riding Hood. Both stories about the ways girls are victimized by a scary outside world, and what we have to put ourselves through to gain acceptance.

I always thought of it being motherly, but for some reason I always thought it was her singing as if she was singing to her younger self.

I don't really know what gave me that impression though.

This song makes me feel so......chilled. I don't know how to explain it......Goosebumps. So beautiful.