Sunday, July 5, 2009

Beck - Girl

I saw her, yeah I saw her
with her black tongue tied round the roses
fists pounding on a vending machine
toy diamond ring stuck on her finger
with a noose she could hang from the sun
and put it out with her dark sunglasses
walking crooked down the beach
she spits in the sand where their bones are bleaching
and I know I'm gonna steal her eye
she doesn't even know what's wrong
and I know I'm gonna make her die
take her where her soul belongs
and I know I'm gonna steal her eye
nothing that I wouldn't try
Hey, my cyanide girl
Hey, my cyanide girl
I saw her, yeah I saw her
with her hands tied back and her rags were burning
crawling out from a landfilled life
scrawlin her name upon the ceiling
throw a coin in a fountain of dust
white noise, her ears are ringing
got a ticket for a midnight hanging
throw a bullet from a freight train leaving
and I know I'm gonna steal her eye
she doesn't even know what's wrong
and I know I'm gonna make her die
take her where her soul belong
and I know I'm gonna steal her eye
nothing that I wouldn't try
Hey, my cyanide girl


I love Beck, and I love this song, but while looking up the lyrics i've found that the music completely contrasts the words. The song is very upbeat and happy sounding while the lyrics are pretty creepy. With pepped up beats and a catchy chorus, a first-time listener would probably not notice how dark and sinister the lyrics actually are. While listening, i for one believe the line "my cyanide girl" to be "my sun-eyed girl", also i thought "I know I'm gonna make her die" was actually "I know I'm gonna make her mine".

I feel like this song could be so many different things for the different people who listen to it since it's so ambiguous. One person could just hear it as a poppy summer song to jam out to in the car while another could see that it's about an ex who's life has fallen out and she wants her boyfriend back. Yet, another person could look at it straight forward and see that it's about a stalker torturing a girl and leaving her to die ("with her hands tied back and her rags were burning/crawling out from a landfilled life").


So, whether you hear the pop beats and happy music, or listen to the spine-chilling lyrics of Beck's Girl, I hope you find some kind of meaning or enjoyment out of this awesome song, because I know I did.

2 comments:

  1. I never listened to the lyrics of this song, either and didn't think that the words were so sinister! It's such an upbeat and catchy song but it doesn't surprise me that Beck writes contrastingly dark lyrics to the cheery melody.

    I always thought the video was neat - I love those Mad Magazine-like folds that happens all over the place. I'm guessing that he wants to showcase life as being ambiguous as well by doing that; it goes well with the song's contrasts!

    (Btw, thank you for following me! I really appreciate you visiting the blog, especially since it gives me a heads-up on yours!)

    ReplyDelete
  2. you're blog is really cool. no need to thank me for following :)

    and i totally agree with you about the video!

    ReplyDelete