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The Dresden Dolls Lyrics


"BEST BAND IN BOSTON" - Boston Magazine "Best of Boston"
2003

"BOSTON'S HOTTEST ACT" - Improper Bostonian, June 2003

"BOSTON'S MOST ORIGINAL ACT IN AGES" - Rollingstone.com
Dec. 2003

"They're ahead of their time, they don't sound like anyone
else, and they're going to achieve greatness." - Oedipus
(Vice President of Alternative Music, INFINITY BROADCASTING
NETWORK), in THE BOSTON GLOBE, 9/26/03

"This is the first time I'm writing a review knowing that
the act will be huge." - M. Idov, in PITCHFORK MEDIA,
7/8/2003


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Review about The Dresden Dolls songs
Love to Dresden Dolls | Reviewer: breakherlegs
    ------ About the song Bad Habit performed by The Dresden Dolls

Well, interesting. About biting skin around nails, huh? I never would have even guessed people had that sort of a destructive habit. Very interesting.

Regardless, when I first heard it, I thought 'Well, finally, someone has finally written a decent song about cutting".

And it will always appear that way to me.

I mean, the lines:

"Happiness is just a gash away
When i open a familiar scar
Pain goes shooting like a star
Comfort hasn't failed to follow so far..."

Really? The people who were getting upset with people for thinking it was about cutting, can you blame them with a line like that? Besides, Amanda stated that whilst HER habit is skin-biting, she knows people who cut and allowed the lyrics to relate to cutters.

Most real artists don't mind how you interpret their art, and I believe Amanda to be an artist.

Everyone self harms, by the way. Some methods are just more blatant then others. Just because I split my skin with a razor, does that make this habit worse then someone who destroys their liver/mind with alcohol?

I love this song. <3

Powerful and Intriguing | Reviewer: The White Duke
    ------ About the song Shores Of California performed by The Dresden Dolls

This song really captures something of modern society. It's examination of sexualization of culture and gender stereotypes is really unique, taking shocking images that still smack of the truth to show us the depth of he depravity. In a modern world there's no courtship or affection, just typecast guys wanting to do stereotypical things with typecast girls. It's really very powerful.

Cold War? | Reviewer: Evelyna
    ------ About the song Truce performed by The Dresden Dolls

I don't know whether this is just me, but does anyone see a distinct connection between some of the lyrics in this song to the termoil, fear, suspicion and general strife of the Cold War? For example "We can split Germany right down the middle" directly references the devision of Germany after World War II. To me, the song could also be talking about the breakup between the U.S.S.R and the U.S.A. It was after WWII that the two nations came out as the dominant superpowers, and, for all intents and purposes, divided the majority of the world in their fear driven ideological conflict. The Warsaw Pact and NATO were born as other countries chose sides, and the entire situation spiralled out of control to the point where we were only a hair away from the destruction of the world. That said, I can definitely see the themes of both 9/11 and a bad breakup too. The lovely thing about the Dresden Dolls is that they never write a song with only one meaning.

lyric correction? | Reviewer: Anonymous
    ------ About the song Boston performed by The Dresden Dolls

I don't think "In Eden where you almost pulled your pants down" sounds right but I can't for the life of me make out what she's saying.... However I suspect it's making some reference to a specific place in Boston since the other two choruses do just that in the line after "Right now we're here in Boston."

And please capitalize Downtown Crossing and South End-- those are the proper names of places! =)

Minor corrections for the sheep song... | Reviewer: Anonymous
    ------ About the song The Sheep Song performed by The Dresden Dolls

In my version of the song, which is off the No, Virginia CD, she says

"but i see, a sheep who will not leave" as supposed to 'but i see a sheep that will not leave'

and I'm almost positive she says "Counting by numbers is kinder" not 'cutting'
Counting, in this instance makes more sense, especially because she's talking about animals that are going to be killed.

Not about biting fingernails, Additionally, chill people! | Reviewer: Salaiii
    ------ About the song Bad Habit performed by The Dresden Dolls

It's probably already been said, and I hope not to fuel any more belligerence, but this song has been explained, by Amanda, that it is about her habit of biting the skin around her fingernails. It's true that the song is about that, but music can be interpreted many ways, so if you can relate it to a bad habit that you have, that's AWESOME. It's exactly why the Dresdan Dolls make music--to relate to their listeners.

And I find it rather arrogant that some of the listeners can judge others based on their age and actions. You don't have to be an adult to have depression or sadness, and there is definitely no age criteria for bad habits. Everyone has their issues, and the best thing we can do is realize them and help them through it.

So yes, again, for people who don't want to read the whole thing. Be nice to others, and this song is originally about biting the skin around the fingernails (thus becoming painful when the skin is removed), however it is meant to be interpreted by the listener in their own way.

My... take(s) on it. | Reviewer: Sara
    ------ About the song Half Jack performed by The Dresden Dolls

The way I first heard it was that Jack was just, well, the character (whether it's Amanda herself or not) seeing their father in them too much. I have a very bad relationship with my dad and I actually absolutely hate him and I hate that I can see myself becoming him, and the traits he's passed on to me and all that. At first that's what I heard.

Then I read some of your other theories, internet, and I can see all of them. The one about being hermaphrodite, the one about rape, the father-daughter relationships, all that. There's another too, that I'm thinking.

To be specific the character or POV may be a bigendered or genderqueer person. Half Jack, half... feminine, I guess. Then again, there's also the possibility that this is about someone who has some kind of dissociative personality disorder (multiple personalities) or schizophrenia or the like.

It's very ambiguous, like the character his-or-her-or-it-self.

As someone else has put it, all interpretations are possible. I really... I love the song. It means all and none of these things at the same time, you know? Even without the overanalyzation it's amazing.


punk cabaret.. | Reviewer: katerina
    ------ About the song Girl Anachronism performed by The Dresden Dolls

this song reminds me of girls, being clumsy and not the typicall feminin thing.just like me i guess.it's fucking powerfull.to you all listening to the Dresden Dolls i'm suggesting Kristeen Young also.

Thanks | Reviewer: Kay
    ------ About the song Truce performed by The Dresden Dolls

Death, your review totally helped me understand the song on a whole new level, thank you so much. I'm from New Zealand, where the 9/11 thing wasn't so heavily broadcast, you know nobody from my country was killed or anything, and also I was quite young when it happened, so I didn't immediatley realize this song was full of references to 9/11. So, thank you so much for pointing that out to me.

9/11 | Reviewer: Death
    ------ About the song Truce performed by The Dresden Dolls

As liff said, reading this there are SO many references to 9/11 that none of yall have seen, but this song isn't just multi-layered, its multi-intentioned and filled with double entendres.

"You can take all of the carry-on baggage
I'll trade the saskia jokes for the alphabet language"

-Carry-on baggage. 9/11? Please, of course.
-Alphabet language? 9/11. Arabic, the language of most of the attackers, does not use an alphabet. It uses an abjad script.

"I am the ground zero ex-friend you ordered
Disguised as a hero to get past your borders
I know when I’m wanted, I’ll leave when you ask me to
Mind my own business and speak when I’m spoken to"

-Ground zero, ex-friend? 9/11, ex-friend refers to Saudi Arabia and Egypt/Jordan, the origin countries of the majority attackers.
-Know when I'm wanted, mind my own business, etc? Rules of the attackers in public, lay low and keep generally quiet.

"We'll raise high the white flags and bow heads and shake hands
Declaring the land we're on un-American"

-White flags, un-american? Referring to the war, the divisiveness and separation, and of course surrender of the Muslim population to the racism and hate they were subjected to. A lot of the locations here refer to that too, where there are large populations of Muslims.

"I am the tower around which you orbited
I am not proud, I am just taking orders
I fall to the ground within hours of impact
I hit back when hit
And attack when attacked"

-This whole thing is too obvious, I don't even need to explain that one.


And I am an accident waiting to happen
"I'm laughing like mad while you strangle the captain
My place may be taken but make no mistake
From a little black box I can say without shame
That you've lost, that you’ve lost
Do you know what you've lost?"

-Strangling captain? captains were subdued or killed during the attacks.
-Block box/losing? Referring to the planes and the attacks themselves.

"So take whatever you'd like
I'll strike like the States on fire
You won't sleep very tight
No hiding
No safe cover
Make your bed and now lie
Just like you always do
You can fake it for the papers but I’m on to you, I’m on to you"

-This one refers to the whole national protectionism of Al Qaeda, and the hate and attacks and blah blah blah.

This song doesn't just talk about the attacks, as all of the lyrics can be taken a thousand ways. The idea is just that, guided interpretation. She's not giving extremely vague or specific lyrics, but taking into account the whole song, it refers to events in her life, emotions, the war, the attacks, the hate from the perspective of Middle-Eastern peoples and Muslims alike, as well as Americans. There are so many sides and depths to this song....

It's remarkable; just the lyrics by themselves.

But when she sings it, it's awe-inducing...


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