What do the lyrics in Tori Amos “Silent All These Years” mean?
I’ve always interpeted it as being about an unplanned pregnancy between a couple where the girl feels controlled and silenced by the guy, the girl thinks about getting an abortion but decides against it, and eventually the pregnancy gives her the strength to stand up for herself. Hence: She tries very hard to tell her boyfriend she wants to leave him but something keeps stopping her “saved again by the garbage truck.” “Boy you best pray that I bleed real soon” (get a period) “My scream got lost in a paper cup” (home pregnancy test means her chances of leaving the relationship are cut short) (The “mermaid” I think is a reference to sperm tails) “I got 25 bucks and a cracker do you think that’s enough to get us there. (the abortion clinic” She then worries about whether she will want a baby in the future and regret the abortion “Years go by if I’m stripped of my beauty And the orange clouds raining in my head Years go by will I choke on my tears Till finally there is nothing left One mor
