Lyric Evaluation
you can tell / from the scars on my arms / and cracks in my hips / and the dents in my car / and the blisters on my lips / that i'm not the carefullest of girls
you can tell / from the glass on the floor / and the strings that're breaking / and i keep on breaking more / and it looks like i am shaking / but it's just the temperature / and then again / if it were any colder i could disengage / if i were any older i could act my age / but i dont think that youd believe me / it's not the way i'm meant to be / it's just the way the operation made me
and you can tell / from the state of my room /that they let me out too soon / and the pills that i ate / came a couple years too late / and ive got some issues to work through / there i go again / pretending to be you / make–believing that i have a soul beneath the surface / trying to convince you / it was accidentally on purpose
i am not so serious / this passion is a plagiarism / i might join your century / but only on a rare occasion / i was taken out / before the labor pains set in and now / behold the world's worst accident / i am the girl anachronism
and you can tell / by the red in my eyes / and the bruises on my thighs / and the knots in my hair / and the bathtub full of flies / that i'm not right now at all / there i go again / pretending that i'll fall / don't call the doctors / cause they've seen it all before / they'll say just
let
her
crash
and
burn
she'll learn
the attention just encourages her
and you can tell from the full–body cast / that i'm sorry that i asked / though you did everything you could / like any decent person would / but i might be catching so don't touch / you'll start believing youre immune to gravity and stuff / don't get me wet / because the bandages will all come off
and you can tell / from the smoke at the stake / that the current state is critical / well it is the little things, for instance / in the time it takes to break it she can make up ten excuses / please excuse her for the day / its just the way the medication makes her
i dont necessarily believe there is a cure for this / so i might join your century but only as a doubtful guest / i was too precarious removed as a caesarian / behold the worlds worst accident / i am the girl anachronism
"Girl Anachronism" by The Dresden Dolls
The song starts slowly, softly. Something isn't quite right, however. The notes jar and clash. The repetitive riff speeds up and up and up, as though at any moment the piano keys will run wild on their own. The light roll on the splash follows along, threatening to lose the thread of the beat.
That's the feel of the song, underscoring and performing the lyrics. Both push and push against the notion of control. Both take the notion of delicacy and break it apart.
The singer's almost–scream begs for the attention that will just encourage her. The rush of the piano, lyrics, and drum—each always just about to outpace the other—bespeaks someone whose headlong rush into life leads inevitably to "scars on my arms / and cracks in my hips / and the dents in my car / and the blisters on my lips."
This music is simple, with just three instruments, counting the singer's voice. It is anything but small or contained, however. The song tells us of someone who doesn't do things right, who doesn't fit the boxes laid out for her, who is a girl anachronism. The song itself is unruly, and doesn't fit neatly into the categories of pop or emo or thrash. Together, the lyrics and song build towards a crescendo of breaking: breaking the rules, breaking the assumptions, breaking the strictures, and breaking the beat.