Evelyn Evelyn "Sandy Fishnets" Music Video 

realizing that this song is about child prostitution caught me off guard

"Sandy's all grown up" "The day she turned thirteen" It makes you think about how she had to grow up so fast, still so young. She was considered "grown up" before she was even a teenager.

I think the worst part is when they say she "grew up" and at the end they say she went away when she was "13". So yeah. there goes my appetite. These characters might be fictional but things like this are still happening today.

I always get goosebumps at “What will they do with us when they are through with us? Sandy, what are we sailing for?”

whether sandy drowned out at sea, killed herself or was murdered, she ended up at a better place where she can be the captain of her own ship

The sudden knot in your stomach when you realize the first scene is actually the last scene.

Actually, the place was a child pornography studio, and Sandy made a smoke signal before she left and it was broken up by the police. It's never shown in any of the songs but if you read the graphic novel there is a newspaper clipping that shows that a child pornography studio was broken up. I am fairly certain Sandy attempted to sail away after making the smoke signal and drowned, because Evelyn was released to the circus prior to the ending of the studio.

I'm now imagining how sexualized Sandy must have looked with her "long blonde hair, fishnet stockings and vintage attire. They said she looked like a mermaid." SHE WAS LESS THAN 13. This is worse than many polemic movies.

Oh look, 7 and a half minutes of depression.

"What are we sailing for?" Is what really hit me. Yes it seems like an odd line to be strucked by but if you think about it, it kinda sounds like "What’s the point? Why should we even try?"

My little sister was hiding and watched the whole video. In the end, she came out and yelled "SURPRISE!", Scaring the shit out of me. I asked her if she knew what the video was about. She then told me this: "I think it's about a girl named Sandy who wanted to be a pirate. She lived in an orphanage because all her uncles couldn't take care of her. But the Uncle's stopped visiting her, so she go sad. In the end, she decided to run away and become the pirate she dreamed of". Poor Innocent girl...

*Didn’t see any comments like this, or even a lyric video, so here are the lyrics!* Sandy Fishnets washed up on the shore What’s she catching, and will she be sore? Sandy was the prettiest of all She talked French, she came from Montreal During chores she never had to help Sandy got a bed all to herself We slept in the trailer to the right Sandy told us stories late at night She spoke of ships and sailors And a sea so big and wide She had lots of “uncles” and was always tired Sandy Fishnets washed up on the shore What’s she catching, and will she be sore? How they loved her in those early days Mrs. Bolger let her go away All her “uncles” drove her off to play We would see them kissing on the lake Time went by, and Sandy’s all grown up The lines of “uncles” dwindled And the pirate stories stopped Then, one day, Melissa May showed up And Sandy had to share a bed with us Sandy Fishnets washed up on the shore What’s she catching, and will she be Soaring over the sea With the wind in her sails And a knife in her teeth? At the helm of a ship, on its way to a distant shore Bermuda or Thailand, an uncharted island Sandy, we’re all getting older What will they do with us When they are through with us? Sandy, _what are we sailing for?_ Christmas morning, 1993 Presents waiting underneath a tree There’s a box for me, a box for me No gift for poor old Sandy to be seen We found Sandy sobbing quietly “Uncle” Gerald said he liked Christine Mrs. Bolger said she had to leave Three days later, she was gone The day she turned thirteen

I know I can’t be the only one thinking about this line. “What’s she, what’s she, catching, catching? And will she be sore?” I think when it says “what’s she catching” it’s talking about diseases you can get from intercourse, such as STD’s. And when it says “will she be sore” I think it’s referring to her ACTUALLY being sore after being assualted.

4:14 is so well done because the sisters are singing about the pirate stories Sandy always told them, and how Sandy must be brave and piratey out on the sea, but we see Sandy holding on to her boat for dear life, because she’s not a pirate, she’s just a child.

4:14 is probably my favorite part of the whole song, and the line "we're all getting older" is so strangely depressing to me (even though the whole premise of this song is disturbing and depressing)

The last lyrics "Three days later, she was gone, the day she turned 13." Gave me goosebumps, when I first heard it, it made me realize how young she actually was. Saying she was all grown up and she wasn't even a teenager yet.

Sigh. I hate how everyone is saying "child prostitutes". It's "child sex slaves". The term 'prostitute' implies consent. Children can't be prostitutes, but they can be sex slaves. Whether or not their situation in this video/story is "kinder" than other realities, they are still sex slaves, they just have absolutely no idea there's any wrong in their situation, or at least that's how it sounds for most of the children. I scrolled through so many comments and couldn't find "child sex slave" anywhere. That's almost saddening as the story itself. Thank you for posting this haunting song. The story gets through so clearly without even going into depth, and I love that. It's horribly beautiful in its simplicity. Although fictional it's nice to know Sandy got away in the end, although it was in death.

Here's the thing, in Tragic Events II Evelyn both made a note to mention that *all* the girls seemed to just disappear around their thirteenth birthdays, that this wasn't something that only happened to Sandy. I think Sandy knew what was going to happen once she turned 13, so tried to sail across the lake before she could be killed but was ultimately caught by Mrs. Bolger or one of "her uncles" and then drowned in the lake as punishment.

The respect I have for this animation is deep.

Is it just me or is Jason's part always sound angry in some songs

Okay, I know I'm really late, but, btw, at the end of the song, the Evelyns are 8.

Basically the lyrics alone imply murder, but the animation suggests the drowning theory. Either interpretation is possible.

I'm sure this topic is plenty worn out by now, but I'm curious on what thoughts people have as to what happened to Sandy. Personally, I don't think she went out on the sea. Eve and Lyn mention a lake, not a body of water that could take Sandy anywhere. It seems to me that the two girls imagined that she went out to become a pirate because they were children, and Sandy was someone who they admired and saw as this fantastical figure due to the stories she told. In actuality, I'd have to assume she was either killed discreetly by the brothel or that she was sent out to fend for herself and either survived or didn't (likely didn't). Thoughts?

Its truly amazing, isn't it? how something so fucked up can sound so beautiful. I've been seeing things all over the place arguing that this entire album is disgusting, ableist trash, and how dare they even mention the subject of child prostitution. But I see it as a way to bring awareness that this isn't all fantasy. Things like this are still happening beneath your very noses and if you are not aware of the problem you cannot work to solve it.

I'd like to point out that since, in The Tragic Events of September, they say the girls were born in 85! Christmas morning in this is in 93! They're 8! Of course they don't understand what's going on! Assuming Sandy's 12 on that day, she's only 4 years older than them, which adds a whole new layer of sadness. My older brother is 5 years older than me, so she's just like a sister to them. It's even worse when you realize all this. They were involved in child prostitution before they turned 8, and are not in school as far as we can tell. The poor dears probably can't even read yet and they're being taken advantage of! Who knows how young Melissa May is if Eve and Lyn were that young.

This story is so fictional, yet real. The characters may be fake, but things like this can actually happen to children and it's disgusting.

Sandy was the the closest thing they had to a mother.

Okay, so... When the song says "What's she, what's she... Catching, catching... And will she be sore?" Is it referring to the STD's Sandy most likely got from the 'Uncles' (Customers)?

"She had a lot of uncle's and was always tired" Holy shit...

sandy, fishnet was rescued out at sea by the coast guard who saved Christine and me. yeah, I needed a happier ending than that

I only got into Evelyn Evelyn a couple of days ago, but... considering how heavily this song hits I'm glad it wasn't sooner.

"The day she turned 13" hits like a sledgehammer to the abdomen

"Sandy, we're all getting older. What will they do with us, when they're all through with us? Sandy, what are we sailing for?" holy shit that hit hard-

This animation is beautifully smooth, applause

My theory is that Sandy was unceremoniously disposed of when she turned 13 but whats beautiful about this song is the child like innocence and sense of wonder that would lead the girls to concoct the story that she went to live her dreams and died heroically.

one thing i noticed, in the start, we see sandy dead the lines r all still, but everyone else, (includong when she is alive) the lines r moving.

jesuc christ this animation is perfect! the unfinished look, the backgrounds, the smoothness of the animation and the roughness of the lines, it fits the song so well!

“all her uncles drove her off to play” and the scene of her on the floor looking severely upset, makes you realise what was really going on. Its a child pornography place. She clearly tried to kill herself when she went sailing. Mrs buldger sold her off because she was over used. “we would see them kissing on the lake(?)” makes you realise what they were actually doing. The line she was grown up at 13, is the age where most children get killed or thrown out because their considered too old, an adult. Its sickening but a meaning you wont forget

Are we not gonna talk about melissa may? Shes like basically a baby

What really got me was when they said the day she turned 13 because you already knew she was young but you never realized she was that young it gives me chills

Lyrics: (Chorus) Sandy Fishnets, washed up on the shore. What’s she catching, and will she be sore? (Chorus) Sandy was the prettiest of all. She talked French, she came from Montreal. During chores she never had to help. Sandy got a bed all to herself. We slept in the trailer to the right. Sandy told us stories late at night. She spoke of ships and sailors, And a sea so big and wide. She had lots of uncles and was always tired. (Chorus) How they loved her in those early days. Mrs. Bulger let her go away. All her uncles drove her off to play. We would see them kissing on the lake. Time went by and Sandy’s all grown up. The lines of uncles dwindled, And the pirate stories stopped. Then one day Melissa May showed up, And Sandy had to share a bed with us. (Chorus) And will she be soaring over the sea, With the wind in her sails and a knife in her teeth? At the helm of a ship, on its way to a distant shore, Bermuda or Thailand, an uncharted island, Sandy, we’re all getting older. What will they do with us, When they are through with us? Sandy, what are we sailing for? - - - Christmas morning, 1993, Presents waiting underneath the tree. There’s a box for me, a box for me. No gift for poor old Sandy to be seen. We found Sandy sobbing quietly. Uncle Gerald said he liked Christine. Mrs. Bulgar said she had to leave. Three days later, she was gone, The day she turned thirteen.

the "what's she catching and will she be sore" line gives me chills.

Has anyone else also noticed that there is only one part in this is whole video clip where Sandy actually has fishnets on? That part is when she is sobbing, when she's extremly sad, and also near the end of the video/song. Sandy was compared to/thought of as a mermaid. Maybe the fishnets represent her being stuck and in panic not being able to leave an awful place (state of mind), exactly like when a fish (a mermaid (Sandy)) is a stuck in a fishnet, or maybe because the fishnets only appear in the end of the video they mean that she's close to her death, also exactly what happens when a fish is caught in a fishnet. At least this is my theory

So many comments about the beautiful music, but I personally really adore the animation also.

This song killed me inside, though it's purely amazing. Imagine a colab with Chris Garneau. /0-0\

I love the animation for this video.

i love 4:14 and the end if the song with the violin/viola instrument near the end its amazing...imma try to do that solo thang

i don't know if im the only one who noticed this, but melissa may looks a lot like coraline

What's terrifying is that my grandparents had a dog named Sandy who loved water and he died when he was thirteen ;-;

I absolutely love the line "Sandy , we're all getting older " because of its tune

Ok, so there are 2 major theories: Sandy drowned while trying to escape, or she was killed, but I don't think either are correct. I think Eva and Lyn actually don't know what happened to her. Proof? Well, first I don't think the people on the "orphanage" would have the guts to kill her since she brought them so much money and popularity, and she probably wouldn't have the courage to flee. Instead, I think they sort of dropped her off on the streets by the time she turned 13, like an orphanage does after a kid turns 18, and still isn't adopted, and if that is the case, Eva and Lyn wouldn't be able to know what happened to her. Another big piece of evidence is that on the start, the animation and the song make it seem like she completely failed and managed to get herself killed, in the middle, Lyn describes her situation as: "Rough, but, hey atleast she doesn't have to give her body away ever again and so she's happy." Like seriously, pay attention to the lyrics and the visuals. She is shown hiding a little bit and curled up in the corner of the boat, which represents the fact she trying to hide from the dangers of society, and the mermaid visuals of her smiling probably just represent her "closing her legs to other people" if you know what I mean, and the fact she's smiling shows that she is happy no matter what. And the lyrics just represent that even more: "...Soaring over the sea, With the wind in her sails and a knife in her teeth? At the helm of a ship, on its way to a distant shore, Bermuda or Thailand, an uncharted island.." The wind in her sails and knife in her teeth represent the fact she has to work hard to stay alive. The distant shore could just mean wherever the life she's living will lead her, Bernuda, Thailand, an uncharted island, whichever. And in the end they make it seem she is still bravely suceeding. Honestly this thought process makes this song even more beautiful.

So I only just realised In Amanda Palmers song Oasis, she sings about her friend Melissa had once been molested. Then in this song, there is also a child prostitute called Melissa. Edit: I just found this comment again 4 years later to find its my first comment to break 1,000 likes. Thanks guys!

Normally I don't get moved my song, yet this song punches me very hard on my soul. Every time I hear it, it saddens my soul, in a beautiful way.

I don't think the people of the orphanage drowned her. Might I point out that Evelyn and Evelyn didn't attract any uncles, as far as I recall from their backstory (and feel free to correct me, if I'm wrong), but they still were allowed at the orphanage. From what I collect from the video's depiction, at least, Sandy went out to sea of her own accord, but the boat didn't work so well. What I think happened was that Sandy was going to be sent to a brothel/prostitution ring/whatever that specialized in teens and/or adults, but she took to the sea instead, feeling that an attempt at escape was better than constantly being a prostitute, but her makeshift boat failed and she drowned, washing back up on shore with the tide. This is just my interpretation, though, so feel free to disagree. A lot of the song's lyrics and the videos illustrations are really up to interpretation, so it's perfectly reasonable to see it the other way.

When I was little, I heard this song and saw this animation. I liked it so much, because I didn't understand the words and saw it as a cute story about a girl who dreamed of becoming a pirate. Now I've grown up. Damn.. I'm just torn apart by this song and the realization of what's going on in it.

When I’m older (looking in college) I wanna preform as Evelyn Evelyn with a friend as a play with music .

I first encountered Jason Webley a decade ago on the side of a dusty path in Oregon, stomping and accordianing and howling a song about the end of the world. I was twelve, and completely transfixed. It is so incredibly gratifying to discover someone at a time of almost total obscurity and see them become widely recognized. I couldn't imagine a more phenomenal, godsent collaborator for him.

who else loves the little callback to "Evelyn Evelyn" at 4:50?

By the way she treated Eve and Lyn she seemed such a nice, caring and kind hearted kid. So sad 😢

I've been so desensitized to shit like this that I just had to sit and remind myself how horrible this is. She was just a little girl who liked to play pirates, and treated the Evelyn sister like friends, when nobody else would. She doesn't deserve what she got at all. And I know it's just a story, but it's so real because shit like this happens in real life and I often forget how horrible it is until I just...sit and think about it.

such a sad song. but it's so catchy

6:05 has to hit the hardest for me bc even though sandy was so young she understood that the only reson she was alive is bc of her "uncles" wanting her, but knowing that she had been replaced ment that she no longer had a place to live and thus her short tragic life had come to an end. All in all this means she new her life was over before it even started she was cast out at 13 and it just breaks my heart to think of this.

For y'all wondering, here's the lyrics: Sandy Fishnets, washed up on the shore. What’s she catching, and will she be sore? Sandy was the prettiest of all. She talked French, she came from Montreal. During chores she never had to help. Sandy got a bed all to herself. We slept in the trailer to the right. Sandy told us stories late at night. She spoke of ships and sailors, And a sea so big and wide. She had lots of uncles and was always tired. How they loved her in those early days. Mrs. Bulger let her go away. All her uncles drove her off to play. We would see them kissing on the lake. Time went by and Sandy’s all grown up. The lines of uncles dwindled, And the pirate stories stopped. Then one day Melissa May showed up, And Sandy had to share a bed with us. And will she be soaring over the sea, With the wind in her sails and a knife in her teeth? At the helm of a ship, on its way to a distant shore, Bermuda or Thailand, an uncharted island, Sandy, we’re all getting older. What will they do with us, When they are through with us? Sandy, what are we sailing for? Christmas morning, 1993, Presents waiting underneath the tree. There’s a box for me, a box for me. No gift for poor old Sandy to be seen. We found Sandy sobbing quietly. Uncle Gerald said he liked Christine. Mrs. Bulgar said she had to leave. Three days later, she was gone, The day she turned thirteen.

I love the way they kind of altered the part when they talk about Sandy souring over the water. It’s more acoustic or somethin’. Just sounds different.

4:55 that sounds like Evelyn Evelyn (the song) ending.... hmmm

I've been listening to this song for years now, and it still stands as the single most depressing song I've ever heard, and it only continues to get sadder each time I listen to it. I listened to this on repeat for an entire 4-hour workshift a few weeks ago, which was when I made one of the most harrowing discoveries. I always wondered why Sandy befriended Evelyn Evelyn out of all the other girls at the brothel. I understand that she was a sweetheart in general, but I wondered why she was so nice to them in particular. I assumed it was because of their oddity, but that didn't really make sense to me because she treated them like one would treat anyone else. And that's when it hit me: it WAS because of their oddity, but not for the reasons one may think. It was because Sandy KNEW that the girls would be treated differently because of their physical abnormality, and so she went out of her way to show them a love that they had never known. In the same way that the Chicken Man was the closest thing the twins had to a father figure, Sandy Fishnets was the closest thing they had to a mother. She was always tired, and yet she still snuck into Evelyn Evelyn's trailer late at night to comfort them and tell them bedtime stories. She used her status as the star child of the brothel to prevent the other girls from picking on them. And when she finally had to leave, she could no longer protect them. They only knew her for two years, and yet Sandy's brief companionship would stand to be the closest bond Evelyn Evelyn ever had with another person.

Evelyn(Jason) always sounds angrier and more traumatized than the other Evelyn(Amanda)

The line "the day she turned 13" gave me goose bumps

The sudden tonal shift at 4:11 hit me so hard I cried. The pain and tiredness replaced with hope and dreams. My pathetic vocabulary and poor writing skills could never explain how I intensely felt without looking like an excerpt from r/Im14andthisisdeep. the arts were just so well done.

at the christmas part, if you pause it just right, you can see sandy smiling. it’s not a happy smile; it’s more like a sad smile. like she’s remembering something. also i know that it’s movement lines, but still, it looks like a sad smile

6:36 that sudden upburst in the music always gets me, it feels realy powerful

i was trafficked when i was about 5. i know this album is criticised but this song perfectly encapsulates what it feels like, how it is. to be so young in this situation. while the song is, of course, very disturbing, it brings a weird comfort to me.

Hear 'Elephant, Elephant' next

Is it weird that this reminds me of Secrets of Wysteria?

I always come back to the Evelyns’s music, especially sandy fishnets.

Oh, I'm pretty late, but in an official blog post made by Amanda, she said that the twins were friends with "some chick named Sandy" on MySpace. That confirms that Sandy was at least alive for another decade or so!

Very haunting, but at the same time, something in the end of the song, when Sandy left, made me get up and shout with joy at the idea of her getting that freedom.

3:58 the shudden shift right about here gives my cold chills every time

At 5:00 you can see vague drawings of Sandy falling out of her boat and thrashing in the water if you slow it down to 0.25 speed

I don't think a music video has ever made me tear up before

The song kinda reminds me to a part of the game of Alice madness returns

What happened to Sandy when she "disappeared"? I always thought that she was sold to slavery, as for, private use. But I don't really know if that's really what happened.

I love when it gets to 3:55, I get chills

I'm getting a strange Don't Starve vibe from this

I love it when songs genuinely disturb me. I like being emotionally disturbed, I guess.

When I was like ten or eleven I discovered this song. I didn't know as much english back then as I know now but I had a little and tried to understand a little bit. My theory was that Sandy was like their bully or something because in the middle when they say "and will she be sore" I understood "and will she be sorry" so I thought she did something to the Evelyns, when I saw that she was playing with a electronic game while they played with wood I thought they were envious of her. Then when they say "the day she turned thirteen" I thought they said something like "she turned to the sea" and I took it literally and assumed she actually became a pirate. Now that I understand everything in the song and have listened to the whole album this just makes me want to cry. I would say what I understand now but it's based on most of the stuff in the other comments, no need to repeat everything that everyone already knows

Man, this is dark when you hear the real story........GREAT NOW IM SAD

Something I find interesting about the first lyrics: "Sandy Fishnets, washed up on a shore" is that it can have two similar meanings. It could be saying that the sisters found her dear friend Sandy´s corpse on a beach, or that they just found the fishnets she used to wear all day, covered in sand due to being on a shore for so much time.

Considering the fact that this song is about a brothel can I just say MELISSA MAY IS LIKE 5 AND SHES ALREADY AT THE TOP OF HER BUSINESS THIS IS

So is nobody gonna talk about how amazing this animation is

Evelyn Evelyn’s songs always give me anxiety and make me feel like someone is watching me but yet I still listen to them like I’m drawn to the song... like possibly in Michigan

Almost 6 years and I still adore this song and video. When I'm feeling a bit under the weather it moves and inspires me.

this song is so disgusting yet so beautiful

Zero dislikes. Love it. This song always gives me goosebumps.

Right when they said "She was gone the day she turned 13" I actually shivered-

"How they loved her in those early days" "Mrs bolger let her go away" "All her uncles drove her off to play" "We would see them kissing on the lake" This lyrics...ugh.. So disgusting that sandy was so young.

This was so beautiful I cried just the very thing about it and the story was sad beautiful but disgusting but there voices made it beautiful you can here how they felt when they sang it.

i keep coming back to this video

How is this not more popular!

you notice how they have that like almost signature music before it gets to the part of Christmas Morning