This is about Alanis' relationship with her former manager, Leslie Howe. Alanis was 14 and he was 29. He manipulating her into thinking that if she slept with him, she would become famous. It lasted until she was 19. The verses are told from Leslie's perspective while the chorus is from Alanis' perspective.
I discovered Alanis through an ex-boyfriend. At the time, I was 16, he was 28.. He loved Alanis and played her songs all the time, when I heard this one my attention was drawn. The lyrics are.. were.. just us. Now, the only thing I have left to thank him for is showing me such a beautifully talented woman.
I find it odd that people are calling this an "affair." At her age, she would've never been able to consent to this relationship. The word affair should never be used to describe a relationship between a young teen girl and a 30 year old man.... Call it what it is, abuse.
Wait a minute…I thought this song was about a love affair between an older woman and a younger man. I thought it was about how people ridicule women who date younger men while it’s totally fine when an older man dates a woman 20 years younger than him. You know bc it’s a woman who’s singing it. I guess my mind didn’t go straight to the gutter.
It’s cool that the younger generation can appreciate the talent older artists have but please don’t stop exploring in the 90’s. There’s some cold heartbreak songs since the beginning of recorded music in all genres. People have always put their hearts out there for others to relate to and you can say it many ways in different beats but it’s still about the same thing. Taylor Swift writes an album about her ex and it goes triple platinum and the video gets a billion views. Back in the 70’s Stevie Knicks wrote an album about her ex and made him play guitar on the songs! There wasn’t no internet or downloads it was just records and tapes but she still went triple platinum! It was a different time but people were the same. Go listen to Motown hits of the 60’s. They were talking about not needing money and fancy stuff, just needing to feel good and being with someone they cared about. The Vietnam War was going on and everyone was writing protest songs. Sly Stone was the Prince of the 70’s. He wrote, produced, played the instruments, mixed the tracks. Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder wrote most of the songs for the early Motown bands, and if Stevie was writing he was playing on the songs. Keep chasing this rabbit down this rabbit hole because there’s such a wealth of knowledge that deserves respect for the people who built what the artists today have opportunities for. When a song is sampled it can be cool but when someone creates music from their mind and plays an actual instrument and put in the work to get the studio time just to sample that and call yourself an artist ain’t fair.
I feel like a lot of people don’t understand this was written in two different points of view. The chorus is her speaking. The manipulative, abusive lyrics in the verses are the point of view of the 30 year old man who was taking advantage of her when she was 14. It was so well written, and I can’t imagine how painful writing this song must have been for her
i am a victim of childhood sexual exploitation and abuse, and today one of my best friends told me about this song and said they'd thought of me when hearing it. it... helped something in me, hearing this song. i resonate with it a lot.
Alanis said in an interview that this song was about her being in a relationship with her manager (who was much older than she was) when she was a teenager. Most of the lyrics are told from his perspective except for the chorus and towards the end where she changes the lyrics from "you don't seem to mind" to "I don't seem to mind". Hope that sums it up.
From the comments, apparently a lot of people don't know that Morrissette was in a "relationship" with predator in his 30s when she was 14 or 15. She was underage, hence "overlook this supposed crime." This is commonly known...the meaning of the song is not a big mystery. She is confronting him, in this song, with the ways he manipulated her and used his power against her.
One thing about alanis, is her lyrics are very poetic and they always have a meaning. Even if your not sure what it is. Her music is just that damn good.
Maybe it`s time we talk about this song. This maybe was one of the first "ME Too"s. And we just looked at it like a massive hit pop song. It`s so much more than that. I hope she`ll talk about it one day.
Finally found this song after 15 years!!!! I was 8 years old and it was my favorite song from a cd with best radio songs or something ! I literally cried when I found it !
This song always reminds me of a friend of my wife. She has a daughter who was dating her 27 year old gymnastics coach when she was 15. The heartbreak that girl went through when he dumped her was awful to witness. I can't even imagine how hard this was for Alanis to write and perform having gone through that.
I always liked this song and now that I know what the lycirs are about I feel sad for her because of living that hell. But I like that she confronted him in a way!
This, in my humble opinion, is the BEST SONG EVER. I challenge all to tell me differently! I've got the lyrics to this song memorized by heart, and it always heals me to listen to it now and then. Although I'm no fan of the whole relationships topic in life, this song somehow touches me deeply. That alone suggests how awesome a singer Alanis Morissette is. Thank you for uploading these lyrics. That way in case I forget them, I can always refer to this piece, LOL.
For dummies she is not talking about dating a younger guy. She switches perspectives when she says "your essentially an employee... " The older man is saying that thats why people assume it was her record producer I loveeeee this song she's very truthful and brave!!!!!
No this is a song about someone that took advantage of Alanis. She was 14, he was 29. It's a conversation, he is telling her those things, and she is the hook and chorus to him. "And you've washed your hands clean of this". Keeping that in mind it is pretty obvious who is saying what.
This woman gives me the chills. Unbelievable talent. I miss these days of REAL MUSIC WRITTEN BY THE PERSON POURING THEIR HEARTS OUT INTO THE MICROPHONE
hace 11 años escuche esta cancion, y me recontra enamore y hasta hoy cuando escucho esta cancion, me da nostalgia, pena, amor, mucho amor cierro los ojos y me recuerdo de ti donde estes. si la vida aun es buena ojala nos depare algo bueno para ambos
I had no idea that this song was about her being taken advantage of. I've always loved this song and have always listened to but while looking through the comments I saw a few and didn't understand..... until I read the lyrics. Such a powerful artist and woman. I have so much more love for this song and her. Truly amazing. Can't say it enough
Actually, the narrative voice of the song alternates; in the verses and bridge, an older man talks to a younger lover, whereas the chorus has the woman reminiscing about that past relationship.
So I heard this song some years ago and I thought it was glorifying and romanticizing statutory rape so i stopped listening to it but thanks to a comment i just read I got the interpretation completely wrong. I didn't realize how painful and tragic the story of the song was.
"age is only a number" is like saying a 5 year old and a 20 year old are perfectly fine having a relationship with one another..because as long as they like each other its ok right? after all ..age is only a number
Five and Twenty? Extrapolation to extreme examples is irrelevant at best, usually goading, always ignorant. Put more simply, to compare what she's talking about to a five-year-old and a twenty-year-old, it's annoying and dumb. Regardless of the age of the comment.
This song is such a split for me...I like Alanis know what it is like to be with an older man.....but also I dedicate part of this song to a lover I had who was a bit younger than me by 2 yrs
I heard this song was about her producer or former boss that wanted to be her "boyfriend" when she was like 13 or 14 and he was a lot older. Just listen to the lyrics. I think it is neat that the lyrics can represent different things to everyone. I think Alanis probably appreciates that.
when she says oh you're such a little pretty thing when you're done up properly I might want to marry you someday if you watch your weight if you keep that firm body😪
She used him , idiot! She’s the older one. It was illegal and she’s secretly proud of herself. It’s self -reflective. She wasn’t abused. It’s straight forward, moron. When have you ever heard a man describe a girl as keeping her firm body?! He would say watch your weight. You people are beyond stupid.
I can see from the comments this can relate to so many people in so many ways... I just watched "a dangerous method" in the open air summer cinema in vienna, seeing the full moon rising above the screen amidst a multitude of glow-worms (and mosquitoes) So even if I was a so-called late bloomer myself, it made me understand the power-play underlying these lyrics of a song of an album I've always loved...
I always heard it was Danny Tanner.I don't know his name,but he was the big blondish goof off the show full House! but I heard it 100 times.she's from Canada and so am I,so the whole country was trying to find out who this pig was.that's the same name I've been hearing.and no other names. BUT ,take it with a grain of salt. hope I helped my friend
Love is a crazy thing. It doesn't obey logic or law, causes the most happiness and the most sadness in the world, and is the only emotion that rises above our need for self-preservation.
I don't think she was abused cuz part of the song says "this could get messy and I don't seem to mind" so she wanted it to, she also was 14 what means she still didn't know what to do with her life anyways by that time she had done a lot of things just like a normal 14yr old this is not new, love the song and her inspiration. I think her moment was perfect:"I wish I could tell the world about it cuz ur a pretty thing when u've done properly" Enjoy people.. Xox
