[Intro]
Oh, no
Oh, no
[Verse 1]
But you're not strong enough
The world isn't shaking like you are
There's a trapdoor in my arms
Let me over
Let me cover the bad parts
You love me and you push me away
I can't push you
[Chorus]
Oh, well, you're not gonna save him
Not gonna save him, save him, save him
Oh, well, you're not gonna save him
Not gonna save him, save him, save him
[Verse 2]
I don't wanna be your mom
But you're not strong enough
The world isn't aching like you are
[Chorus]
Oh, well, you're not gonna save him
Not gonna save him, save him, save him
Oh, well, you're not gonna save him
Not gonna save him, save him, save him
[Bridge]
On and on a late night call
I could never be your mom
No, you know you do it to yourself
Living off alcohol
And I could never be your mom
No, you know you do it to yourself
And you're not listening at all, at all, at all
I gave it my all, at all, at all
I gave it my all, at all, you do it to yourself
All, at all, at all (Oh, well)
I gave it my all, at all, at all (You're not gonna save him)
I gave it my all, at all, you do it to yourself (Not gonna save him, save him, save him)
[Outro]
All, at all, at all (Oh, well)
I gave it my all, at all, at all (You're not gonna save him)
I gave it my all, at all, you do it to yourself (Not gonna save him, save him, save him)
Via Flood Magazine:
The phrase “sex and rage” is from the Eve Babitz novel. I love that book and was having a really similar social experience to the book. It’s easy to feel like LA is a town where everybody works in entertainment, everybody’s just living for that, and it can feel a little empty, but reading Eve Babitz and Joan Didion, you think about what’s under the surface.
She’s trying to relinquish herself from some of the guilt she feels here. She’s telling herself that it won’t matter if she leaves or stays because she simply can’t save him, regardless of her choice. Therefore, she should feel less guilty leaving him.
Via Flood Magazine:
I wanted a really masculine reference for this song in particular, because it was like, “I don’t have to be this matronly idea of a woman.” Men constantly want women to take care of them and be their mom, this twisted thing that’s just so common. I was noticing that in a relationship, and that’s not who I’m going to be. So I wrote this song about it.
Even though she just told us that she doesn’t want to care for him like his mother would, she feels a responsibility toward him. She begs him to let her come over and help him, letting herself transform more into his caretaker than his lover.
The narrator is acting as an escape from life for this man. A ‘trapdoor’ out of the reality he’s struggling with
Her previous line is repeated and then quickly renounced with the repetition of “save him, save him” at the end of the line. She feels a new desperation to stay in his life and help him out of this dark time he’s fallen in, regardless of how it’s affecting her own wellbeing.