Cornflake Girl
Never was a cornflake girl
thought that was a good solution
hangin with the raisin girls
she's gone to the other side
givin us a yo heave ho
things are getting kind of gross
and I go at sleepy time
this is not really happening
you bet your life it is
Peel out the watchword
just peel out the watchword
She knows what's going on
seems we got a cheaper feel now
all the sweeteaze are gone
gone to the other side
with my encyclopedia
they musta paid her a nice price
she's puttin on her string bean love
this is not really happening
you bet your life it is
Rabbit where'd you put the keys girl
and the man with the golden gun
thinks he knows so much
thinks he knows so much
Rabbit where'd you put the keys girl
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Cornflake Girl
"This song, I read Possessing the Secret
of Joy Alice Walker, and the way that the mothers sold the daughters
to the butchers to have their genetalia removed, people are listening to
this going 'Oh my God can't she have a twinkie and get over it?' Well this
stuff isn't, it's not negative to me or sad. It's a very safe to be able
to talk about this stuff and also have a laugh, and we have a laugh during
the record, there are moments of, maybe it's a sick little laugh, but you
know it's a laugh nonetheless, and it's very freeing. Again, it's betrayal
of women with women. I mean guys can be pretty brutal, we all can be to
each other, but women towards women is a pretty ugly thing, and it's done
mostly in secret. So Cornflake is just the shock of 'She's gone to the
other side, this is getting kind of gross, and I go at sleepy time. This
is not really happening, you bet your life it is...' " (from the WHFS Tea
with the Waitress interview)
I never really gave Cornflake Girl a second thought. It just
seemed like a light-hearted song to me. Then I read the book that inspired
it. The book itself is extremely intense. I read it in two days and parts
of it brought me to tears. Walker did an excellent job with the narration.
I love her style. The way she titled each chapter and the varying viewpoints
weaved throughout the novel are brilliant. I can't wait to read more from
her.
"A New York Times bestseller, this is the story of Tashi Johnson, a
tribal African woman now living in North America. As a young woman, a misguided
loyalty to the customs of her people led her to submit to the tribal initiation
rite of passage. Severely traumatized, she spends the rest of her life
trying to reconcile her African heritage with her experience as a modern
woman in America." (from BarnesandNoble.com)
After reading the book, the song takes on a completely different feel.
It doesn't seem like a light-hearted song anymore. It wasn't until I read
the book that actually understood the depth of the song.
More about Female Circumcision from The Seattle Times
Back to "Under the Pink" Lyrics
Tori Main Page
pndora@hotmail.com
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