I finally get that "stiletto in their garter " line!!

[goldie]

Originally Posted by paperflowers

Stiletto cuts quick....that line in "fireflies" is a better visual if it is a the high heel version.....

I thought she was saying "dusty letter cuts quick ..."

boy am I glad I read this thread today!

[priestofnothing]

Slightly off topic, but my girlfriend's roommate in college dated the singer in a band called

Stevie Stiletto and the Switchblades

(no joke) - they were kind of a punky grunge band and Stevie was a boy.

I always got a kick out of that name though.

[sodascouts]

Originally Posted by foxyluva

This line in "Alice" has always bugged the crap out of me - and Im sure you all know, but I just found out that it means a small dagger - and here I was thinking Stevie was carrying a high heel shoe strapped to her thigh

Here I was thinking it was just an efficient way to cart around a broken heel.

[amber]

Originally Posted by The Tower

I'm starting to wonder why someone of your intellect is at the point of boring me to disgust.... (though I have an idea that I'm on your Ignore List, so you couldn't possibly have any idea that I exist- blah, blah, blah...)

In any event...

"Alice" is one of Stevie's greates allegories. The pinnacle of which is the line-

"Each had their own charm...
Buried beneath a solid piece of armour...or a steel plated vest
Some carry a stiletto in their garter along with everything else --
that they carry...Oh, call my name..."

Which means IMO <--- which I had to list, otherwise be branded a Stevie hater/heretic/blaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Sorry- got lost in it.

This line means:

All of the people around me, especially the ones in my band- had their own ability to entice and otherwise express their unique charisma to others within the rock world.

However- most had already been scarred by infidelity, encounters with boozers, druggies and the like to be able to allow themselves to show their true nature- in addition(!)-

If you f u c k with me, I still possess a physical weapon with which to hurt you and or stop you from ****ing with me- just in case.

However, if you would please- I'm am sitting here downtrodden and if you would ask for me- I would run to you at an instant.

One of the greatest aspects of Stevie is that she never cowered from anyone and she was completely unfraid of telling it like it is.

Wow, that sounds perfect. Is the first part something Stevie actually said? I guess not.

Pretty darn insightful. I'm often shocked at what people's interpretations of Stevie lyrics are, not so with you. And a few others. I can rarely effectively express what I think some lyrics mean with such specificity.

Oh, and for the other, maybe familiarity has bred contempt?

I think of Stevie as brave and forthright as well. But then, John also just told us a little while back that what he likes about her is that "you always know where you stand with Stevie".
Which is great, because she could seem different than that. I could see how people may have tried to walk on her.

[Johnny Stew]

Well, now I finally know why people have often said, "that stiletto line doesn't make sense!"
I didn't realize that there was a misunderstanding in regards to what kind of stiletto Stevie meant.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by Johnny Stew

Well, now I finally know why people have often said, "that stiletto line doesn't make sense!"
I didn't realize that there was a misunderstanding in regards to what kind of stiletto Stevie meant.

I know - I got it immediately. I envisioned that whole bad girl a la Matta Hari kind of thing. I think Alice could have been a huge song if it had been better produced because the lyrics are brilliant and IMO the song has a strange fascination to it because of that.

[seeker007nmss]

Originally Posted by The Tower

I'm starting to wonder why someone of your intellect is at the point of boring me to disgust.... (though I have an idea that I'm on your Ignore List, so you couldn't possibly have any idea that I exist- blah, blah, blah...)

Lighten up, Francis....

[jean-mariecowl]

i personally think stevie meant by this that she is very protective of herself . she doesnt trust many, subconsciencely. which i can understand. Angelina Jolie used to say she always carried a knife like this effect. like in the movie Gia. and i tend to do the same thing with a pencil or pen all day. which all may seem weird. so i can totally relate . why when i hear this part of the song i tend to yell it . Jean-marie

[JazmenFlowers]

Originally Posted by jean-mariecowl

she doesnt trust many, subconsciencely. which i can understand.

interesting theory...

...but didn't Stevie say "too trusting? yes, but then women usually are"

oh wait, I forgot...we're talking about Stevie here.

[Johnny Stew]

Often times, people who start out being too trusting, develop a distrust after they've been burned a few times.

The woman who wrote "Alice" in the late '80s was, in many ways, very different from the woman who wrote "Beautiful Child" in the late '70s. However, I think she still wanted to trust people, but was having a hard time doing so.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by Johnny Stew

Often times, people who start out being too trusting, develop a distrust after they've been burned a few times.

The woman who wrote "Alice" in the late '80s was, in many ways, very different from the woman who wrote "Beautiful Child" in the late '70s. However, I think she still wanted to trust people, but was having a hard time doing so.

I agree and I think she still maintains that trust in some ways, though certainly she has been burned before.

I also think the stilletto in the garter line realtes to that in that she seems to be saying about herself and perhaps others (I always thought Christine maybe) that they carried a hidden weapon that allowed them, and mostly La Nicks, to become the deadly weapon now. In other words, people often did not take them seriously or perhaps tried to treat them as silly women and then they's have to haul could the stilletto hidden in the garter and attack.