Although much of DiFranco's material is autobiographical, it is often also strongly political. Many of her songs are concerned with contemporary social issues such as racism, sexism, sexual abuse, homophobia, reproductive rights, poverty, and war. DiFranco's guitar playing is often characterized by a signature staccato style, rapid finger picking and many alternate tunings. She delivers many of her lines in a speaking style notable for its rhythmic variation. Her lyrics, which often include alliteration, metaphor, word play and a more-or-less gentle irony, have also received praise for their sophistication. She has released 19 solo albums (not including collaborative albums or live albums), all of which were released on her own independent record label, Righteous Babe Records (which she formed in 1989 at the age of 19).
DiFranco has been a critical success for much of her career, though not a commercial one by major label standards, with a career album average of 72 on Metacritic. Living in Clip, DiFranco's 1998 double live album, is the only one to achieve gold record status to date. DiFranco has been praised by the Buffalo News as the "Buffalo's leading lady of rock music".
hide and seek
Ani DiFranco Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We'd play out in the street all summer long.
Rule was we had to go home at night,
When the street lights came on.
We were oblivious to the rest of the world.
And we'd hold up the cars in the street.
Yeah, we'd always play boys against girls,
And both sides would cheat.
Strange men would stop their cars at the curb
Say: "Hey sweetheart come here.",
And I'd go up to the window and they'd have their dick out in their hand
With a sick little sneer.
And I'd say
"Here we go again! Yeah, ok this time you win."
And I would feel dirty, I'd feel ashamed,
But I wouldn't let it stop my game.
We would play hide and go seek.
Territory would be the whole block.
Sometimes the older boys when they'd find you,
They wouldn't want to tag you, they'd just want to talk.
They'd say "What would you do for a quarter? Come on, we don't have that much time."
And I'd think a minute and I'd say:
"Ok...give me the quarter first. Fine."
This time you win.
Here we go again!
And I would feel dirty and I would feel ashamed,
But I wouldn't let it stop my game.
I remember my first trip alone on the greyhound bus,
And the man who put his hands on me to see where his knife fell
And I remember when I left how excited I was
And I remember when I arrived I didn't feel so well.
I remember the teacher at school got me so sick and scared
I went into the bathroom and threw up in my hair
And I could go on, but you know, it just gets worse
So I think I'll stop there...
Girl, next time he wants to know
What your problems is...
Girl, next time he wants to know
Where the anger comes from...
Just tell him this time the problem's his.
Tell him the anger just comes.
It just comes.
Ani DiFranco's song 'Hide and Seek' is a powerful and poignant commentary on the dangers of growing up female in a society where male violence and abuse is normalized, and where predatory behaviors are ignored, excused, or even encouraged. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a young girl's experiences growing up in a neighborhood where street games were a source of joy and freedom, but where she was also exposed to harassment, abuse, and sexual violence from strange men who preyed upon her vulnerability and naivety.
The first verse of the song describes the innocence of childhood, where playing games with friends was the norm, and where being outside for hours on end was a given during summertime. However, the idyllic setting is soon disrupted by the arrival of strange men who stop their cars and expose themselves to the young girl. Her response, "Here we go again! Yeah, ok this time you win," illustrates the feeling of powerlessness and defeat that she experiences, forced to accept and normalize the abuse she experiences at the hands of these predatory men.
As the song progresses, the lyrics take a darker turn, describing experiences of abuse and violence that the young girl encounters throughout her life. From the man on the Greyhound bus who puts his hands on her, to the teacher who makes her so sick and scared that she throws up in her hair. Through it all, the young girl tries to maintain her resilience and her ability to play hide and seek, but the repeated trauma and abuse wear her down until she can't carry on the game anymore.
The chorus of the song is a rallying cry for women to stand up against the violence and abuse that they face on a daily basis. It encourages women to confront their abusers and to make them take responsibility for their actions. Overall, the lyrics of the song paint a picture of a young girl who is buffeted by the forces of male violence and misogyny, but who nevertheless manages to find moments of strength and resilience amidst the darkness.
Line by Line Meaning
Me and all the kids from the neighborhood
I used to play with the children in my town.
We'd play out in the street all summer long.
We enjoyed spending the summer outdoors.
Rule was we had to go home at night,
But we had to come back home at night as it was a rule.
When the street lights came on.
As soon as the street lights were turned on, we knew we had to go.
We were oblivious to the rest of the world.
We were clueless about everything that happened outside our block.
And we'd hold up the cars in the street.
We didn't care if we were blocking the cars on the road.
Yeah, we'd always play boys against girls,
We always played boys vs girls.
And both sides would cheat.
But both the teams would cheat anyway.
Strange men would stop their cars at the curb
Strange men would stop their cars if they saw a girl nearby.
Say: "Hey sweetheart come here."
They would say, "Come here, sweetie."
And I'd go up to the window and they'd have their dick out in their hand
They would have their genitals out when I went to their window.
With a sick little sneer.
And they would sneer sickly.
And I'd say
I would say
"Here we go again! Yeah, ok this time you win."
"Here we go again! Okay, fine, you win."
And I would feel dirty, I'd feel ashamed,
I would feel disgusted and ashamed.
But I wouldn't let it stop my game.
But I continued playing like nothing happened.
We would play hide and go seek.
We used to play hide and seek.
Territory would be the whole block.
Our playground was the entire neighborhood.
Sometimes the older boys when they'd find you,
Sometimes, when the older boys would find you,
They wouldn't want to tag you, they'd just want to talk.
They wouldn't want to play, but instead, have a conversation.
They'd say "What would you do for a quarter? Come on, we don't have that much time."
They would offer me a quarter and ask what I would do for it.
And I'd think a minute and I'd say:
I took a moment to think and then said:
"Ok... give me the quarter first. Fine."
"Sure, give me the quarter first, fine."
This time you win.
You won this time.
Here we go again!
Again, this happened.
And I would feel dirty and I would feel ashamed,
Even though I felt disgusted and ashamed,
But I wouldn't let it stop my game.
I kept playing like nothing changed.
I remember my first trip alone on the greyhound bus,
I remember my first solo trip on the greyhound bus.
And the man who put his hands on me to see where his knife fell
I also remember the man who touched me to check if his knife fell.
And I remember when I left how excited I was
I was very thrilled when I left for the trip.
And I remember when I arrived I didn't feel so well.
But when I reached my destination, I wasn't feeling good.
I remember the teacher at school got me so sick and scared
I also remember how a teacher at school scared me to the point where I fell ill.
I went into the bathroom and threw up in my hair
That incident was so traumatizing that I went to the bathroom to throw up and ended up getting it in my hair.
And I could go on, but you know, it just gets worse
I could recount more stories, but things just get worse from there.
So I think I'll stop there...
I think I'll stop there for now.
Girl, next time he wants to know
If a man asks you again
What your problem is...
What your problem is
Girl, next time he wants to know
If a man asks you again
Where the anger comes from...
Where your anger stems from
Just tell him this time the problem's his.
This time, the problem lies with him.
Tell him the anger just comes.
Let him know that anger is a natural response to these things.
It just comes.
It is just how it is.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: ANI DIFRANCO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind