Babes in Toyland was an American punk band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesot… Read Full Bio ↴Babes in Toyland was an American punk band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1987, when Lori Barbero met Kat Bjelland at a friend's barbeque. Originally four-piece, the band developed into the honed-down trio of Lori (long-time Minneapolis scenester) on drums, Kat (a transplant from Oregon via San Francisco, who moved to Minneapolis specifically to form a band) on vocals and guitar, and Michelle Leon on bass. Courtney Love, a close friend and former bandmate of Bjelland's in the short-lived group The Pagan Babies, had a brief stint in the band as a bass player in 1987, before being kicked out and later forming Hole two years afterward.

Babes In Toyland's debut single on Treehouse Records ("Dust Cake Boy" b/w "Spit To See The Shine") landed them a deal with Minneapolis' famed Twin/Tone Records.

Their debut album Spanking Machine -- released in 1990 -- caught the attention of Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, who began singing their praises in the music press and invited the band to support them on their European tour. Meanwhile, Spanking Machine was released in the UK by Southern Studios, and was quickly gaining favour with the music press and John Peel who recorded a session with them and named the album as his favorite of 1990.

In the summer of 1991, To Mother was recorded at Southern Studios with John Loder in the producer's seat. The EP entered the independent charts in the top 10 and stayed there for an amazing 13 weeks (ten of which the EP held at the No. 1 position). Early in 1992, Michelle Leon amicably left the band and was replaced by Maureen Herman, an old friend and long-time fan of the band. Their second and most successful album, Fontanelle was released in August 1992 and was followed by the outtakes EP Painkillers in June 1993.

After a number of other tours, Babes in Toyland released Nemesisters, their third and final studio album, in 1995. After this, the band were on-off with Leon's departure leading to the dissolution of their record label contract. In 2001, the band reformed for one final time and performed their final show on November 25 in Minneapolis. After this, the band officially disbanded, however, Kat Bjelland performed a number of shows in Europe under the band's name, only to face legal action from former members if the tour went further ahead.

After much speculation, in 2014, Babes in Toyland had announced they reunited and announced tour dates.
In 2015, Maureen Herman was replaced by Clara Salyer.

Catatonic
Babes in Toyland Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I know the sugar plum fairy
Her name is mary
She's halfway inside my arm
Half way does great harm
So she charmed herself to a toilet seat
And fucked herself gold holy
Silver beads shot out her eyes
Then the rain comes

When the rain comes
Then it got worse
I know you well
I wear your smell
Nailed at the hips
I see
You are me
1-2-3-4-5
Glad you're not alive
6-7-8-9-10
Back to hell again
This sick charade
This ditch I've spade
I've come to clay
I see
See you are me
1-2-3-4-5
Glad you're not alive
6-7-8-9-10 back to hell again

Catatonic planet
I can't stand it

Overall Meaning

The song "Catatonic" by Babes in Toyland features lyrics that are quite cryptic but evoke a sense of darkness and confusion. The singer starts by introducing the "sugar plum fairy" named Mary who seems to have done some kind of harm to the singer. Then, the singer describes how Mary charmed herself to a toilet seat and did something that resulted in silver beads shooting out of her eyes when the rain comes. As the song progresses, the singer mentions how they know the person they are addressing well and can even smell them. The lyrics then take an ominous turn when the singer says, "glad you're not alive, back to hell again."

Overall, the song seems to be about a toxic relationship or an addiction that feels like it's consuming the singer. The reference to the sugar plum fairy may represent a drug or a person who has a hold on the singer. The imagery of silver beads shooting out of Mary's eyes could symbolize the toxic effects of addiction. The singer seems to be struggling and may even be having an out-of-body experience, as they say, "You are me" and "I see, see you are me."

Line by Line Meaning

I know the sugar plum fairy
I am familiar with the sugar plum fairy

Her name is mary
The sugar plum fairy's name is Mary

She's halfway inside my arm
I am experiencing the sensation of the sugar plum fairy being partially within my arm

Half way does great harm
This partial experience of the sugar plum fairy within my arm is causing me harm

So she charmed herself to a toilet seat
The sugar plum fairy used her magic to become attached to a toilet seat

And fucked herself gold holy
The sugar plum fairy engaged in sexual activity with the toilet seat, resulting in a religious experience where everything turns to gold

Silver beads shot out her eyes
As a result of the religious experience, silver beads exited the sugar plum fairy's eyes

Then the rain comes
Following this event, rain began to fall

When the rain comes
I am anticipating the arrival of the rain

Then it got worse
Things took a turn for the worse

I know you well
I am very familiar with you

I wear your smell
I can smell your scent on me

Nailed at the hips
I am immobilized at the hips

I see
I understand

You are me
You and I are identical

1-2-3-4-5
Counting up to five

Glad you're not alive
Expressing relief that someone is not alive

6-7-8-9-10
Counting up to ten