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.

Sometimes
Babes in Toyland Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Angel hair
Floating over there
Well you think I don't see
I see clear through
I see little fish in my sea
Living vicariously of who you are to me
Little fish in my sea
You think I don't see

I see clear through
So you see
Little fish
You think I don't see
I see clear through
I see little fish in my sea
Living vicariously of who you are to me
Little sea
You are 3
You are 3
You are 3 3 3 3 3
Sea
3
Sea
Of living
What you are to me
What you are to me

Still say to me
Ha ha ha

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Babes in Toyland's song "Sometimes" seem to be about seeing through someone's facade and recognizing them for who they really are. The use of the metaphor of "little fish in my sea" represents this idea that the person is living vicariously through the singer and trying to be someone they're not. The imagery of angel hair floating over there adds to the sense of deception and illusion - the person may appear angelic or perfect, but the singer is able to see past that and see the truth.

The repeated line "you think I don't see, I see clear through" emphasizes the idea that the singer is not fooled by the other person's act. The "ha ha ha" at the end of the song seems to be a mocking laughter, as if the singer is amused by the other person's attempts to deceive them.

Overall, the lyrics to "Sometimes" are abstract and open to interpretation, but there is a clear sense of someone trying to be something they're not and the singer seeing past that.

Line by Line Meaning

Angel hair
Referring to delicate, ethereal qualities.

Floating over there
Describing the presence of these qualities in the environment.

Well you think I don't see
Addressing an assumption of ignorance.

I see clear through
Asserting the ability to see through the facade.

I see little fish in my sea
Identifying the presence of small, insignificant beings in one's domain.

Living vicariously of who you are to me
Describing how these beings feed off the image of someone else.

You think I don't see
Reiterating the previous assertion of knowledge.

I see clear through
Reiterating the ability to see through deception.

So you see
Transitioning to a more direct statement.

Little fish
Addressing the insignificant beings once again.

Little sea
Metaphorically referring to the environment that contains these beings.