Cuttooth
Christopher O'Riley Lyrics

The lyrics to Christopher O'Riley's song "Cuttooth" are dense with meaning and imagery. The opening lines suggest a sense of feeling stuck or stagnant in life, with the act of leading a "wallpaper life" implying a life that is dull and unremarkable. The alternative option presented in the lyrics is to "run away to the foreign legion", which suggests a desire for escape or adventure.

However, the mention of tanks rolling into town adds a sense of danger or impending doom to the lyrics. This danger is underscored by the repetition of the line "A little bit of knowledge will destroy you", which implies that there is information or knowledge that is dangerous or harmful in some way. The repeated imagery of tanks rolling into town suggests a totalitarian or oppressive force, making the emphasis on the power of knowledge all the more ominous.

The chorus of the song shifts to a more physical sense of running, urging the listener to "run until your lungs are sore". This repetition of the command to run suggests a sense of urgency and the need to escape, perhaps from the danger alluded to in the opening lines.

The second half of the song's lyrics suggest a relationship between two people, with one person building up the other only to bring them down. The repeated line "I don't know why I feel so tongue-tied/I don't know why I feel so skinned alive" suggests a sense of insecurity or anxiety. The final line of the song, "I'll find another skin to wear", implies a desire to start fresh or reinvent oneself.

Overall, the lyrics to "Cuttooth" are cryptic and open to interpretation, but they suggest a sense of danger, oppression, and a desire for escape and reinvention.