Clare Fader & the Vaudevillains is a dark cabaret act that blends cabaret, … Read Full Bio ↴Clare Fader & the Vaudevillains is a dark cabaret act that blends cabaret, jazz, pop, and world music that calls Winston-Salem, North Carolina their home.

Led by Clare Fader on vocals, the Vaudevillains - Aaron Bachelder (percussion), Brad Cokendolpher (guitar), Mary K. Elinks (cello), and Andy Mabe (bass and backing vocals) - released the album Seventh and Trade in 2003 on the Raconteur Records label, "The Southeast's Most Independent Label" founded by Fader herself.

Prior to Seventh and Trade, Fader released a "solo" album entitled The Elephant's Baby in December, 2000, to which Dirty Linen said, "One of the more unique American recordings I have heard in recent years."

Clare Fader's music has been used in episodes of MTV's The Real World, as well as in Ramin Bahrani's film Man Push Cart. She's also been featured on a "Biddycast," which is a Podcast program started by her friends the Lascivious Biddies.

Animal Charm
Clare Fader Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Charlotte wept for some fine pig, they say
Forgive me if I never did the same
The barnyard life was bleak
No story book mystique
No animal charm is leadin' me astray

The mama piggy knocked me to the floor
I grabbed a hammer and headed for the door

My pa was so amused
My tail and ego bruised
Shoulda known then that I'd go back for more

It was a charmed life
With lots of wild life
We had a pig pen
For a play pen
But then my life changed
And I got short changed
Now my play pen's
The lion's den

Agatha rode a pig when she was five
Around the barn she was taken for a ride
She knows that this was real
Still hears them piggies squeal
Take her back to bein' five
And so alive

When Mary Jane dropped by my house to play
The piggies stole their chance to run away

Charlotte wept for some fine pig, they say
Forgive me if I'm just a tad blase...

Overall Meaning

The song "Animal Charm" by Clare Fader is an intriguing exploration of childhood experiences and how they shape our attitudes towards life. The first verse highlights how some people may romanticize the idea of farm life, associating it with fairy tales and idyllic settings. However, the reality of living on a farm is often harsh and unromantic. The singer, Charlotte, weeps for a pig, but the singer implies that she has never experienced the same emotion. The second verse continues the theme of disillusionment, showing that even the animals can be dangerous and unpredictable. Charlotte is knocked to the floor by the mama piggy, showing that farm life is not as simple as it may seem. However, Charlotte brushes the experience off, and the third verse shows how she has moved on from her childhood perspective. Agatha's experience of riding a pig when she was five contrasts with Charlotte's experience of being knocked to the floor. The final verse shows how Charlotte has grown up and is no longer interested in the "animal charm" of farm life. Overall, the song suggests that our childhood experiences can shape our attitudes towards life, but we can choose to move on and change our perspective as we get older.

Line by Line Meaning

Charlotte wept for some fine pig, they say
Charlotte cried for some pig that was probably going to be slaughtered or sold, but the singer doesn't feel the same way and doesn't care

Forgive me if I never did the same
The singer is not sorry for not feeling the same way Charlotte did about the pig

The barnyard life was bleak
The life of farm animals was hard and not ideal

No story book mystique
There was nothing magical or charming about living on a farm

No animal charm is leadin' me astray
The artist is not swayed or charmed by the idea of living on a farm or being around animals

The mama piggy knocked me to the floor
The pig pushed the singer to the ground

I grabbed a hammer and headed for the door
The singer was angry and wanted to hurt the pig

My pa was so amused
The artist's father found the situation funny

My tail and ego bruised
The artist's pride was hurt and maybe physically hurt too

Shoulda known then that I'd go back for more
The artist didn't learn their lesson and would still act aggressively towards the pig

It was a charmed life
Living around animals seemed like a good life

With lots of wild life
There were many different types of animals around

We had a pig pen
There was a place where pigs were kept

For a play pen
The pig pen was also a play area for the singer

But then my life changed
Something happened to the singer that made their life different

And I got short changed
The artist feels like they didn't get a fair deal in life

Now my play pen's
Now the artist's play area is

The lion's den
The singer is in a dangerous situation or surrounded by dangerous people

Agatha rode a pig when she was five
Someone named Agatha rode a pig when she was a child

Around the barn she was taken for a ride
Agatha was taken around the barn on the pig's back

She knows that this was real
Agatha remembers the experience as being real, not imaginary

Still hears them piggies squeal
Agatha can still hear pigs squealing in her memory

Take her back to bein' five
Agatha wishes she could go back to being a child again

And so alive
And feeling so full of life and happiness

When Mary Jane dropped by my house to play
A friend named Mary Jane came over to play with the singer

The piggies stole their chance to run away
The pigs caused a distraction that prevented the singer and Mary Jane from being able to leave or run away from something

Forgive me if I'm just a tad blase...
The singer is uninterested and not enthusiastic about something, possibly related to the pigs

Contributed by Riley T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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