Insulin
Crystal Castles Lyrics

The lyrics to Crystal Castles’s “Insulin” are dark and haunting, touching on themes of brutality, mutilation, and exploitation. The opening lines, “We dissolve everything / Scratch follicles so they don't grow / Expose your shame for all to see / Sell your bones as ivory,” describe a process of breaking down and destroying everything, including the human body itself. The image of scratching follicles suggests violence and pain, while the selling of bones as ivory alludes to the illegal trade in elephant tusks and the violent exploitation of other creatures. The lyrics suggest that there is a brutal and heartless industry operating behind the scenes, one that profits at the expense of human life.

The second verse is just as chilling: “Perfume in my blood / Nails grow through the glove / Bruise my embryo / Lay them down lay them down in rows.” The image of perfume in the blood is a powerful one, suggesting that something beautiful and desirable has been corrupted or taken over by something else. The nails growing through the glove may represent a kind of bodily invasion or infiltration, while the image of bruising the embryo suggests an attack on the most vulnerable and innocent of life forms. Finally, the idea of laying down bodies “in rows” suggests an industrial process, a systematic method of disposing of human life.

Overall, the lyrics to “Insulin” paint a picture of a brutal and merciless world, one where human life is devalued and exploited for profit. The song is a powerful critique of the modern world, where consumerism and capitalism often lead to the exploitation and destruction of both human and non-human beings.