Growing up in Malibu, California, she began learning the violin at the age of four and left regular school five years later with the goal of becoming a world-class violinist; she practiced eight or nine hours a day and read a wide range of literature. Progressing to writing her own music, she studied under various teachers and went to Indiana University, which she left over issues regarding the relationship between classical music and the appearance of the performer. Through her own independent label Traitor Records, Autumn debuted with her classical album On a Day: Music for Violin & Continuo, followed by the release in 2003 of her album Enchant.
She appeared in singer Courtney Love's backing band on her 2004 America's Sweetheart tour and returned to Europe. She released the 2006 album Opheliac with the German label Trisol Music Group. In 2007, she released Laced/Unlaced; the re-release of On a Day... appeared as Laced with songs on the electric violin as Unlaced. She later left Trisol to join New York-based The End Records in 2009 and release Opheliac in the United States, where previously it had only been available as an import. Currently she is on tour to promote her newest album Fight Like A Girl. She played the role of Painted Doll in Darren Lynn Bousman's 2012 film The Devil's Carnival.
Poem: How To Break A Heart
Emilie Autumn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It is not difficult
Anyone can do it
So could you, if you tried
Just find a light
And switch it off
As easy as blinking
That's what I was taught
By ladies in white nightgowns
In dripping weeds and black ribbons
A girl's best friend is a small handgun
The question was useless
For I could say yes
But you've got to ask my army
And they are not inclined to grant favours just now
The lyrics of Emilie Autumn's song "Poem: How To Break a Heart" depict the idea of how to break someone's heart. According to the singer, breaking a heart is not at all difficult, and anyone can do it. It's a very simple process, just like turning off a light. It can be done in seconds without any significant effort. The lyrics further highlight that she has been taught this since she was a kid by the ladies in white nightgowns.
The lyrics suggest that the best weapon to break someone's heart is not a big gun, but a small handgun. The singer offers a metaphor for how easy it is to break someone's heart by saying that it's just like blinking. At the end of the song, she says that she cannot grant the favor because the army needs to be inquired, which serves as a metaphor for the complexity of the human heart, and how difficult it can be to break.
The song's lyrics characterize a very dark perspective on the concept of love and relationships. The lyrics make use of many metaphors to illustrate the singer's bleak outlook. Some of the metaphors refer to drowning in a lake or being dragged under by seaweed. There are also references to ghosts and people in nightgowns. The song reflects how others can manipulate someone's emotions, leading to the eventual breaking of their heart. The lyrics might be pointing towards manipulative people or individuals suffering from a personality disorder, and how easy it is for them to use someone's emotions for their own gratification.
Line by Line Meaning
How to break a heart
The act of breaking someone's heart
It is not difficult
Breaking a heart is easy and doesn't require much effort
Anyone can do it
Anyone is capable of breaking someone's heart
So could you, if you tried
If one attempts, they too can break someone's heart
Just find a light
Find the metaphorical light in someone's life
And switch it off
Turn off that light, leaving them in darkness
As easy as blinking
An effortless act, like blinking
That's what I was taught
She learned to do this at an early age
When I was too young to ask
She was young and didn't understand the gravity of the situation
By ladies in white nightgowns
She was taught by older women or authority figures
In dripping weeds and black ribbons
These women were dressed in mourning attire, implying they were teaching her how to break someone's heart
A girl's best friend is a small handgun
A metaphor showing how harmful breaking someone's heart can be
The question was useless
The singer believes that answering the question is futile
For I could say yes
The singer is capable of breaking hearts
But you've got to ask my army
The singer can't give permission to do so without their army's approval
And they are not inclined to grant favours just now
The artist's army won't readily consent to breaking someone's heart at this moment
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind