The band had a revolving line-up of bassists and drummers, their most prolific being drummer Patty Schemel, and bassists Kristen Pfaff (d. 1994) and Melissa Auf der Maur. In 2002 the group disbanded to pursue other projects. Eight years later in 2010, Hole was reformed by Love with new members, despite Erlandson's claim that the reformation breached a mutual contract he had with Love. The reformed band released the album Nobody's Daughter, which had originally been conceived as Love's second solo album. In 2013, Love retired the Hole name, releasing new material and touring as a solo artist.
Hole has been noted for being one of the most commercially successful female-fronted rock bands of all time, selling over three million records in the United States alone and having a far-reaching influence on contemporary female artists. Music and feminist scholars have also recognized the band as the most high-profile musical group of the 1990s to discuss gender issues in their songs, due to Love's aggressive and violent lyrical content, which often addressed themes of body image, abuse, and sexual exploitation.
Hole went on to become the most commercially successful female-fronted grunge band in history, selling over 3 million records in the United States between 1991 and 2010. In spite of Love's often polarizing reputation in the media, Hole received consistent critical praise for their output, and was often noted for the predominant feminist commentary found in Love's lyrics, which scholars have credited as "articulating a third-wave feminist consciousness". Love's subversive onstage persona and public image coincided with the band's songs, which expressed "pain, sorrow, and anger, but [an] underlying message of survival, particularly survival in the face of overwhelming circumstances." Music journalist Maria Raha expressed a similar sentiment in regard to the band's significance to third-wave feminism, stating, "Whether you love Courtney [Love] or hate her, Hole was the highest-profile female-fronted band of the '90s to openly and directly sing about feminism."
While Rolling Stone compared the effect of Love's marriage to Kurt Cobain on the band to that of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, they noted that "Love's confrontational stage presence, as well as her gut-wrenching vocals and powerful punk-pop songcraft, made her an alternative-rock star in her own right." Author Nick Wise made a similar comparison in discussion of the band's public image, stating, "Not since Yoko Ono's marriage to John Lennon has a woman's personal life and exploits within the rock arena been so analyzed and dissected." The band has been cited as a major influence on several contemporary artists, including indie singer songwriter Scout Niblett, Brody Dalle of the Distillers and Spinnerette, Sky Ferreira, Lana Del Rey, Tove Lo, Tegan and Sara, and the British rock band Nine Black Alps. The band ranked at #77 of VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Artists.
Old Age
Hole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm so high I cannot walk
And I will await
You cripple
You take away my pride
My peace, my empathy
No babies sleep on atrophy
Your unborn love and fetal stress
What was she for Halloween?
The ugliest girl you've ever seen
Someday she will die alone
What was she for Valentine's?
An old forgotten concubine
Someday she will die for no one
She seems to me to know
All that glitters is sour
All the lies in her place
Jesus saves
Old age
Old age
Old age
It's okay to kill your idols
Just pretend you have no rivals
We all know that she is friendless
Spits at mirrors; it's not an issue
Just remove the hateful tissues
We all know her rage is endless
She seems to me to know
All that glitters is sour
All the lies in her place
Jesus saves
Old age
Old age
Old age
Old age
And then she begs and she says "Pretty please?
I'll make her pure again; I'll make her clean"
No one knows she's Hester Prynne
Someone please tell Anne Boleyn
Chokers are back in again
Someday she won't have to fake it
Living will itself seem sacred
Someday she will just refuse
She seems to me to know
All that glitters is sour
All the lies in her place
Jesus saves
Old age
Old age
Old age
Jesus saves
Old age
(Rest in pieces) I'm sorry
(Me in pieces) So sorry
(Rest in pieces) I'm sorry
(Me in pieces) So sorry
The lyrics to Hole's song “Old Age” are complex and open to interpretation, but one possible meaning is that the song is about the loss of youth and the fear of growing old. The singer seems to be addressing someone who they hold in high regard, someone who has taken away their pride, peace, and empathy. This person is symbolized as a cripple, suggesting that they have caused the singer to be wounded, both physically and emotionally. They have also taken away the singer’s unborn love and left them with only bitter memories. The imagery of “legless caress” further emphasizes the idea of loss and paralysis.
The second half of the song seems to be addressing a different person, a woman who is friendless and full of rage. The lyrics suggest that this woman has been shamed or ostracized in some way, as she is compared to Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter and Anne Boleyn, the tragic queen of England. The sense of anger and frustration in the song is palpable, yet there is also a sense of acceptance and even hope. The singer seems to be urging these women to let go of their pain and embrace the present moment, even if it means facing the unpleasant reality of old age.
Overall, “Old Age” is a poignant and thought-provoking song that explores the complexities of human emotion and the struggles we all face as we grow older.
Line by Line Meaning
And I will await your highness
I'm waiting for you to come back to me
I'm so high I cannot walk
I'm so high on drugs that I can't even stand up straight
You cripple
You're making me weak and powerless
You take away my pride
You're making me feel ashamed of myself
My peace, my empathy
You're making me feel like a bad person, someone who can't love or connect with others
No babies sleep on atrophy
No new life is growing because everything's dying
Your unborn love and fetal stress
Our love is dying before it even has a chance to grow into something real
Hard bitter candy, legless caress
Our relationship is painful and abusive
What was she for Halloween?
What was she pretending to be when we were together?
The ugliest girl you've ever seen
She was someone whose outward appearance was not attractive to me
Someday she will die alone
She will never be able to connect with anyone in a meaningful way
What was she for Valentine's?
What did she want from me on Valentine's Day?
An old forgotten concubine
She was someone who had been used and discarded
Someday she will die for no one
She will never find anyone who cares about her
She seems to me to know
I get the sense that she understands something important
All that glitters is sour
The things that seem attractive or valuable are actually harmful
All the lies in her place
We've been telling each other so many lies that it's hard to find the truth
Jesus saves
We're clinging to religion as a way to feel better about our lives
Old age
We're both getting older and realizing how little time we have left
It's okay to kill your idols
It's alright to stop looking up to people who are supposed to be role models
Just pretend you have no rivals
Don't worry about what other people are doing or achieving
We all know that she is friendless
It's clear that she has no real friends, just people who use her
Spits at mirrors; it's not an issue
She doesn't care about her own appearance or image
Just remove the hateful tissues
Eliminate the negativity that's holding us back
We all know her rage is endless
She's been harboring anger and resentment for a long time
And then she begs and she says "Pretty please?
She's desperately trying to make things right
I'll make her pure again; I'll make her clean"
I'll fix things and make everything better
No one knows she's Hester Prynne
She's keeping secrets that no one else knows about
Someone please tell Anne Boleyn
Someone should warn her about the dangers of being with this person
Chokers are back in again
Fashion trends are cyclical and repeat themselves
Someday she won't have to fake it
She'll finally be able to be her true self without pretending to be someone else
Living will itself seem sacred
Life will feel more meaningful and valuable
Someday she will just refuse
She'll be strong enough to say no and stand up for herself
Rest in pieces) I'm sorry
I'm apologizing for the pain we've caused each other
(Me in pieces) So sorry
I'm also suffering from the effects of our relationship
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Courtney M Love
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Peter Pumkinghead
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