Hole was an American alternative rock band formed by singer and guitarist C… Read Full Bio ↴Hole was an American alternative rock band formed by singer and guitarist Courtney Love and lead guitarist Eric Erlandson in Los Angeles, California in 1989. Influenced by Los Angeles' punk rock scene, and produced by Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, the band's debut album, Pretty on the Inside, attracted critical interest from British and American alternative press. Their second album, Live Through This, released 1994 by DGC Records, which featured less aggressive melodies and more restrained lyrical content, was widely acclaimed and reached platinum status within a year of its release. Their third album, Celebrity Skin, which garnered them four Grammy nominations, marked a notable departure from their earlier punk influences, boasting a more commercially viable, "mature" sound.

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.

Pretty on the Inside/Clouds
Hole Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

== Pretty On The Inside ==

Slutkiss girls
Won't you promise her smack?
Is she pretty on the inside?
Is she pretty from the back?
Slutkiss girl
Won't you water her rack?

Is she pretty on the inside, baby?
Pretty from the back?
Slutkiss girl
Molasses rot black strap
Is she ugly on the inside, baby?
Ugly, ugly from the back?
There is no power like my pretty power
My pretty power
My ugly
Slutkiss girl
Won't you promise her smack?
Is she pretty on the inside?
Is she ugly?
Ugly?
Ugly?
Ugly?
Ugly?
Ugly?
Ugly?
Ugly?
Ugly?

== Clouds ==

Bad boy

Rows and flows of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way

Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
I've looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So so many things I could've done
But clouds

Angel dust gets in your eyes, your hair
On acid stars you're getting there
My body's assembled into
A little itty-bitty gift to you
When you die, I've looked at life that way

But now it's just another show
You leave 'em laughing when you go
So, so don't let them inside, don't let them know
Don't give yourself ohh away

But now my friends are acting strange
They shake their heads man, they say I've changed, well
Well, something's lost, rearranged
From living every, every, every, I've

I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
I'ts just illusions I recall

I really don't know, I really don't know
I really don't know, I really don't know

I really don't, I really don't clouds at all
Why are we here...terrified, terrified, wow

Overall Meaning

The first song, "Pretty On The Inside," seems to be addressing the issue of objectification and commodification of women. The term "slutkiss girl" suggests a woman who is promiscuous, and the lyrics inquire if she is pretty both on the inside and outside. The use of the word "smack" suggests drug addiction, which could be a result of trying to cope with the pressures of societal expectations of beauty. The intermittent "ugly" suggests that regardless of her outward appearance, there is a sense of discomfort within. The phrase "there is no power like my pretty power" could be interpreted as the power that society gives to pretty people, even though this power is ultimately meaningless.

The second song, "Clouds," has a noticeably different tone. It begins by painting an idyllic picture of clouds and fairy tales, evoking a sense of hope and optimism. However, the lyrics take a sharp turn towards the end, as we see the singer's friends reacting negatively as they notice a change. The singer seems to feel trapped and resigned to their circumstances, with the line "now it's just another show" suggesting that everything is just for show with no real substance. The final line "Why are we here...terrified, terrified, wow" adds to the sense of confusion and disillusionment.

Line by Line Meaning

Slutkiss girls
Hey, girls who do drugs and sleep around

Won't you promise her smack?
Can you please give her some drugs?

Is she pretty on the inside?
Does she have a good personality?

Is she pretty from the back?
Does she have a nice body?

Slutkiss girl
Hey, girl who does drugs and sleeps around

Won't you water her rack?
Can you please give her some drinks?

Is she pretty on the inside, baby?
Is she a good person?

Pretty from the back?
Does she have a nice body?

Slutkiss girl
Hey, girl who does drugs and sleeps around

Molasses rot black strap
Drugs are rotting her

Is she ugly on the inside, baby?
Is she a bad person?

Ugly, ugly from the back?
Does she have a bad body?

There is no power like my pretty power
I feel powerful because I'm pretty

My pretty power
My pleasing appearance

My ugly
My true self, which may not be pretty

Slutkiss girl
Hey, girl who does drugs and sleeps around

Won't you promise her smack?
Can you please give her some drugs?

Is she pretty on the inside?
Does she have a good personality?

Is she ugly?
Is she a bad person?

Ugly?
Is she really a bad person?

Bad boy
Hey, troublemaker

Rows and flows of angel hair
Pretty clouds that look like hair

And ice cream castles in the air
Imaginary castles made of ice cream

And feather canyons everywhere
Clouds that look like feathers

I've looked at clouds that way
That's how I used to see clouds

Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels
Romantic things that people do

The dizzy dancing way you feel
Feeling happy and lightheaded

As every fairy tale comes real
As every dream comes true

I've looked at clouds that way
That's how I used to see clouds

But now they only block the sun
But now they just get in the way

They rain and snow on everyone
They bring bad weather for everyone

So so many things I could've done
I could have done so many things

But clouds
But I'm stuck with these clouds

Angel dust gets in your eyes, your hair
Drugs make you hallucinate

On acid stars you're getting there
Drugs make you feel like you're on another planet

My body's assembled into
I feel like a machine

A little itty-bitty gift to you
A small, insignificant gift to you

When you die, I've looked at life that way
I used to think about life after death that way

But now it's just another show
But now it's just another thing to watch

You leave 'em laughing when you go
You make people laugh when you leave

So, so don't let them inside, don't let them know
So, don't let people get close to you

Don't give yourself ohh away
Don't share your true self with others

But now my friends are acting strange
But now my friends are acting weird around me

They shake their heads man, they say I've changed, well
They think I've become a different person

Well, something's lost, rearranged
Something has changed

From living every, every, every, I've
From living every day of my life

I've looked at clouds from both sides now
I've seen clouds from different perspectives

From up and down, and still somehow
From above and below, but I'm still confused

I'ts just illusions I recall
They were just illusions that I remember

I really don't know, I really don't know
I really don't understand

I really don't, I really don't clouds at all
I really don't understand clouds

Why are we here...terrified, terrified, wow
I'm scared and I don't know why

Contributed by Madelyn K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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Comments from YouTube:

jenny_jenny_nc

3y↑21

I humbly leave this comment for my sister. This reminds me of her. Always has . The song that is. She is alive but not here. Drugs. And this brings back memories of a beautiful sis. She has no idea how much she shines. How could she know? 💗🙏Om Nama Shivaya.

assurdo888

2y↑1

Om Namah Shivaya 💚❤💚

Dids the cat

You have my sympathy. This album always reminded me of my mom, she had a horrible relationship with her parents and she is also a heroin addict, has been for 25 years. Weird how music can make us all cope better.