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.

Retard Gril
Hole Lyrics

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Retard girl makes us sick
retard, poke her with a stick
well, she walks funny
kind of like a pig
god, i hate that retard girl
see the retard girl walking in the schoolyard
in the same dress from fourth grade
see the retard girl cross-eyed in the schoolyard

looking for the friend she made
the retard girl, retard girl
the retard girl
yeah, don't forget her face
as shines the moon among the lesser fires
she is sucking dick out in the yard
well, she walks funny
kind of like a pig
god, i hate that retard girl
hey, the retard girls all walk funny
she don't think like the others do
see the retard girl squirming in the mud
throw her in the trash can
see what she does
the retard girl, retard girl
the retard girl
yeah, don't forget a face
i asked her mother, "why'd you implode?"
well, her head's so big
it just might explode
and she walks funny
kind of like a pig
god, i hate that retard girl
hit her
see that retard girl staring at the sun
what does she see?
see the retard girl stare at everyone
i hope she doesn't see me
retard girl, the retard girl
the retard girl
yeah, don't forget her face
retard girl
the retard girl

the retard girl
don't throw her away

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Hole's "Retard Girl" are extremely controversial and offensive. The song describes a young girl who has an intellectual or developmental disability and is mistreated, bullied, and humiliated by the people around her. The song begins by saying that this "retard girl" makes the other people sick, and they poke her with a stick to further humiliate her. The lyrics mention her walking funny like a pig and being cross-eyed, which adds to the disrespectful and dehumanizing language used throughout the song. The singer expresses disgust and hatred towards the girl, and even suggests throwing her in the trash can to see what she does. However, there is a glimmer of empathy towards the end of the song when the singer wonders what the girl sees when she stares at the sun.

Line by Line Meaning

Retard girl makes us sick
The singer despises the girl they refer to as 'retard girl'

retard, poke her with a stick
The singer's hostility toward 'retard girl' is such that they suggest poking her with a stick

well, she walks funny
'Retard girl' has an unusual gait or way of walking, which the singer finds unpleasant

kind of like a pig
The artist compares the way 'retard girl' walks to that of a pig

god, i hate that retard girl
The artist repeats their intense dislike for 'retard girl'

see the retard girl walking in the schoolyard
The singer is observing 'retard girl' walking in a specific area of the school

in the same dress from fourth grade
'Retard girl' still wears a dress from being in fourth grade, indicating a lack of growth or development

see the retard girl cross-eyed in the schoolyard
'Retard girl' is depicted with a physical disability - being cross-eyed - causing her to not be able to look forward in the schoolyard

looking for the friend she made
'Retard girl' seems to be on the lookout for a specific friend she wants to interact with

the retard girl, retard girl
The artist repeats 'retard girl' for emphasis

yeah, don't forget her face
The singer wants to ensure that the listener remembers what 'retard girl' looks like

as shines the moon among the lesser fires
This phrase is nonsensical and doesn't contribute heavily to the meaning of the song

she is sucking dick out in the yard
This lyric is vulgar and dehumanizes 'retard girl' by reducing her to her sexual activity

hey, the retard girls all walk funny
The singer has seen other girls they consider to have cognitive disabilities and suggests that they all walk in a manner that is peculiar

she don't think like the others do
The singer thinks 'retard girl' is different from others and doesn't contemplate the way most people do

see the retard girl squirming in the mud
'Retard girl' is again depicted in a humiliating way by showing her dirty and uncomfortable

throw her in the trash can
The artist suggests throwing 'retard girl' into the trash can, escalating their aggressive hostility toward her

see what she does
The singer wants to mock 'retard girl' and see what she will do while humiliated and degraded

i asked her mother, "why'd you implode?"
This confrontational line is directed at 'retard girl's' mother, seemingly criticizing her parenting or genetics

well, her head's so big
'Retard girl' has a literal or figurative 'big head', which the artist uses to further insult her

it just might explode
The artist suggests that due to her large head, 'retard girl' may have health issues and her head could potentially explode

hit her
The artist advocates for physically abusing 'retard girl'

see that retard girl staring at the sun
The singer again observes 'retard girl' engaging in a behavior they find strange

what does she see?
The artist is curious about what motivates 'retard girl' to behave in the ways she does

see the retard girl stare at everyone
The singer is bothered by 'retard girl's' tendency to stare at people

i hope she doesn't see me
The singer doesn't want to be noticed or looked at by 'retard girl'

retard girl, the retard girl
The singer repeats 'retard girl' again for emphasis

don't forget her face
The artist wants to reinforce the previous messages to not forget what 'retard girl' looks like

retard girl the retard girl
The artist repeats 'retard girl' again for emphasis

don't throw her away
The singer suggests that despite her disabilities and being a source of frustration, 'retard girl' deserves to be treated with basic decency and not discarded

Contributed by Nicholas M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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