In the 1990s, Hogan sang with The Jody Grind, singing on their full-lengths… Read Full Bio ↴In the 1990s, Hogan sang with The Jody Grind, singing on their full-lengths One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure (1990) and Lefty's Deceiver (1992). The group disbanded after two of its members were killed in a car crash. She then co-founded the Rock*A*Teens, playing bass on the guitar and singing backup vocals. She appeared on their 1996 self-titled LP and the 1997 album Cry. Her debut solo record was released in 1996, which featured covers of songs by Will Oldham and Vic Chestnutt.

Hogan left the Rock*A*Teens after the release of Cry, and signed with Bloodshot Records, releasing two full-length albums in 2000-01. Among those appearing on the records were the Pine Valley Cosmonauts, Andrew Bird, and Edith Frost. In the 2000s she also collaborated with Neko Case, The Waco Brothers, The Minus 5, Nora O'Connor, The Wee Hairy Beasties, and others.

We Can't Have Nice Things
Kelly Hogan Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Welcome to our humble home, we can′t you invite you in
Cause someone's gone and made a wreck of everything again
Like this coffee table footrest where the whisky glass leaves rings
And I guess we just can′t have nice things

The phone must not be working cause you haven't called me yet
The chair that I wake up has been burned by cigarettes
I tell myself it's only smoke that suffocates and clings

And I guess we just can′t have nice things
No, I guess we just can′t have nice things

Step around the wedding presents we're returning to the store
The lamp inside the window isn′t burning any more
The mirror only shows me someone else's face it seems
And I guess we just can′t have nice things
No, I guess we just can't have nice things

A teardrop on each pillow here, a hole in every wall
Still I′d rather these things than have nothing

Keep the bedroom door shut just to hide our broken dreams
It's where we tried to rise up on our torn and tattered wings
The vows have lost their meaning and memory only stings

And I guess we just can't have nice things

No, I guess we just can′t have nice things
No, I guess we just can′t have nice things

Overall Meaning

In Kelly Hogan's song "We Can't Have Nice Things," the lyrics showcase a home that has been run-down by neglect and destructive behavior. The singer talks about not being able to invite anyone into their humble home because of the mess. The coffee table footrest is ruined by whiskey glasses leaving rings, and the chair the singer wakes up in has been burned by cigarettes. The phone's not working, and the mirror only shows someone else's face. The lyrics suggest that the singer may have lost sight of who they are and their identity, represented by the reflection in the mirror. The bedroom door is kept shut to hide their broken dreams, and the vows have lost their meaning. The overall theme of the song is one of despair and loss of hope. The lyrics seem to indicate that the singer cannot seem to have anything nice due to their destructive behavior.

Line by Line Meaning

Welcome to our humble home, we can′t you invite you in
We cannot invite you into our humble home due to its current messy state.

Cause someone's gone and made a wreck of everything again
Someone has once again made a mess of everything in our home.

Like this coffee table footrest where the whisky glass leaves rings
The coffee table footrest has been ruined by whisky glass rings.

And I guess we just can′t have nice things
We seem to be incapable of keeping anything in nice condition.

The phone must not be working cause you haven't called me yet
I have not received a call from you and I think it must be due to a problem with the phone.

The chair that I wake up has been burned by cigarettes
My morning chair has been damaged by cigarette burns.

I tell myself it's only smoke that suffocates and clings
I try to convince myself that the smoke only suffocates and sticks to things, but it is actually causing damage.

And I guess we just can′t have nice things
We cannot seem to maintain anything nice in our home.

Step around the wedding presents we're returning to the store
Please step around the wedding presents that we are returning to the store.

The lamp inside the window isn′t burning any more
The lamp in the window no longer lights up.

The mirror only shows me someone else's face it seems
The mirror only reflects a face that feels unfamiliar to me.

And I guess we just can′t have nice things
We just cannot seem to keep anything nice or in good condition.

A teardrop on each pillow here, a hole in every wall
Teardrops mark every pillow and there is a hole in every wall in our home.

Still I′d rather these things than have nothing
Although our things are in poor condition, I still prefer having them to having nothing at all.

Keep the bedroom door shut just to hide our broken dreams
We keep the bedroom door shut to mask the disappointment and failure we have experienced.

It's where we tried to rise up on our torn and tattered wings
The bedroom is where we attempted to uplift ourselves despite being emotionally damaged.

The vows have lost their meaning and memory only stings
Our wedding vows no longer hold significance and the thought of it only causes pain.

And I guess we just can't have nice things
It seems we are incapable of having anything nice or in good condition.

No, I guess we just can′t have nice things
No matter how hard we try, we simply cannot seem to keep anything in good condition.

No, I guess we just can′t have nice things
No matter the circumstances, we continue to fail at maintaining anything that is nice.

Writer(s): Andrew Wegman Bird, Jack Pendarvis

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

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