The Baby
Lunachicks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All he can do is throw up
Only crawls, he can't walk
Never gonna learn to talk
Cattleprod him, kept him small
he won't stand up t all
Rub his legs they won't go bad
Never gonna
Grow up at all
Never gonna
Grow up at all
Never gonna
Grow up at all
No!
Baby's such a big boy
To his sister he's a big toy
One crawls into his crib
She pulled off his bib
Babs worker's just as wacked
The whole scene there is fuckin cracked
Tries to make him toss his ball
All he can do is crawl
Never gonna
Grow up at all
Never gonna
Grow up at all
Never gonna
Grow up at all
No!
He has a pathetic cry at the age of 35
His adulthood has been hog tied
All he'll ever do is cry
He sucks a sister's tit
And his mamma puts an end of it
Alba keeps him in his pen
His nightmare never ends
Never gonna
Grow up at all
Never gonna
Grow up at all
Never gonna
Grow up at all
No!
The Lunachicks' song "The Baby" tells the story of a man who is trapped in perpetual infancy. The lyrics describe a state in which the singer is unable to walk or talk, and has been kept small by his mother who cattleprods him. The only thing he seems to be able to do is crawl and cry, and even the most basic attempts to get him to grow up, such as throwing a ball, are futile. In the end, the man is still trapped in his crib, nursed by his sister, and kept in a pen by his "boss."
The song is a critique of the way many adults are infantilized or kept in a state of dependency, whether by overbearing parents or by society at large. It suggests that some people never really grow up, and are doomed to remain stuck in a state of perpetual infancy. This can be seen as a metaphor for the way in which society often infantilizes people, treating them as if they are incapable of making decisions for themselves, or as if they are powerless to bring about change.
Overall, "The Baby" is a powerful and incisive critique of modern society's tendency to keep people in a state of dependency, and the ways in which this can hold us back from reaching our full potential.
Line by Line Meaning
Baby's never gonna grow up
The baby will not be able to mature
All he can do is throw up
The baby is only capable of vomiting
Only crawls, he can't walk
The baby is still crawling and hasn't learned to walk
Never gonna learn to talk
The baby won't learn how to speak
Cattleprod him, kept him small
Someone used a cattle prod to stunt the baby's growth
he won't stand up at all
The baby is unable to stand up on their own
Rub his legs they won't go bad
Rubbing the baby's legs won't make them able to walk
Momma's gettin' mad
The mother is becoming angry about the situation
Baby's such a big boy
Despite being a baby, they are a big boy
To his sister, he's a big toy
The sister treats the baby as a toy
One crawls into his crib
The sister crawls into the baby's crib
She pulled off his bib
The sister removes the baby's bib
Babs worker's just as wacked
The baby's caretaker is also insane
The whole scene there is fuckin' cracked
The overall environment is chaotic and abnormal
Tries to make him toss his ball
The caretaker attempts to make the baby throw a ball
All he can do is crawl
The baby can only crawl, not able to perform more advanced actions
He has a pathetic cry at the age of 35
The baby still cries in a pitiful manner despite being 35 years old
His adulthood has been hog-tied
The baby's growth has been restricted
All he'll ever do is cry
The baby will continue to cry indefinitely without change
He sucks a sister's tit
The baby breastfeeds from their sister
And his mamma puts an end of it
The mother stops the breastfeeding from happening
Alba keeps him in his pen
Alba is keeping the baby locked up like an animal
His nightmare never ends
The baby is stuck in their terrible situation indefinitely
Never gonna grow up at all
The baby will never be able to mature
No!
The situation is grim and heartbreaking
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: WYCLEF JEAN, JERRY DUPLESSIS, S HARRIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind