Nadler studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design, where she began her performing career after writing songs for many years.
The foundation of her sound is her haunting mezzo-soprano, and a delicate 6-string acoustic guitar, often accompanied by a variety of instruments, including electric guitar, theremin, and piano. Nadler writes strange, yet classic, melancholy songs. Her voice is often bathed in a wash of reverb and space echo and creates a ghostly, atmospheric feeling to the music.
She has American Gothic leanings; her songs often take place in an imagined, idealistic time with a cast of characters of her own creation.
Official Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marissa-Nadler/300932499775
Bandcamp: http://marissanadler.bandcamp.com/
Wind Up Doll
Marissa Nadler Lyrics
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it's been years since she came
over on the green plains to you
She calls his name
Shannaddee a dee a dee a dee
over rock and sea
to her baby
When the box went in the ground
cedar trees were all around
a war did take him from her town
and she aint nothing but a ghost now
wind up doll
in the back
wind up doll
click and clack
click and clack
She will never be what you want her to be
She has dreams
every night
that the box of cedar where
where you went to lay
will come to life
hold her on the greens
hold her on the green plains
like you used to do
but she ain't nothing but a ghost you
you wind her up
in the back
wind up doll
click and clack
click and clack
she will never be what you want her to be
wind her up to walk and wind her up to speak
Hold her on the greens
Hold her on the green plains
like you used to do
but she aint nothing but a ghost
The lyrics to Marissa Nadler's song "Wind Up Doll" tells a melancholic tale of a woman who lost her lover to a war and is now nothing but a ghost of her former self. The lyrics repeatedly mention the "wind up doll," implying that the woman is just going through the motions of life, essentially a mechanical version of herself, as if she is being wound up and set into action. The line, "Wind her up, wind her up," also suggests that someone else is controlling her, as if she has lost control of her own life.
The woman longs for her lost love named Shannaddee, whom she calls out to over "rock and sea." The line about the box of cedar where Shannaddee is buried coming to life reflects the woman's desperation to be reunited with her lover, even if it is just in her dreams. But ultimately, the repeated line, "she will never be what you want her to be," indicates that the woman cannot be who her lover wants her to be because she is haunted by his absence.
Overall, the lyrics depict a tragic story of love and loss, where the singer is left to mourn alone and is stuck in a mechanical routine that she cannot break free from, all while yearning for the impossible.
Line by Line Meaning
Wind her up, wind her up
Start the mechanism that powers the doll
it's been years since she came over on the green plains to you
It's been a long time since the doll was first given as a gift
She calls his name Shannaddee a dee a dee a dee over rock and sea to her baby
The doll longs for its owner and calls out to him even if he cannot hear it
When the box went in the ground, cedar trees were all around, a war did take him from her town and she ain't nothing but a ghost now
The owner of the doll died in a war and was buried in a cedar box, leaving the doll as a mere object without its beloved owner
wind up doll in the back, wind up doll click and clack, click and clack
The mechanical sound of the doll being wound up in the back
She will never be what you want her to be
The doll will never replace the owner or fulfill their hopes and expectations
She has dreams every night that the box of cedar where where you went to lay will come to life
The doll dreams of being reunited with the owner, even if it is impossible
wind her up to walk and wind her up to speak
The doll can only move and speak when it is wound up
Hold her on the greens, Hold her on the green plains like you used to do but she aint nothing but a ghost
The doll yearns for the owner's touch and affection but it is impossible since the owner is deceased
Contributed by Samuel V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.