Her folky songs have the ability to get straight to your heart within a couple of bars! Her inspiration comes, in part, from the beautiful landscape surrounding her home on the stunning Rosguil peninsula and from her ability to listen to people’s stories. Her singing has taken her to New York and Los Angeles, Stateside, and she has performed in London and Dublin; she has been a regular on the Belfast music scene and has played at Other Voices in Derry/Londonderry. Her music has had air-time on BBC Radio Ulster, as well as her local station, Highland Radio, in Donegal.
Fake Plastic Trees
Rosie Carney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For her fake Chinese rubber plant
In the fake plastic earth
That she bought from a rubber man
In a town full of rubber plans
To get rid of itself
It wears her out
It wears her out
It wears her out
She lives with a broken man
A cracked polystyrene man
Who just crumbles and burns
He used to do surgery
For the girls in the eighties
But gravity always wins
And it wears him out
It wears him out
It wears him out
Wears him out
She looks like the real thing
She tastes like the real thing
My fake plastic love
But I can't help the feeling
I could blow through the ceiling
If I just turn and run
And it wears me out
It wears me out
It wears me out
It wears me out
And if I could be who you wanted
If I could be who you wanted
All the time
All the time
The lyrics of Rosie Carney's song Fake Plastic Trees speak of a life where everything around the singer is fake and plastic. The first verse talks about a plastic watering can and a fake Chinese rubber plant in fake plastic earth, bought from a rubber man in a town full of rubber plans to get rid of itself. The singer seems to be fatigued with this fake life that surrounds them. The chorus repeats the words "it wears her/him/me out" which suggests exhaustion and a sense of hopelessness.
The second verse talks about a broken man, a cracked polystyrene man who used to do surgery for girls in the eighties but who now just crumbles and burns. The mention of gravity winning suggests a decline in his physical health or attractiveness. The singer's love interest looks like the real thing and tastes like the real thing, but there is a feeling of something missing or not being genuine. The singer feels tired and overwhelmed by this counterfeit existence and just wants to run away.
The line "If I could be who you wanted all the time" in the final chorus suggests that the singer may be in a relationship where they feel pressured to be someone they are not, adding to the sense of exhaustion and fatigue. Overall, the song speaks of the emptiness and artificiality of modern life and the toll it takes on those who live it.
Line by Line Meaning
Her green plastic watering can
She has a fake tool to water the plant
For her fake Chinese rubber plant
The plant she owns is not real
In the fake plastic earth
The soil in the plant pot is fake too
That she bought from a rubber man
She obtained the fake plant from a vendor
In a town full of rubber plans
The town where she bought the plant specializes in selling fake plants
To get rid of itself
The town is trying to dispose of its fake image
It wears her out
The fake world she lives in exhausts her
She lives with a broken man
She lives with a man who is emotionally damaged
A cracked polystyrene man
The man she lives with is like a cheap, fake material
Who just crumbles and burns
He can't handle the pressure and falls apart
He used to do surgery
He used to modify his appearance
For the girls in the eighties
He did this to impress women in the 1980s
But gravity always wins
Aging and the real world catches up with him
And it wears him out
The fake lifestyle takes a toll on him too
She looks like the real thing
She appears to be genuine
She tastes like the real thing
Her love appears to be authentic
My fake plastic love
However, their love is artificial
But I can't help the feeling
The singer can't shake the feeling of dissatisfaction
I could blow through the ceiling
She feels the urge to break free from the artificial life
If I just turn and run
Escaping from the fake world seems like the only solution
And if I could be who you wanted
The singer wishes they could meet the other person's expectations
All the time
Without fail or reservation
Writer(s): Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood, Thomas Edward Yorke, Philip James Selway, Edward John O'brien, Colin Charles Greenwood
Contributed by Jordan F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.