The group played its first gig at London's Splash club in March 1994, subsequently taking six weeks to record its debut album, Paranoid and Sunburnt, at a "haunted house" outside the city. The band's first single, "Selling Jesus," was featured on the soundtrack of the film Strange Days; Stoosh followed in 1996, and three years later Skunk Anansie returned with Post Orgasmic Chill. They broke up in 2001, with Skin moving on to a solo career (releasing Fleshwounds in 2003 and Fake Chemical State in 2006). The group re-formed in early 2009, playing sold-out shows and recording three new tracks for a greatest-hits album, Smashes & Trashes. The reunion went so well that they decided to stick together and record a new album, Wonderlustre, released in the autumn of 2010, with the track "You Saved Me" used in Zack Snyder's 2011 movie Sucker Punch, along with their remix of Björk's "Army of Me."
Sadly, former drummer Robbie France passed away after his aorta ruptured in January 2011. The band released its fifth album, Black Traffic, in September 2012 and backed it with an extensive European tour. The first single from the album was "Sad, Sad, Sad." The group followed this up with the live album An Acoustic Skunk Anansie: Live in London, a recording of their performance at Cadogan Hall, London in April 2013, before their sixth studio effort, Anarchytecture, arrived in 2016. The following year, the band put out 25live@25 -- a compilation album that traversed 25 years of live material.
Biography by Steve Huey
All I Want
Skunk Anansie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So I can see this so called brighter day
I'm watching all the world crawl back again
Watching how it blows itself away
That's all I want
That's all I want
That's all I want
All I want is destruction
Want to see it crumble beneath my toes
Smell the way my sore eyes burn away
That's all I can have today
That's all I want
That's all I want
That's all I want
That's all I want
All you want is to be me
So you can screw me up and don't give a damn
('Cause I'm a) crazy
Little daisy to vile to breathe
I'm everything you want today
That's all I want
That's all I want
That's all I want
That's all I want
The lyrics to Skunk Anansie's song "All I Want" describe a desire for destruction and a need to see chaos and darkness. The first verse details the desire for a mirror to see a brighter day, but it is clear that this is a facade, as the world is just crawling back, blowing itself away. The repetition of "That's all I want" emphasizes the simplicity and intensity of this desire. The second verse takes a darker turn, with the singer expressing a desire for destruction and a sense of pleasure in watching things crumble beneath their toes. Even the pain caused by sore eyes burning is welcomed, as it feeds into the sense of destruction and chaos.
The final verse shifts the focus to the listener, accusing them of wanting to be the singer in order to have the power to screw them up without caring about the consequences. The reference to being a "crazy little daisy" adds a note of vulnerability and fragility to the singer's identity, suggesting that they are aware of their own perceived weakness and how it makes them a target for others. The repeated refrain of "That's all I want" serves to emphasize how the desire for chaos and destruction is consuming and all-encompassing. Overall, the song suggests that darkness and destruction have a seductive power that cannot be easily resisted.
Line by Line Meaning
All I want is a mirror
I desire a mirror to see the supposedly brighter day. It is important that I see everything clearly.
So I can see this so called brighter day
The brighter day is often referred to or talked about but it is not visible, hence I need a mirror to see it.
I'm watching all the world crawl back again
I am observing how the world is returning to its original state after some instance, as if nothing happened.
Watching how it blows itself away
I am observing how the world keeps destructing itself despite the efforts to make it better.
All I want is destruction
I only want destruction, to see things being pulled apart, destroyed and dismantled. I don't care about anything else right now.
Want to see it crumble beneath my toes
I desire to see the physical destruction of whatever it is beneath my feet, to have control over it.
Smell the way my sore eyes burn away
The pain inflicted by the destruction should be so strong and powerful that I can feel it through my senses. It should be evident even to my sore eyes.
All you want is to be me
You desire to be like me and have the power to ruin me without any remorse. The only thing that matters to you is the ability to cause harm.
So you can screw me up and don't give a damn
You plan to do whatever it takes to cause my downfall and wouldn't care about the consequences. The destruction can be at any cost.
('Cause I'm a) crazy
I am called insane, but that does not scare me nor prevent me from being myself.
Little daisy to vile to breathe
I am insignificant and of no value to some people, but you will not break me because I am strong and determined.
I'm everything you want today
I am what you want to be or what you want to see destroyed today. I hold a power over you.
That's all I want
All I desire is to see the destruction happen. It is the only thing that will make me happy right now.
That's all I want
I continue to reiterate that destruction is all I am interested in because nothing else can satisfy me right now.
That's all I want
I am making it clear that all I want is destruction, and this is the last time I will say it in this song.
That's all I want
There is no other desire in my mind right now other than destruction. It is the only thing that will make me happy at this moment.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Deborah Dyer, Martin Kent, Richard Lewis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind