The Vaselines are an indie pop band from Glasgow, Scotland. Formed in 1986,… Read Full Bio ↴The Vaselines are an indie pop band from Glasgow, Scotland. Formed in 1986, the band was originally made up of only vocalists/guitarists Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, but later added James Seenan and Eugene's brother Charlie Kelly on bass and drums respectively from the band Secession. McKee had formerly been a member of a band named The Pretty Flowers with Duglas T. Stewart (later of BMX Bandits), Norman Blake (later of Teenage Fanclub) and Sean Dickson (later of The Soup Dragons). Eugene had formerly played in The Famous Monsters.

Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain once described Kelly and McKee as his "most favorite songwriters in the whole world".

The band released two singles, "Son of a Gun" and "Dying for It", prior to releasing an album. In 1989 they released their only album, Dum Dum, on the record label Rough Trade. Following the closing of the record label 53rd and 3rd, which they had originally signed to, the band broke up in 1990. However, they reunited later that year to open for Nirvana when they played in Edinburgh.

Though they were not widely known when the band existed, covers of their songs by Nirvana and Kurt Cobain's tendency to mention them as an influence brought exposure to the band. With their songs "Son of a Gun" and "Molly's Lips" covered on Nirvana's album Incesticide and "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" covered as "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam" on MTV Unplugged in New York, the band gained a new audience from people who wanted to discover the bands that influenced Cobain (a similar situation happened to the band The Meat Puppets). Due to this new exposure, in 1992 Sub Pop released The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History, a compilation that contained The Vaselines' entire body of work on one album.

No longer together, members of the band moved on to new bands. Kelly went on to found the band Captain America (later renamed Eugenius). He currently performs solo. McKee founded the band Suckle and released her first solo album, Sunny Moon, in 2006.

In 2008, the band reformed and began to make sporadic appearences at festivals in the United Kingdom and the United States and various tours supporting Belle and Sebastian. The band will perform at the Belle and Sebastian's second Bowlie Weekender festival in December 2010.

In 2010, the band announced they would release their second album "Sex With An X" on September 14, 2010 on Sub Pop Records.

Let's Get Ugly
The Vaselines Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Time and again,
I think to myself,
Oh, watch me,
One less gun shell,
You are,
You are,
You are, ugly
You are,

You are,
You are, ugly

Oh, watch me,
That's her alone,

I've started to cry,
I've started to moan.

Overall Meaning

The Vaselines's song "Let's Get Ugly" is a surprisingly complex piece that requires a lot of interpretation to understand. At first glance, it appears to be a straightforward song about calling someone ugly. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that the song is more about personal insecurities than anything else.

The first verse, "Time and again, I think to myself, oh watch me, one less gun shell, you are, you are, you are, ugly," sets the tone for the rest of the piece. The singer seems to be telling herself that she is the one with the power- that she can change herself and her environment for the better. She's decided to get rid of one less "gun shell"- one less way to harm herself- but then turns her gaze outward to call someone else "ugly."

However, the second verse "Oh, watch me, that's her alone, I've started to cry, I've started to moan," undercuts this initial impression. It becomes clear that the singer is projecting her own fears about her own appearance onto someone else- she sees the "ugliness" in someone else because she is scared of being ugly herself. This anxiety starts to overwhelm her- she begins to cry and moan - as she realizes how damaging this sort of self-hatred can be.

In summary, "Let's Get Ugly" is a meditation on appearances, power, and personal insecurities. It explores how our own anxieties about our appearance can impact our relationship with others.

Line by Line Meaning

Time and again,
Repetitively, over and over

I think to myself,
I contemplate in my own thoughts

Oh, watch me,
Pay attention to me

One less gun shell,
Weaker than before, less powerful

You are,
You exist

You are, ugly
You are not physically attractive

You are,
You exist

You are, ugly
You are not physically attractive

Oh, watch me,
Pay attention to me

That's her alone,
She is by herself

I've started to cry,
I am beginning to weep