Throwing Muses is known for performing music with shifting tempos, creative chord progressions, unorthodox song structures, and surreal lyrics. The group was set apart from other contemporary acts by Hersh's stark, candid writing style; Donelly's pop stylings and vocal harmonies; and David Narcizo's unusual drumming techniques eschewing use of cymbals. Hallucinatory, febrile songs by Hersh occasionally touched on the subject of mental illness, more often drawing portraits of characters from daily life or addressing relationships.
Donelly left the band in 1991 and was a member of The Breeders and Belly, before starting to perform solo. She also contributed vocals to the Throwing Muses self-titled album in 2003. Hersh has also worked solo, and fronts the power trio 50 Foot Wave (which also includes Muses bassist Bernard Georges). Narcizo works in graphic design and has a musical project Lakuna.
In March 2003, Throwing Muses came back with their eighth album, Throwing Muses, which also saw the return of Tanya Donelly who provided backing vocals on the album. A greatest hits compilation titled Anthology was released in 2011. The band's ninth album, Purgatory / Paradise was released on October 29, 2013 in the UK and November 11 in the US. In early 2014, the band toured a few U.S. cities, with Donelly opening for the East Coast dates.
Fish
Throwing Muses Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Have a fish nailed
To a cross
On my apartment wall
It sings to me with glassy eyes
And quotes from Kafka
I sings to me
An eel is squirming on my couch
I'm laughing at his face
He slithers down across the floor
I'm laughing
I
Have a man
It follows my hips with his hands
Don't worry (I'm laughing)
Dance in the road (I have a man)
And it explodes
(It follows my lips with his melting eyes)
Don't worry
Dance in the road
Fellow turns a fishy eye from the counter
I feel at his hand
Stalking in the grey
The girl behind the counter
Sees a fin (school)
An eel slithers to the chalkboard
It writes 1 plus 1 plus 2 plus 3 plus 4 plus 5
plus 6 plus 6 plus 6 plus 6 plus 6 plus 6
Don't worry
Dance in the road
And it explodes
Don't worry
Dance in the road
The house is reeling
I'm kneeling by the tub
Lonely is as lonely does
Lonely is an eyesore
The feeling describes itself
I
Have a man
It follows my hips with his hands
I'm laughing
At a man
It follows my lips with his melting eyes
Don't worry
Dance in the road
And it explodes
Don't worry
Dance in the road
Eye...
I'm painting his eye in the middle of the floor
Fish is frozen in my living room
Stares out of a block of ice
With one melting eye... eye... eye...
(Whoo!) Aced it
Sick
The lyrics to Throwing Muses' song Fish are filled with surreal images and fragmented narratives that create a dreamlike quality. The first stanza describes having a fish nailed to a cross on the apartment wall, which sings and quotes from Kafka. The second stanza shifts to the singer having a man who follows her hips with his hands, and the idea of dancing in the road until things explode. Throughout the song, there are references to eels slithering, laughing, and quotes like "Lonely is an eyesore."
The fish in the first stanza represents a symbol of sacrifice, and the Kafka quotes link it to existential themes. The eel on the couch could be seen as a representation of the singer's anxious thoughts or a manifestation of mental health issues. The man who follows her hips is likely a projection of desire, and the idea of dancing in the road hints at the danger or excitement that comes with being impulsive. The girl behind the counter and the fin she sees symbolize marginalized communities and feeling out of place. The eel slithering to the chalkboard and writing a string of numbers represents the obsessive thoughts and compulsions that can come with anxiety disorders.
Overall, the lyrics to Fish are open to interpretation, and each listener can find their meaning. The surreal imagery evokes a sense of dislocation, and the fragmented narrative invites the listener to fill in the gaps with their own experiences and emotions. The sense of being lost in one's own thoughts and struggling to connect with others is a pervasive theme that many people can relate to.
Line by Line Meaning
I
Have a fish nailed
To a cross
On my apartment wall
I have a dead fish, nailed to a cross-shaped frame, hanging on the wall of my apartment
It sings to me with glassy eyes
And quotes from Kafka
I sings to me
The fish with its dead eyes seems to sing to me while quoting from Kafka's works
An eel is squirming on my couch
He's talking up a storm
I'm laughing at his face
He slithers down across the floor
I'm laughing
An eel is talking very much while squirming on my couch. I find it funny as it slithers down the floor
I
Have a man
It follows my hips with his hands
Don't worry (I'm laughing)
Dance in the road (I have a man)
And it explodes
(It follows my lips with his melting eyes)
Don't worry
Dance in the road
I have a partner who holds my hips while we dance, following me intently. I'm laughing and carefree, enjoying the moment despite the intensity, knowing there will be a release
Fellow turns a fishy eye from the counter
I feel at his hand
Stalking in the grey
The girl behind the counter
Sees a fin (school)
A person in a shop looks at me with suspicion, sensing something off-kilter with me. The girl on the counter also feels uneasy and notices something strange about a group of fish
An eel slithers to the chalkboard
It writes 1 plus 1 plus 2 plus 3 plus 4 plus 5
plus 6 plus 6 plus 6 plus 6 plus 6 plus 6
An eel crawls to the board to write a series of numbers which include only 1 through 6 repeated multiple times
The house is reeling
I'm kneeling by the tub
Lonely is as lonely does
Lonely is an eyesore
The feeling describes itself
I'm sitting beside the bath while the house shakes. I realize that loneliness is unattractive and the feeling defines itself
I
Have a man
It follows my hips with his hands
I'm laughing
At a man
It follows my lips with his melting eyes
Don't worry
Dance in the road
And it explodes
Don't worry
Dance in the road
I'm dancing with my partner, enjoying the moment despite his intense gaze. I'm blissful, feeling carefree as we dance, but I know the moment will end in an explosion
Eye...
I'm painting his eye in the middle of the floor
Fish is frozen in my living room
Stares out of a block of ice
With one melting eye... eye... eye...
(Whoo!) Aced it
Sick
I'm painting the eyes of the people or the creatures I interact with in the center of the floor. The fish inside a block of ice staring at me with just one eye that slowly melts while I utter whoo in excitement
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: ANDREW MARK MAKOWY, DAVID USHER, HOWARD JEFFREY PEARCE, MATTHEW PAUL WILCOX, THOMPSON KEVIN YOUNG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@SaintMartins
Originally released on the 4AD compilation Lonely Is An Eyesore (1987) but re-released on another 4AD compilation "Clustered & Clipped" (1998) exclusive to 2,000 copies in Canada to promote the 4AD catalogue. You got a free copy of this 16 track CD with a purchase of 2 CD's by a 4AD band. I bought 2 Lush albums & later bought 2 Mojave 3 albums & got a second copy.
Clustered & Clipped 1998
1. Mojave 3 - Who Do You Love?
2. Cocteau Twins - Aikea-Guinea
3. This Mortal Coil - You And Your Sister
4. Michael Brook - Ultra Marine
5. Modern English - I Melt With You
6. Bauhaus - Terror Kill The Colonel
7. Pixies - Wave Of Mutilation
8. M/A/R/R/S - Pump Up The Volume
9. Wolfgang Press - Mama Told Me Not To Come
10. Lush - 500
11. Frank Blank - Speedy Marie
12. The Birthday Party - Nick The Stripper
13. Throwing Muses - Fish
14. Dead Can Dance - The Host Of The Seraphim
15. Colourbox - Arena
16. The Dirt Eaters - Man On The Silver Mountain
Lonely Is An Eyesore 1987
1. Colourbox - "Hot Doggie"
2. This Mortal Coil - "Acid, Bitter and Sad"
3. The Wolfgang Press - "Cut the Tree"
4. Throwing Muses - "Fish"
5. Dead Can Dance - "Frontier"
6. Cocteau Twins - "Crushed"
7. Dif Juz - "No Motion"
8. Clan of Xymox - "Muscoviet Musquito"
9. Dead Can Dance - "The Protagonist"
@gretaweiss6802
Kristin Hersh is pregnant here. And she’s 19 ! 🥺 so young. I’m reading her memoir. It’s amazing, and really interesting!
@aaroncarson1770
This will perhaps always be agelessly avant-garde.
@petescare13
It was at the pet store I worked at at the time they shot the footage of the fish, on Newbury St. in Boston's Back Bay, around the corner from Copley Square. I''d rather not consider the year, lol. ;)
@jimbrennan3793
It's like U2 at Red Rocks, man, where he tells the crowd: you're all part of rock and roll history. Ha ha, I am being a douchebag first thing in the morning.
@mattmichalak1831
That is too cool!! I just love TM, they are way too underrated.
@mistery-ed7900
I still have my VHS copy of Lonely Is An Eyesore. This is my favorite video along with Cocteau Twins.
@libertyprime7911
OMG #LonelyIsAnEyesore
@bobbbxxx
Me too. And don't forget two other 4AD gem, Throwing Muses and This Mortal Coil. Cocteau Twins were the BEST, imo.
@hautepumpernickel
Me too!
@ricardoroberto100
Same here!