Spellbound
Various Artists Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

From the cradle bars
Comes a beckoning voice
It sends you spinning
You have no choice...
You hear laughter
Cracking through the walls
It sends you spinning
You have no choice...
Following the footsteps
Of a rag doll dance
We are entranced
Spellbound
And don't forget
When your elders forget
To say their prayers
Take them by the legs
And throw them down the stairs
When you think
Your toys have gone berserk
An' it's an illusion
You cannot shirk
You hear laughter
Cracking through the walls
It sends you spinning
You have no choice
Following the footsteps
Of a rag doll dance




We are entranced
Spellbound

Overall Meaning

These lyrics are from the song "Spellbound" by Various Artists. The song starts off by describing a voice that comes from the cradle bars that sends the listener spinning and without choice. The voice is followed by laughter that cracks through walls and continues the spinning. The lyrics then talk about following footsteps of a rag doll dance and being entranced, or spellbound. The song then takes a darker turn with lyrics about throwing elders down the stairs when they forget to say their prayers and not being able to shirk an illusion. The song ends with a repetition of the previous verses about being spellbound by the rag doll dance.


The lyrics of "Spellbound" describe an experience of being entranced or spellbound by something that has control over the listener. The opening lines suggest a possible paranormal or supernatural occurrence with the voice coming from the cradle bars and the spinning feeling. The lyrics then switch to a more ominous tone with a reference to violence towards elders and being unable to escape an illusion. The rag doll dance throughout the song may be interpreted as a metaphor for something that controls or manipulates the listener, leaving them spellbound and without choice.


Line by Line Meaning

From the cradle bars
The voice of temptation starts at a very young age.


Comes a beckoning voice
The voice lures you into the unknown.


It sends you spinning
The experience is disorienting, overwhelming.


You have no choice...
You are powerless to resist the pull of the unknown.


You hear laughter
The voice of temptation laughs at your confusion.


Cracking through the walls
Breaking down your mental barriers.


Following the footsteps
Imitating what others have done before you.


Of a rag doll dance
A meaningless, chaotic dance; aimless movement.


We are entranced
Unable to break free from the spell of temptation.


Spellbound
Trapped in a mystical state we cannot control.


And don't forget
A warning about the dangers of forgetting important knowledge.


When your elders forget
When those who came before you neglect their duty to teach you.


To say their prayers
Forgetting to pay homage to a higher power.


Take them by the legs
Disempowering the elders.


And throw them down the stairs
Emphasizing the severity of negligence in education.


When you think
At times when you believe.


Your toys have gone berserk
Referring to a general loss of control.


An' it's an illusion
The confusion you feel is not real.


You cannot shirk
You can't avoid the consequences of your choices.




Writer(s): Paul Hewson, Marc Hunter

Contributed by Joshua F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@maroudevoted

From the cradle bars
Comes a beckoning voice
It sends you spinning
You have no choice

You hear a laughter
Cracking through the walls
It sends you spinning
You have no choice

You hear laughter
Cracking through the walls
It sends you spinning
You have no choice

Following the footsteps
Of a rag doll dance
We are entranced
Spellbound

Following the footsteps
Of a rag doll dance
We are entranced
Spellbound
Spellbound
Spellbound

Spellbound
Spellbound
Spellbound
Spellbound

And don't forget
When your elders forget
To say their prayers
Take 'em by the legs
And throw 'em down the stairs

When you think
Your toys have gone berserk
It's an illusion
You cannot shirk

You hear laughter
Cracking through the walls
It sends you spinning
You have no choice

Following the footsteps
Of a rag doll dance
We are entranced
Spellbound

Following the footsteps
Of a rag doll dance
We are entranced
Spellbound
Spellbound
Spellbound

Spellbound
Spellbound
Spellbound
Spellbound
Spellbound

Following the footsteps
Of a rag doll dance
We are entranced

Following the footsteps
Of a rag doll dance
We are entranced
Entranced, entranced
Entranced, entranced
Entranced, entranced



@Melleina

if u at a goth club and they dont put this on at least once, they doin it wrong

Update: they played this at the goth club last night. They doin right

Update 2: they played this at a goth house party. It was good, now i have flu.

Update 3: was at a mushroom bar and they did not play this song and then i was kicked out

Update 4: im not allowed out anymore, so i play this song at house and pretend im at a goth club

Update 5: was meant to go to goth club tonight to listen to song, but corona got there first and now i wait till she goes away to june 5

Update 6: THEY FORBID FUN IN MY COUNTRY. BEEN LISTENING TO THIS FOR 48HRS STRAIGHT. WOWOWOWOW.

Update 7: havent seen another goth in weeks, i sing this song to call to them from rooftops. am i mad? maybe, or maybe they dead and i last one of my kind.

Update 8: went dumpster diving and found forlorn mannequin, i dressed her as siouxsie and now we inject coffee together. she good listener

Update 9: guess whos going to a goth party in a limo and leaving in a cop car tonight?

Update 10: ok so i didn't wake up in a cell, but found yogurt in my hand and around mouth, someone yelled at my hair and spellbound was not played. im confused but not surprised

Update 11: still in lockdown and masks are everywhere, dunno about you, but why am i the only one who also has to wear handcuffs. im spellBOUND >:(

Update 12: i was dancing to this while i dug a hole, i didnt have headphones or speakers, siouxsie was telepathically sent me this track. i dont want to see doctor again

Update 13: im gods child and he left me in a hot car for 2 years, at least he left the radio on for this song

Update 14: ya hear laughter, cracking through the walls theyre spinning...i have no choice because IM IN FUCKING LOCKDOWN

Update 15: no goth or human contact in weeks since I moved into the treehouse outside. mum keeps insisting I use the toilet inside, but I refuse since I claimed a piss-patch

Update 16: taken up the hobby of tossing pennies at local joggers and cyclists while i wait for my clothes to be finished at the dry cleaners

Update 18: I moved out of the treehouse and now living in my pastor's basement. It's nice, dark and damp, and there's a weird metallic reddish smell on the ground. I dunno how many days I've been here because I never learnt how to count.

Update 19: ok so I discovered that putting fingers inside power sockets is not a good way to get powers, but you know, how else can i become a supervillain and do a stip tease to this song while i tell the protagonist my plans. BTW what asshole decided to sell xmas stuff BEFORE halloween was OVER??

Update 20: its 05/11/2021, in the year of our Lord, Robert Smith. right now its 2:07am and my housemates just decided they were to become pagan and run around naked in the stormy rain while they draw runes on themselves. i would join, but im still not allowed out after that fiasco with the neighbour and the septic tank

Update 21: going to a party tonight. im going to use that new magic trick ive been practicing on myself and use it against my friends.

Update 22: UNHOLY MOLY i forgot to tell you guys what happened. ok so i got sent the address and because my brain is wired backwards, i went to the wrong house, but i didnt know it yet. i saw this dank swamp house in the yard and i was like 'no way its here, but dont judge,' i go up and this large man with mono brow with a limp cigarette hanging from his crispy lips asked me 'the fuck you want'.
'im here for the party' i said
he looks at me up and down 'oh yeah?'
'does Pina even live here?' i said with a quizzical expression.
'who the fuck is Pina?' he said
'i need to get to Pina's party, pronto. kbye'
'you can come here if you cant find her' he said.
i was like THE HECK I AM before running off to the actual correct address on the other side of a very long street. i got to Pina's house with everyone there and no one even bothered to ask me why i smell like sweat and breathing heavy. now that i think about it, theyre probably used to it.

Update 23: SO my new years eve was pretty tame and usual, like sniffing down cuba's fave nose candy in every crevice of the underground chamber and begging wrestlers to strangle me, nothing that insane i guess. what did you guys do?

Update 24: the dark and spiky mistress (not siouxsie), covidella has graced me with her presence in my nostrils and throat. never again shall i share a sniffing pipe

uPdAtE 2%: covidella has gracefully left my fragile bodice and now my rampaging pansexuality is ready to take on the town tonight.

update 26: mama mia i havent seen this comment in a hot minute. i thought being famous in the comment room was a fever dream.

Update 27: I took a long ass trip around the world. While there, I got a killer migraine in Greece, I got the flu in Egypt, I got sea sick in Croatia and I got the chicken pox in Serbia. I feel like a trashbag but at least Im still skinny and goth.



All comments from YouTube:

@mlight8443

Running through the woods aimlessly is the most gothic 80s thing you can do.

@jordanforbes149

M Light you can see the direct influence it had on black metal

@juliehaley2765

John falls if you watch closely

@RunToEternity

I so have ran through the woods now that you mention it, and in the 80's as a matter of fact. Stupid me though, I did that before I found Siouxsie, and goth music, which is my favorite to this very day. Not long ago, 'Trees come down", and then, 'I could get bored, in the flat field'. Assuming I was alone, I panicked when I heard 'I said Run, I'm right behind you!' Yes my musical tastes have grown since Siouxsie and the Banshees to include Fields of the Nephilim, Bauhaus, and Skeletal Family. I never new my favorite music was goth, until I found it.

@darling_danke_schoen

Hahah Peter Murphy does it also in the “Cuts You Up” video— good call

@Tracy-Lee-Staton

handymandan100 I was just gonna comment about Peter Murphy, but you beat me to it! haha. Good call on your behalf! Cheers!

190 More Replies...

@d0lLfvngss

im a babybat that found siouxsie through a friend and i absolutely adore her . her music, her style, her charisma-she's becoming a big inspiration for me already and i love it. this subculture just gives me so much comfort

@kristinamullen4066

What is a babybat?

@d0lLfvngss

@@kristinamullen4066 i believe a babybat is a term for someone new to the goth subculture :D

@RenegadeShepard69

@@d0lLfvngss don't use that term. just be a goth, don't feel embarassed for being new to it.

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