When you are alone It refers to the way that any of the singers words of love don't mean anything to her because she doesn't love him. "I don't want to live in this world anymore" The irony is that far from not caring, people have been psychoanalysing the words for 2 decades. Alone probably doesn't mean "alone, in the room". That wags the hound. Take this for whatever you can figure out, I'm stumped (referring to the lines "Don't try to stop the tail that wags the hound"), I always thought that this song was about a father realizing that his precious innocent little daughter was no longer a virgin. She may be only a small part of his life, but she is the "tail that wags the hound", and he is having trouble resisting going back to her again. Smell the cat food in your bank account!" Therefore, it may as well be crazy syllables randomly arranged. The last piece other than the chorus, the "I don't want to live in this world anymore", seen thru the lens of the preceding passages, seems to be less about giving up and more of a primal scream at his frustration over the whole situation. "dont do this to me, i've got a weak heart", like a real father and daughter thing... Money is worthless. He understands the horrific gears turning behind human society and no longer wants anything to do with it. I've got a weak heart He's not trying to kill himself, he just wants to break up with her. don't get me started. The "Could belive, for all the world, that you're my precious little girl" Might suggest that he has some feelings for her, but he himself is surprised that they're together, suggesting that perhaps they got together in some strange way. (Mr Tuck). Since no one is ever satisfied, "Everybody dies frustrated and sad." I also think its about a father and his daughter arguing, like Andrew said(maybe about going out at night)... he repeats in the chorus/too often "could you believe for all the world that you're my precious little girl" to be a brake up song... Almost as bad as "meow," hm? "Wake up! He's trying to explain that their situation isn't so unique. That's one thought of it... theory number one: A single, middle aged man, had dated this woman before. He feels his loyalty just might destroy him, because he's so dedicated to sorting it out and he feels better fit for another planet, plane or kingdom of animal existence. He gets mad, and when her boyfriend dumps her he is thinking that she got what she deserves. I think I've already explained this pretty well. And I don't get around how you get around. That you're my precious little girl The singer calls her an animal because of the way she has been stringing him on. This is driving him crazy, pretty clearly. I imagine him pacing around the room, looking at his new "Precious Little Girl" a new cat that he wants to bring into his home to fill the hole left by the death of his previous pet, but for him the pain of that loss is too recent and he can't bring himself to love this kitten if it means that he has to eventually lose her too. We learn a bit more about this breakup. According to samples of colloquial or natural speech in literature as dialogue, to say "Don't let's" is simply a phonemic contraction that is a vestige of German 'Lassen uns' ('Let us') - 'Lass'ns'. The singer is comparing himself to a dog, which again shows that he is superior to the girl. It would be beautiful, like an overture, that ends in calamity over and over again. Rev. N, do I need Ups and downs "if i let you alone, you...!!!" "I don't want to live in this world anymore This will never happen, but is a nice sentiment nonetheless. That you're my precious little girl He, on the other hand, does love her, but he knows what he'd be getting himself into, thus the "Don't start" business. For the rarities compilation, see, "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 2015-07-15", Fresh Air interview with They Might Be Giants, Why Does the Sun Shine? He starts to ask her how she is going to raise the baby with only the "cat food in your bank account." "The words I'm saying now mean nothing more than meow to an animal." Don't start. They just waste their time preoccupying themselves babbling on incoherently about imaginary, bogus things like "love" and "fulfillment.". "Alejandro" is her "fear of sex" monster. To an animal I remember being shocked to the core with the melody and the dense clever clever lyrics about a couple breaking up. To call this a "breakup song" or ascribe a certain story to it seems awfully linear for TMBG. He liked her before. The lyrics of "Don't Let's Start" include a number of dark, pointed statements, such as "everybody dies frustrated and sad, and that is beautiful." --ArAn 01:59, 23 Jan 2006 (EST), Another homage to this song in other music can be found in "Uh-Oh" by The Refreshments, which was a B track on an Australian single. And that is beautiful". The very last line before "Let's Pretend" is "Everybody dies frustrated and sad and that is beautiful.". Does he need to be tortured by this girl's incessant nagging? "Don't let's start - this is the worst part." "Don't try to stop the tail that wags the hound." The dog being attacked would probably retaliate and seriously injure the cat, while he will most likely have forgotten about the small scratches by the next day. The song is a lot more silly, and a lot more sad than people are giving it credit for. Don't don't don't let's start But don't, don't, don't let's start Again, oh why must we all suffer through heartbreak, etc.? If the lyrics are taken literally, with the exception of the cat-and-phone verse, this works perfectly. He might be comparing himself to the people he is not, and he's trying to cope with wishing that she didn't have her track record. "Mom! The "Ms. Jackson" in the OutKast song is Erykah Badu's mother. I see the girl as kinda a hipster, who dresses "weird" and listens to bizarre music. Deputy Dawg dog a ding dang depadepa, I don't want to live in this world anymore I didn't get to see the Giants until 1989 in Burberries Birmingham UK (don't try and find it, its not there anymore) but hearing this song and seeing the video started a love affair that's not over yet. He explains that no one ever gets what they want, including her, so they can't be together. They don't understand each other. -> Father tries to help his daughter deal with disappointment (possibly what caused the World Destruction in the chorus) - but also tries to give her some kind of hope. Linnell does look a bit like a young Mick, but the Giants were never really much like the Stones were they. No one in the world He's throwing the tantrum! ^_^-Dr Worm 818, The above interpretation said "Part of him wants to stop (don't don't don't), and part of him wants to keep the relationship up (let's start)." Despite the love he still has for her, he manages to make himself breakup with her (the rest of the chorus). Don't, don't, don't let's start This is the worst part Could believe for all the world That you're my precious little girl But don't, don't, don't let's start I've got a weak heart And I don't get around how you get around. He is pondering this out loud in front of the new cat that he is considering adopting. I really feel this song is about a man on his death bed, dying from some sort of heart disease or other problem with his heart. This is the only correct interpretation I've read of this song. The single peaked at #94 on the Australian ARIA singles chart in 1988. Don't try to stop the tail She's bound to leave, eventually, and break his heart. This could also be referring to the fact that she can't comprehend how he caught her. He's an old fashioned guy who doesn't jump date-to-date, like she does. After the chorus we have a philisophical verse that's pretty straight forward. Like whoever before said, this describes their relationship while they're together, and they talk on the phone a bunch (maybe predominately), and she's an animal. There might well be a break-up involved, but if so, it's that of the daughter with somebody else... To me, as to many interpreters above, the most interesting line of this song is "No one in the world ever gets what they want, and that is beautiful. Mean nothing more than meow to an animal Though I'm not normally one to believe that a song was written solely for the music, I think that this is quite probably a rare exception to that rule. No one in the world ever gets what they want and that is beautiful He is sick of it. He continues to pontificate about the question aloud and realizes that this discussion he is having is a monologue.