Literature 37: Pop Culture
BUSES AND TRAINS
By Bachelor Girl
Hey Mom
Why didn't you tell me
Why didn't you teach me a thing or two
You just let me go
Out into the World
You never thought to share what you knew
So I walked under a bus
I got hit by a train
Keep falling in love
Which is kinda the same
I've sunk out at sea
Crashed my car, gone insane
And it felt so good
I want to do it again
Hey Mom
Why didn't you warn me
Coz about boys is something i should have known
They’re like chocolate cake
Like cigarettes
I know they're bad for me
But I just can't leave 'em alone
So I walked under a bus
I got hit by a train
Keep falling in love
Which is kinda the same
I've sunk out at sea
Crashed my car, gone insane
And it felt so good
I want to do it again
(AND I WALKED)UNDER A BUS
I GOT HIT BY A TRAIN
AND IT FEELT SO GOOD
AND I WANNA DO IT AGAIN
WANNA DO IT AGAIN
*HEY EY IEEY*
(WANNA DO IT)
Oh, felt so good
Hey Mom
Since we're talking
What was it like when you were young
Has the world changed
Or is it still the same
A man can kill and still be the sweetest thing.
So I walked under a bus
I got hit by a train
Keep falling in love
Which is kinda the same
I've sunk out at sea
Crashed my car, gone insane
And it felt so good
So I walked under a bus
I got hit by a train
Keep falling in love
Which is kinda the same
I've sunk out at sea
Crashed my car, gone insane
And it felt so good
I want to do it again
I want to do it again
I chose this song because it’s just so amusing and light-hearted. I instantly liked the beat and the melody. After hearing it for the first time, I could no longer forget it because it kept me laughing in my mind for hours.
The song is entitled “Buses and Trains” by the band Bachelor Girl. It is about a girl talking or rather airing out her dilemmas to her mother. The first stanza tells how she is complaining why she never got a warning on what the world would be like. She nags why her mother never shared any knowledge on how painful it could be. She never even got any tips on how to run her life. She wasn’t really upset or angry but it is what she wished her mother should have done.
The girl then had no choice but to be in charge of her own life. As a result she walked under a bus, got hit by a train, kept falling in love, sunk out at sea, crashed her car, and had gone insane. These experiences she talks of don’t exactly tell the details but they imply that she has been through the extremes. But the irony of the song is that all of her supposedly bad experiences felt good and that she wants to do them again. Basically she wants to go through all of it over and over like some kind of fun ride.
In the second stanza, she centers her attention on boys. She again asks her mother why she didn’t give a warning when this was really a necessity, something she should have known about. “They’re (boys) like chocolate cake, Like cigarettes.” She knows that boys are “dangerous to her health” and that they’re addictive. But she goes ahead anyway because she can’t keep her hands of them. In the third stanza, she asks her mother to share to what life was like during her days. But just the same as the second stanza, it still is centered on men and how they affect women’s lives. Over all this song shows how a woman’s or girl’s life can wholly revolve around man despite the pain and despair it causes.
When I first saw the video, it thought it was just ok-just another typical pop rock music video. What really captivated was the song itself and not the video, but I did like the way the girl (Tania Doko) bit the cake in front of the camera.
Of all the 122 comments on the music video, only one actually thought that the whole thing, including the lyrics, was stupid. Some thought that the video could be improved. Some even thought it was just a piece of crap and that the artists looked awful. But still they loved the song. One thought that the whole song was sadistic and mean but still appreciated the song. Most of those who wrote the comments were daughters who were reminded of their mothers. It’s a smart and funny song that’s why a lot of girls love it unlike other mother and daughter songs that are so EMO. One actually commented that this song was what she exactly wanted to say to her mother who had already passed away but the comment was not in an emotive way. Another girl made the exact comment saying she wanted to say the same thing before she moved out of the house.
Another admirer of the song commented that she was so proud of Aussie women for having the most brilliant voices in the music industry. She even mentioned names like Tina Arena and Kylie Minogue. I have to say I disagree with her sentiment but I was too lazy to post a reply on YouTube. Most of the admirers said that this song will not fade in time because it reflects most of the teenage girls in the world.
As mentioned earlier, the artists of this song are Australians. They are Tania Doko and James Roche. Roche is also the writer of most of their songs. I’m not really crazy or fanatical about the band but I just enjoy this particularly song. I’m really into it because of the way the song made use of humor but in a clever way, unlike others that seem vulgar. And also, the subject matter of the song is very unique. Over all, the band has pulled it off. I think this is why this song made it to the singles sales charts for 33 weeks in Australia.
