Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: hard-rock
Song Meaning of “Pretty Poison” by 12 Stones
Pretty Poison suggests that there is something dangerously attractive about a person who, on the surface, appears to be the perfect match. The person in question seems like the perfect partner – loving, passionate, and seductive – but, in reality, they are unreliable and toxic.
The song expresses the narrator’s inner struggle between the allure of the toxic person and the knowledge that being with them would ultimately be destructive. It talks about the heartache of knowing that staying in the relationship would bring nothing but pain, and yet being so drawn in that leaving seems impossible. The chorus speaks of the fear of being “held captive” in the relationship, unable to extinguish the flame that burns between the two.
Ultimately, Pretty Poison voices the deep ambivalence that comes with trying to leave a harmful relationship. It speaks to the painful realization that, though we can recognize that a bad thing is bad for us, sometimes it can still be so hard to let it go.