Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: folk
Song Meaning of “Bathtub” by Waxahatchee
The song “Bathtub” by Waxahatchee speaks to the internal battle of self-destructive behavior and trying to break free from it. The singer is someone who is used to drama and conflict from their past, and they want to free themselves from a cycle of negative patterns in life.
The singer questions if they are disconnected from their life, singing “Am I alive in here?” as they fight for a chance to take control. The singer is discontent with their life, wanting to break away from the ideas that control them, but not knowing how. Even as they try to break away, they sometimes get pulled back in, creating a cycle of struggle that the singer is tired of repeating.
The chorus narrates the singer’s hopes to break this cycle and start anew, looking for a place where they can “wash it all away.” They want to be lifted from the heaviness of life and “find a way to be brave.” The idea of being cleansed and renewed is reiterated with the chorus focusing on a bathtub, playing into the idea of being reborn among the suds.
The bridge of the song is the emotional release of trying to break free, represented by a humming of intensity that builds into an instrumental break. This musical break of resolution emphasizes the importance of feeling into the emotions to reach a desire of freedom and peace and breaking the cycle of self-destructive behavior.
The song “Bathtub” speaks to the ongoing struggle of fighting off a pattern of negative behavior that can control someone’s life, but also conveys the hope of being cleansed of that control and emerging stronger and reborn.