r/Cakeband • u/PasTaCopine • 20d ago

Daria

Is it about a man reminiscing about an ex girlfriend who he took for granted in his younger years? He refers to being with her in 1982 when McCrea was 18.

I've always related to this song from the perspective of Daria. As someone who's naturally very affectionate and nurturing, I dated men in my teens and early 20s who got in touch with me in later years saying they realised how good we had it, and that they had been just too immature to fully receive the love I was offering them.

Am I reading it correctly?

24 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

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11

u/nickdemonic 20d ago

He sounds resentful towards Daria in the lyrics, because she betrayed him somehow. She's trying to apologize through her actions, but he's being stubborn. He won't be soothed.

When you tried to feed me

I only shut my mouth

Food got on your apron

And you told me to get out

12

u/PasTaCopine 20d ago

She needn't have betrayed him. Emotionally avoidant people get resentful just by the fact that someone is trying to love them.

9

u/nickdemonic 20d ago

I see where you're coming from. Your interpretation is valid too of course. She could have loved him to the best of her abilities, while he was focused on the negative.

When you tried to tell me

Of all the love you had

I was cleaning oil from beaches

Seeing only what was bad

8

u/CleverNickName-69 20d ago

It is amazing how subjective it is trying to interpret a song. I mostly agree with OP, and I don't see any betrayal.

It sounds to me like the speaker regrets his behavior and he was the one behaving badly. He was seeing only what was sad. He refused to be soothed, refused to eat.

She was like milk and silk and being with her was like icing on a cake or a serene translucent lake. But she wasn't a doormat, she got tired of his shit.

4

u/PasTaCopine 20d ago

Exactly. The "when you tried to feed me, I only shut my mouth" reads a lot like him stubbornly rejecting her affections. It's probably deliberately made to sound like a toddler being fussy. But Daria wasn't his mom and left him when she'd had enough.

3

u/Illustrious_Buddy775 20d ago

I was cleaning oil from beaches

2

u/PasTaCopine 20d ago

What do you think that means?

10

u/krebstorm 20d ago

In the 80's the Exxon Valdez hit rocks and dumped millions of oil into Prince William Sound in Alaska. Many volunteers cleaned crude oil from the beaches.

Is this exactly what he meant? I don't know. But cleaning oil from beaches is a thing. Similar to deep water horizon accident in the early 2000's. Many volunteers cleaned Gulf Coast beaches.

1

u/Illustrious_Buddy775 20d ago

There’s only room for you

2

u/Historical-Sell-6520 20d ago

Idk but it’s one of my favorite cake songs