Precious Things

“Precious Things is a song that came to me when I was living behind a church. And I was about 24 years old. I had a roommate that listened to really raucous music and it started to take me into flashbacks of my grandmother. And she used to put me in a corner and she would read me something, I think from Leviticus, I can't remember. But she was convinced that I was gonna give my soul to God and my body to a man that I would marry. But at five years old I knew that we were enemies. So, in my mind I was always trying to find ways to get away from this Creature. So I thought of things and my mother thought I was a demon for thinking them but I think she would smile out of the corner [of her mouth] because I think she felt the same way. So, behind this church with this music going on and on in my head, I started to really think that maybe just one day I could run faster.” [VH1 Storytellers - October 24, 1998]

“Oh, you know very well men sometimes use good sex as a weapon, or as an excuse, like ‘I just made you come, so don’t think I’m also gonna help you do the dishes!’ Hello!” [Humo magazine]

“Heavily into the Sandman comics by now, the nights were late, candles all over the house dripping where they would. Wax is a bit more fun to play with than bubble gum. The doors were open by now. I could resist, but there’s always air suction.” [Little Earthquakes songbook]

“I was always the girl who had friends but did boys like me? Not the boys I liked! They’d say, ‘She’s nice and she plays really good piano but she’s also Sandy Luman’s friend, can we get her number?’ [laughs] I hadn’t blossomed so I was seen as a rather nondescript nice girl, I guess.” [Hot Press (Ireland) - 1992]

“Little Earthquakes is all about celebration. Celebrating the ability to laugh, weep, and scream, particularly if you have been silent for years. And so it’s about celebrating sexuality in the widest sense, including the elements of revenge. As in Precious Things where I say to the guy ‘So you can make me cum/that doesn’t make you Jesus’. Just because I’m with a man and because I’m creaming for a man doesn’t make him a master, doesn’t even necessarily make him worthy of love, of my love. And I now realize, maybe for the first time in my life, that my capacity for love is incredibly deep and that for me to give this to a man he has to fully understand, and respect what that means. Too few do. They’re into pillaging, rummaging around, doing a little Viking stuff! But most women these days realize that’s not enough, boys! And if some women don’t then I hope songs like Precious Things will help open their eyes. And, just as importantly, help open the eyes of some men.” [Hot Press (Ireland) - 1992]

“I flirt with other people's songs sometimes. Even if I her it only one time, there can be a flirtation going on, where I say, 'I can do this, but I'm going to approach it in another way.' A couple of bands inspired my riff on Precious Things. But my song is so different from theirs. You can't necessarily make the connection.” [Tori Amos: Piece by Piece - 2005]