"Thumbelina" by Nightmare of You

Taking the interpretation of our theme very loosely, this song shares its name with a Hans Christian Andersen tale and that's where the similarities end. The classic "Thumbelina" follows the adventures of a tiny girl, no bigger than her mother's thumb (hence the name), as she encounters woodland creatures and faeries in her search for true love. Meanwhile, the subject of Nightmare of You's "Thumbelina" is a petite girl (normal size, just shorter than average) who, bored of married life, walks along the highway until some person (male, female, or otherwise) picks her up to have sex. I mean, those are adventures but not exactly the kind that are suitable for children to hear.

Here's my take on the song. I think the song is sung from the perspective of a man who picked her up once and has fallen in love with her. In fact, he could be the "loon on the hillside" that got her pregnant. She thought he knew her better than anyone, but he fucking left her, like everyone else she hails down. Now, she's still stuck in a marriage with her husband - who is clueless and doesn't realize that she's sleeping around with strangers - and she has to take care of a lovechild. I have no idea what the significance of her having big thumbs is, though. I'm lost on that one.

My thumbelina

I've never seen a pair of digits quite like yours before

And I have traveled shore to shore

In such arduous pallor

Your almost perfect body's got me quivering in a ball

I found Nightmare of You when I was going through a weird emo phase, when I wanted chipper music but strange and twisted lyrics. Nightmare of You doesn't disappoint on that front. One of my favorite songs by them is "I Want to be Buried in Your Backyard," that perennial classic of obsessive love. Where "Thumbelina" is a fairly peppy indie standard, "I Want to be Buried in Your Backyard" has a darker bent, if you couldn't tell from the title. Though all the members are American, you can definitely get a hint of British influence.  Nightmare of you combines the best of synth pop and semi-poetic lyrics, and it doesn't hurt that Brandon Reilly has a great voice. It's also pretty impressive how well-known the band is, considering they self-published their debut album. They kind of fell off the radar after the late 2000s but apparently, the Nightmare of You is still together and performing, although they haven't released anything new is several years. Oh well. Their old stuff is pretty good. Just a fan-made lyric video for today - being a pretty small-time indie band, they don't have any official music videos.

"Thumbelina" Video