This song addresses struggling with mental illness, suicidal thoughts, and self-destructive behaviour, but choosing to stay nonetheless.
In an interview with Face Culture, Baker explains the song by saying:
“I wanted Claws in Your Back to sort of be the antithesis to the last song on the last reco...
[Verse 1]
Collecting the circles that tell us
How old we are beneath our eyelids
Wearing a purple badge to prove what I did
Pump the vitals out of my wrist
'Cause I'm conducting an experiment on how it feels to die
Or stay alive
[Verse 2]
So try to stay calm, 'cause nobody knows
The violent partner you carry around
With claws in your back, ripping your clothes
And listing your failures out loud
It's more than the skeleton next to my coat
The black that I held in the back of my throat
Follows you straight into the dark
The easy way out and the hardest part
[Chorus]
When it won't leave me alone
I'm better off learning
How to be
Living with demons I've
Mistaken for saints
If you keep it between us
I think they're the same
I think I can love
The sickness you made
'Cause I take it all back, I changed my mind
I wanted to stay
I wanted to stay
Claws in Your Back was written by Julien Baker.
Claws in Your Back was produced by Julien Baker.
Julien Baker released Claws in Your Back on Fri Oct 27 2017.