Fiona talked about the tragic backstory of this song in an interview to CMJ New Music Magazine:
“Sullen Girl is… complicated for me. It’s about a lot of things. It’s about when I was doing the album and everything was happening all at once and I just felt like ‘Oh my God, what’s going on here?’ The...
[Verse 1]
Days like this, I don't know what to do with myself
All day and all night
I wander the halls along the walls
And under my breath I say to myself
"I need fuel to take flight"
[Chorus]
And there's too much going on
But it's calm under the waves
In the blue of my oblivion
Under the waves
In the blue of my oblivion
[Verse 2]
Is that why they call me a sullen girl, sullen girl
They don't know I used to sail the deep and tranquil sea
But he washed me 'shore
And he took my pearl
And left an empty shell of me
[Chorus]
And there's too much going on
But it's calm under the waves
In the blue of my oblivion
Under the waves
In the blue of my oblivion
Under the waves
In the blue of my oblivion
It's calm under the waves
In the blue of my oblivion
Sullen Girl was written by Fiona Apple.
Sullen Girl was produced by Andrew Slater.
Fiona Apple released Sullen Girl on Tue Jul 23 1996.