In Pitchfork, Dacus stated:
Like most songs I write, I wasn’t expecting it and it made me feel weird, almost sick. It tells the story of a day I had with a friend during our freshman year of college, a significant day, but not one that I had thought of for years. I started playing it live a month o...
[Verse 1]
You hung up the phone
And I asked you what was wrong
Your dad has come to town
He'd like to meet
I said, "You don't have to see him"
But for whatever reason, you can't tell him no
[Verse 2]
So we meet him at a bar
You were holding my hand hard
He ordered rum and Coke
I can't drink either anymore
He hadn't seen you since the fifth grade
Now you're nineteen and you're 5'8"
He said, "Honey, you sure look great
Do you get the checks I send on your birthday?"
[Chorus]
I would kill him
If you let me
I would kill him
Quick and easy
Your nails are digging
Into my knee
I don't know how you keep smiling
[Verse 3]
I love your eyеs
And he has 'em
Or you have his
'Causе he was first
I imagine my thumbs on the irises
Pressing in until they burst
[Verse 4]
I clear my throat
And say we ought to get home
He offers us a ride
I reply, "No, that's alright"
And when we leave
You feel him watching
So we walk a mile in the wrong direction
[Chorus]
I would kill him
If you let me
I would kill him
Quick and easy
Your nails are digging
Into my knee
I don't know how you keep smiling
I don't know how you keep smiling
I don't know how you keep smiling
[Outro]
I wanna take your face between my hands and say
"You two are connected by a pure coincidence
Bound to him by blood, but baby, it's all relative
You've been in his fist ever since you were a kid
But you don't owe him shit even if he said you did
You don't owe him shit even if he said you did"
Thumbs was written by Lucy Dacus.
Thumbs was produced by Lucy Dacus & Jake Finch & Jacob Blizard & Collin Pastore.
Lucy Dacus released Thumbs on Tue Mar 09 2021.
I was in the car on the way to dinner in Nashville. We were going to a Thai restaurant, meeting up with some friends, and I just had my notepad out. Didn’t notice it was happening, and then wrote the last line, ‘You don’t owe him shit,’ and then I wrote it down a second time because I needed to hear...