"Fetch the Bolt Cutters seems to almost completely turn the volume down on music history, while it cranks up raw, real life—handclaps, chants, and other makeshift percussion, in harmony with space, echoes, whispers, screams, breathing, jokes, so-called mistakes, and dog barks". (Pitchfork) Fetch the Bolt Cutters is like nothing Fiona Apple has done before, but the album is still recognizable as something only she could create. It’s purposefully unvarnished, a raw export from the inside of her brain: her voice stretches and loops, morphing into Vipassana chants and spooky, surreal yelps; in the middle of one song, she messes up and mutters, “Ah, fuck, shit”; in another, she laughs as her dog, Mercy, licks her face. (Vulture)

I Want You To Love Me [Verse 1]

I've waited many years

Every print I left upon the track

Has led me here

And next year, it'll be clear

This was only leading me to that

And by that time, I hope that



[Chorus]

You love me

You love me



[Verse 2]

I move with the trees in the breeze

I know that time is elastic

And I know when I go

All my particles disband and disperse

And I'll be back in the pulse

And I know none of this will matter in the long run

But I know a sound is still a sound around no one

And while I'm in this body

I want somebody to want

And I want what I want and I want



[Chorus]

You to love me

You



[Bridge]

And I know that you do

In the dark, I know that you do

And I know that you know that you got

The potential to pick me up

And I want you to use it, blast the music

Bang it, bite it, bruise it

Whenever you want to begin, begin

We don't have to go back to where we've been

I am the woman who wants you to win

And I've been waiting, waiting for



[Outro]

You to love me

You

You

Ooh, ooh





Shameika [Verse 1]

I used to walk down the streets

On my way to school

Grinding my teeth to a rhythm invisible

I used my feet to crush dead leaves like they had fallen from trees

Just for me, just to be crashed cymbals



[Pre-Chorus]

In class, I passed the time

Drawing a slash for every time

The second hand went by a group of five

Done twelve times was a minute



[Chorus]

But Shameika said I had potential

Shameika said I had potential

Shameika said I had potential

Shameika said I had potential



[Verse 2]

I used to march down the windy, windy sidewalk

Slapping my leg with the riding crop

Thinking it made me come off so tough

I didn't smile, because a smile always seemed rehearsed

I wasn't afraid of the bullies, and that just made the bullies worse



[Pre-Chorus]

In class, I passed the time

Drawing a slash for every time

The second hand went by a group of five

Done twelve times was a minute



[Chorus]

But Shameika said I had potential

Shameika said I had potential

Shameika said I had potential

Shameika said I had potential



[Bridge]

Hurricane Gloria in excelsis deo

That's my burden, my dream

My dog, and my man, and my music is my holy trinity

Hurricane Gloria in excelsis deo

That's my burden, my dream

My dog, and my man, and my music is my holy trinity



[Verse 3]

Tony told me he described me as pissed off, funny and warm

Sebastian said I'm a good man in a storm

Back then I didn't know what potential meant

And Shameika wasn't gentle and she wasn't my friend but

She got through to me and I'll never see her again

She got through to me and I'll never see her again

I'm pissed off, funny and warm

I'm a good man in a storm

And when the fall is torrential, I'll recall



[Chorus]

Shameika said I had potential

Shameika said I had potential

Shameika said I had potential

Shameika said I had potential



[Verse 3]

Tony told me he described me as pissed off, funny and warm

Sebastian said I'm a good man in a storm

Back then I didn't know what potential meant

But Shameika wasn't gentle and she wasn't my friend

But she got through to me and I'll never see her again

She got through to me and I'll never see her again

I'm pissed off, funny and warm

I'm a good man in a storm

And when the fall is torrential, I'll recall



[Chorus]

Shameika said I had potential

Shameika said I had potential

Shameika said I had potential

Shameika said I had potential

Shameika said I had potential

Shameika said I had potential

Shameika said I had potential





Fetch the Bolt Cutters [Verse 1]

I've been thinking about when I was trying to be your friend

I thought it was then, but it wasn't, it wasn't genuine

I was just so furious but I couldn't show you

'Cause I know you and I know what you can do

And I don't wanna war with you, I won't afford it

You get sore even when you win



[Verse 2]

And you maim when you're on offense

But you kill when you're on defense

And you've got them all convinced

That you're the means and the end

All the VIPs and PYTs and wannabes

Afraid of not being your friend



[Verse 3]

And I've always been too smart for that

But you know what? My heart was not

I took it like a kid, you see

The cool kids voted to get rid of me

And I'm ashamed of what they did to me

What I let get done

It stole my fun, it stole my fun



[Chorus 1]

Fetch the bolt cutters, I've been in here too long

Fetch the bolt cutters, I've been in here too long

Fetch the bolt cutters, I've been in here too long

Fetch the bolt cutters



[Post-Chorus]

He sings so nice, I guess he tries (I've been thinking about when I was trying to be your friend)

(I thought it was then, but it wasn't, it wasn't genuine)



[Chorus 2]

Fetch the bolt cutters, I've been in here too long

Fetch the bolt cutters (I've been in here too long)

Whatever happens, whatever happens (Whatever happens)

Fetch the bolt cutters, I've been in here too long

Fetch the bolt cutters



[Verse 4]

While I had not yet found my bearings

Those it girls hit the ground

Comparing the way I was to the way she was

Sayin' I'm not stylish enough and I cry too much

And I listened because I hadn't found my own voice yet

So all I could hear was the noise that

People make when they don't know shit

But I didn't know that yet



[Verse 5]

I grew up in the shoes they told me I could fill

When they came around I would stand real still

A girl can roll her eyes at me and kill

I got the idea I wasn’t real

I thought being blacklisted would be grist for the mill

Until I realized I'm still here (I'm still here)

I grew up in the shoes they told me I could fill

Shoes that were not made for running up that hill

And I need to run up that hill, I need to run up that hill

I will, I will, I will, I will, I will



[Chorus 2]

Fetch the bolt cutters, I've been in here too long

Fetch the bolt cutters, whatever happens, whatever happens

Fetch the bolt cutters, I've been in here too long

Fetch the bolt cutters, whatever happens, whatever happens

Fetch the bolt cutters (I've been in here too long)

Whatever happens, whatever happens



[Outro]

Fetch the bolt cutters, fetch the bolt cutters

Fetch the bolt cutters, fetch the bolt cutters (I will, I will)

Fetch the bolt cutters, fetch the bolt cutters

Fetch the bolt cutters, fetch the bolt cutters

Fetch the bolt cutters, fetch the bolt cutters

Whatever happens, whatever happens

Whatever happens, whatever happens

Fetch the bolt cutters (Whatever happens, whatever happens), fetch the bolt cutters





Under the Table [Intro]

I would beg to disagree

But begging disagrees with me

I would beg to disagree

But begging disagrees with me



[Verse 1]

I told you I didn't wanna go to this dinner

You know I don't go for those ones that you bother about

So when they say something that makes me start to simmer

That fancy wine won't put this fire out, oh



[Chorus]

Kick me under the table all you want

I won't shut up, I won't shut up

Kick me under the table all you want

I won't shut up, I won't shut up



[Verse 2]

I'd like to buy you a pair of pillow-soled hiking boots

To help you with your climb

Or rather, to help the bodies that you step over along your route

So they won't hurt like mine



[Chorus]

Kick me under the table all you want

I won't shut up, I won't shut up

Kick me under the table all you want

I won't shut up, I won't shut up



[Post-Chorus]

And if I don't wanna go, leave me alone

Don't push me, cookie, don't push me, don't you push me

If you get me to go and I open my mouth

To the fucking mutton that they're talking about

You could pout, but don't you, don't you

Don't you, don't you, don't you shush me



[Chorus]

Kick me under the table all you want

I won't shut up, I won't shut up

Kick me under the table all you want

I won't shut up, I won't shut up

Kick me under the table all you want (I would beg to disagree)

I won't shut up, I won't shut up (But begging disagrees with me)

Kick me under the table all you want (I would beg to disagree)

I won't shut up, I won't shut up (But begging disagrees with me)



[Post-Chorus]

And if I don't wanna go, leave me alone

Don't push me, cookie, don't push me, don't you push me

If you get me to go and I open my mouth

To the fucking mutton that they're talking about

You could prowl, but don't you, don't you

Don't you, don't you, don't you shush me



[Bridge]

I would beg to disagree

But begging disagrees with me

I would beg to disagree

But begging disagrees with me

I would beg to disagree

But begging disagrees with me



[Chorus]

Kick me under the table all you want

I won't shut up, I won't shut up

Kick me under the table all you want (I would beg to disagree)

I won't shut up, I won't shut up (I would beg to disagree)

Kick me under the table all you want (I would beg to disagree)

I won't shut up, I won't shut up (But begging disagrees with me)

Kick me under the table all you want (I would beg to disagree)

I won't shut up, I won't shut up (But begging disagrees with me)





Relay [Chorus]

Evil is a relay sport

When the one who's burnt

Turns to pass the torch

Evil is a relay sport

When the one who's burnt

Turns to pass the torch

Evil is a relay sport

When the one who's burnt

Turns to pass the torch

Evil is a relay sport

When the one who's burnt

Turns to pass the torch

Evil is a relay sport

When the one who's burnt

Turns to pass the torch

Evil is a relay sport

When the one who's burnt

Turns to pass the torch



[Verse 1]

I resent you for being raised right

I resent you for being tall

I resent you for never getting any opposition at all

I resent you for having each other

I resent you for being so sure

I resent you presenting your life like a fucking propaganda brochure



[Pre-Chorus]

And I see that you keep trying bait me

And I love to get up in your face

But I know if I hate you for hating me

I will have entered the endless race



[Chorus]

Evil is a relay sport

When the one who's burnt

Turns to pass the torch

Evil is a relay sport

When the one who's burnt

Turns to pass the torch

Evil is a relay sport (Evil is)

When the one who's burnt (Evil is)

Turns to pass the torch (Evil is a relay sport)

Evil is a relay sport (Evil is)

When the one who's burnt (Evil is)

Turns to pass the torch (Evil is a relay sport)



[Verse 1]

I resent you for being raised right

I resent you for being tall

I resent you for never getting any opposition at all

I resent you for having each other

I resent you for being so sure

I resent you presenting your life like a fucking propaganda brochure



[Pre-Chorus]

And I see that you keep tryna bait me

And I love to get up in your face

But I know it if I hate you for hating me

I will have entered the endless race



[Chorus]

Evil is a relay sport

When the one who's burnt

Turns to pass the torch

Evil is a relay sport (Evil is)

When the one who's burnt (Evil is)

Turns to pass the torch (Evil is a relay sport)

Evil is a relay sport (Evil is)

When the one who's burnt (Evil is)

Turns to pass the torch (Hurt myself even more)



[Interlude]

Sorry



[Chorus]

Evil is a relay sport

When the one who's burnt

Turns to pass the torch

Evil is a relay sport

When the one who's burnt

Turns to pass the torch



[Outro]

Wipe it all away

Wipe it all away

I used to go to the ferris wheel every morning

Just to throw my anger out the door





Rack of His [Verse 1]

I gave you pictures and cards on non-holidays

And it wasn't because I was bored

I followed you from room to room with no attention

And it wasn't because I was bored



[Chorus]

It was because I was loving you so much

It's the only reason I gave my time to you

And that's it, there's a kick and you've given up

'Cause you know you won't like it when there's nothing to do



[Verse 2]

Check out that rack of his! Look at that row of guitar necks

Lined up like eager fillies, outstretched like legs of Rockettes

They don't know what they are in for and they don't care, but I do

I thought you would wail on me like you wail on them, but it was just a coochie-coo-coo!



[Chorus]

And meanwhile I'm loving you so much

It's the only reason I gave my time to you

And that's it, there's a kick and you've given up

'Cause you know you won't like it when there's nothing to do



[Chorus]

Meanwhile I'm loving you so much

That's the only reason that I gave my time to you

And that's it, there's a kick and you've given up

'Cause you know you don't like it when there's nothing to do



[Bridge]

And I've been used so many times

I've learned to use myself in kind

I try to drum, I try to write

I can't do either well but

Oh well, that's fine, I guess

'Cause I know how to spend my time



[Outro]

(I know how to spend my time)

(I know how to spend my time)

(I know how to spend my time)

(And meanwhile I'm loving you so much)

(And meanwhile I'm loving you so much)

(And meanwhile I'm loving you so much)





Newspaper I too used to want him to be proud of me

And then I just wanted him to make amends

I wonder what lies he's telling you about me

To make sure that we'll never be friends

And it's a shame because you and I didn't get a witness

We're the only ones who know

We were cursed the moment that he kissed us

From then on, it was his big show



I grew concerned when I saw him start to covet you

When I learned what he did, I felt close to you

In my own way, I fell in love with you

But he's made me a ghost to you

I watch him let go of your hand, I wanna stand between you

But it's not what I'm supposed to do

I watch him walk over, talk over you, be mean to you

And it makes me feel close to you

It makes me feel close to you

It makes me feel close to you

It's not what it's supposed to do

It makes me feel close to you



I too wanted to make him proud of me

And then I just wanted him to make amends

I wonder what lies he's telling you about me

To make sure that we'll never be friends

And it's a shame because you and I didn't get a witness

We're the only ones who know

We were cursed the moment that he kissed us

From then on, it was his big show

From then on, it was his big show

From then on, it was his big show



You're wearing time like a flowery crown

Sitting there, sitting that big cat down

And I'm alone on the summit now

Trying not to let my light go out



I too used to want him to be proud of me

And then I just wanted him to make amends

I wonder what lies he's telling you about me

To make sure that we'll never be friends

And it's a shame because you and I did not get a witness

We’re the only ones who know

We were cursed the moment that he kissed us

From then on, it was his big show



I grew concerned when I saw him start to covet you

When I learned what he did, I felt close to you

In my own way, I fell in love with you

But he's made me a ghost to you

I watch him let go of your hand, I wanna stand between you

But it's not what I'm supposed to do

I watch him walk over you, talk over you, be mean to you

And it makes me feel close to you



And you're wearing time like a flowery crown

Sitting there, sitting that big cat down

And I'm alone on the summit now

Trying not to let my light go out

Trying not to let my light go out

You're wearing time like a flowery crown

Sitting there, sitting that big cat down

And I'm alone on the summit now

Trying not to let my light go out



Oh, I too used to want him to be proud of me

And then I just wanted him to make amends

I wonder what lies he's told you about me

To make sure that we'll never be friends

To make sure that we'll never be friends

To make sure that we'll never be friends

To make sure that we'll never be friends





Ladies [Intro]

Ladies, ladies, ladies, ladies

Ladies, ladies, ladies, ladies

Ladies, ladies, ladies, ladies

Ladies, ladies, ladies, ladies



[Verse 1]

Ruminations on the looming effect and the parallax view

And the figure and the form and the revolving door that keeps

Turning out more and more good women like you

Yet another woman to whom I won't get through

Ruminations on the looming effect and the parallax view

And the figure and the form and the revolving door that keeps

Turning out more and more good women like you

Yet another woman to whom I won't get through



[Verse 2]

Ladies, ladies, ladies, ladies, take it easy

When he leaves me, please be my guest

To whatever I mighta left in his kitchen cupboards

In the back of his bathroom cabinets



[Verse 3]

And oh yes, oh yes, oh yes

There's a dress in the closet

Don't get rid of it, you'd look good in it

I didn't fit in it, it was never mine

It belonged to the ex-wife of another ex of mine

She left it behind with a note, one line, it said

"I don't know if I'm coming across, but I'm really trying"

She was very kind



[Chorus]

Fruit bat

Cuter than a button, mutton-head maniac

Fruit bat

Cuter than a button, mutton-head maniac



[Verse 4]

Nobody can replace anybody else

So it would be a shame to make it a competition

And no love is like any other love

So it would be insane to make a comparison with you



[Verse 5]

Ruminations on the looming effect and the parallax view

And the figure and the form and the revolving door that keeps

Turning out more and more good women like you

Yet another woman to whom I won't get through



[Chorus]

Ooh

Cuter than a button, mutton head maniac



[Refrain] Ladies, ladies, ladies, ladies

Ladies, ladies, ladies, ladies

Ladies, ladies, ladies, ladies

Ladies, ladies, ladies, ladies



[Verse 6]

And no love is like any other love

So it would be insane to make a comparison with you



[Refrain]

Ladies, ladies, ladies, ladies

Ladies, ladies, ladies, ladies

Ladies, ladies, ladies, ladies



[Outro]

Yet another woman to whom I won't get through

Yet another woman to whom I won't get through

Yet another woman to whom I won't get through

Yet another woman to whom I won't get through

Yet another woman to whom I won't get through





Heavy Ballon [Verse 1]

People like us, we play with a heavy balloon

We keep it up to keep the Devil at bay but it always falls way too soon

People like us, we play with a heavy balloon

We keep it up to keep the Devil at bay but it always falls way too soon

People like us, we play with a heavy balloon

We keep it up to keep the Devil at bay but it always falls way too soon



[Chorus]

I spread like strawberries (I spread like strawberries)

I climb like peas and beans (I climb like peas and beans)

I've been sucking it in so long

That I'm busting at the seams

I spread like strawberries (I spread like strawberries)

I climb like peas and beans (I climb like peas and beans)

I've been sucking it in so long

That I'm busting at the seams



[Verse 2]

In the middle of the day, it's like the sun

But the Saharan one, staring me down

Forcing all forms of life inside of me to retreat underground

It grows relentless like the teeth of a rat

It's just got to keep on gnawing at me

And it constricts like a boa on a hose, nothing flows

So the pressure grows instead of the seed



[Verse 3]

People like us get so heavy and so lost sometimes

So lost and so heavy that the bottom is the only place we can find

You get dragged down, down to the same spot enough times in a row

The bottom begins to feel like the only safe place that you know

But you know what?



[Chorus]

I spread like strawberries (I spread like strawberries)

I climb like peas and beans (I climb like peas and beans)

I've been sucking it in so long

That I'm busting at the seams

I spread like strawberries (I spread like strawberries)

I climb like peas and beans (I climb like peas and beans)

I've been sucking it in so long

That I'm busting at the seams



[Outro]

(I spread like strawberries) I spread like strawberries

I climb like (I climb like peas and beans)

I spread like strawberries

I climb like peas and beans

I spread like strawberries

I climb like peas and beans (That I'm busting at the seams)

I spread like strawberries

I climb like peas and beans





Cosmonauts [Verse 1]

Your face ignites a fuse to my patience

Whatever you do is gonna be wrong

There's no time to interrupt the detonation

Be good to me before you're gone

When I met you I was fine with my nothing

I grew with you and now I've changed

What I've become is something I can't be without your loving

Be good to me, it isn't a game



[Pre-Chorus]

Now let me see, it's you and me, forgive good God

How do you suppose that we've survived?

Come on, that's right, left, right

Make lighter of all the heavier



[Chorus]

'Cause you and I will be like a couple of cosmonauts

Except with way more gravity than when we started off

Oh, you and I will be like a couple of cosmonauts

Except with way more gravity than when we started off



[Bridge]

When you resist me, hon', I cease to exist

Because I only like the way I look, when looking through your eyes

And when you come back

You commemorate the penetration of the sun into the deep, dark sky



[Pre-Chorus]

Now let me see, it's you and me, forgive good God

How do you suppose that we'll survive?

Come on, that's right, left right

Make lighter of all the heavier



[Chorus]

'Cause you and I will be like a couple of cosmonauts

Except with way more gravity than when we started off

Oh, you and I will be like a couple of cosmonauts

Except with way more gravity than when we started off



[Post-Chorus]

Started, started off, started off

Started off, started off, started off, baby

Started off, started off, started off, now

Started off, started off, started off, baby

Started off, started off, started, started

Started, started



[Chorus]

You and I will be like a couple of cosmonauts

Except with way more gravity than when we started off

Oh, you and I will be like a couple of cosmonauts

Except with way more gravity than when we started off



[Post-Chorus]

Started, started off, started off

Started off, started off, started off, baby

Started off, started off, started off, now

Started off, started off, started off, baby

Started off, started off, started, started

Started, started

Started off, started off, started off, baby

Started off, started off, started off, now

Started off, started off, started off, baby

Started off, started off, started, started

Started, started



[Outro]

Now we'll be like a couple of cosmonauts

Except with way more gravity than when we started off

Oh, you and I will be like a couple of cosmonauts

Except with way more gravity than when we started off





For Her [Verse 1]

Look at how feathered his cocks are

See how seamless his frocks are

Look at his paper-beating over that rockstar

Look at how long she walks and how far

Was she lost? Or

Maybe she was not for

Travelling in the stock car, anymore

Maybe she spent her formative years

Dealing with his contentious fears

And endless jeers at her endless tears

Or maybe she just got tired of watching him



[Verse 2]

Sniff white off a starlet's breast

Treating his wife like less than a guest

Getting his girl to clean up his mess

Never showing weakness unless it's a ward's season

It's the season of the ward

And she's trying to cut the cord

She's tired of planting her knees on the cold, hard floor of facts

Trying to act like the other girl acts



[Pre-Chorus]

And your strike may have been exact

But you know that you never really go to the mat

You tie everything all pretty in the second act

When you know that it didn't go exactly like that



[Chorus]

You arrive and drive by, like a sauced up bat

Like you know you should know, but you don't know where it's at

Like you know you should know, but you don't know where it's at

Like you know you should know, but you don't know where it's at

You arrive and drive by, like a sauced up bat

Like you know you should know, but you don't know where it's at

You arrive and drive by, like a sauced up bat



[Post-Chorus]

Like you know you should know, but you don't know where it's at

Like you know, you should know, but you don't know what you did

Like you know, you should know what happened when I came to bed

Like you know, you should know, but you don't know

Like you know, you should know, but you don't know

Like you know, you should know, but you don't know what you did



[Bridge]

Well, good morning

Good morning

You raped me in the same bed your daughter was born in

Good morning

Good morning

Good morning

Good morning

Good morning

(Like you know, you should know, but you don't know

Like you know, you should know, but you don't know

Like you know, you should know, but you don't know)



[Outro]

You were so high

You were so high

You were so high





Drumset [Verse 1]

The drumset is gone

And the rug it was on

Is still here screaming at me

Why did you take it all away?

Why did you take it all away?

And the dialing of the phone

Is no longer fun

Since you've been done with me

And you don't want to talk with me at all

Why'd you take it all away?

I did nothing wrong

I don't believe it, I don't believe it

I don't believe your reasoning

Now I understand, you're a human

And you got to lie, you're a man

And you got to get what you want

How you want it but so do I

And I wanted to try



[Chorus]

Why did you not want to try?

Why did you take it all away?

Why did you not want to try?

Why did you take it all away?

Why did you not want to try?

Why did you take it all away?

Why did you not want to try?

Why did you take it all away?



[Post-Chorus]

Why did you take it all away? (You took it all away)

Why did you take it all away? (You took it all away, took it)

Why did you take it all away? (You took it all away)

Why did you take it all away? (You took it all away)



[Verse 2]

The drumset is gone

And the rug it was on

Is still here screaming at me (You took it all away, took it)

Why did you take it all away?

Why did you take it all away? (You took it all away, took it)

And the dialing of the phone (You took it all away, took it)

Is no longer fun (You took it all away, took it)

Since you've been done with me

And you don't want to talk with me at all

Why'd you take it all away?

I did nothing wrong

I don't believe it, I don't believe it

I don't believe your reasoning

Now I understand, you're a human

And you got to lie, you're a man

And you got to get what you want

How you want it, but so do I

And I wanted to try



[Chorus]

Why did you not want to try?

Why did you take it all away?

Why did you not want to try?

Why did you take it all away?

Why did you not want to try?

Why did you take it all away?

Why did you not want to try?

Why did you take it all away?

And

