#7 Neko Case - Margaret vs. Pauline

Album: Fox Confessor Brings The Flood (2006)

Lyrics excerpt:
Everything's so easy for Pauline
Ancient strings set feet a light to speed to her such mild grace
No monument of tacky gold
They smoothed her hair with cinnamon waves
And they placed an ingot in her breast to burn cool and collected
Fate holds her firm in its cradle and then rolls her for a tender pause to savor

Everything's so easy for Pauline

Reasons to love this song:
Besides having a powerful voice, Neko Case is a great lyricist. Margaret vs. Pauline is a good example both of her poetic imagery and her dark sense of humour (in this interview she says that one of the reasons she likes Russian folk tales is the fact that, for the Russians, "death is funny").
The lyrics describe two girls, one of whom feels only mild emotions and leads a calm, graceful life, the other unfortunate enough to feel everything too strongly. Pauline is the luckier one, but there is no doubt that Case's sympathies are on Margaret's side.

Link to Amazon preview:
Margaret Vs. Pauline (Album Version)

YouTube link:

Neko Case performing Margaret vs. Pauline live in 2007.