What is “Livewire” about?
"Livewire" casts its narrator as pure electrical current, a woman who has been called a hazard since childhood and refuses to be grounded, calmed down or made polite, because "polite don't sound like dynamite." The imagery stays on voltage, static and failing circuits, and the final chorus turns her refusal to learn into a point of pride. At track three and just under three minutes, it is one of the shortest, most direct songs on Gasoline Hymn.
Livewire lyrics
Touch me and you're gonna get shocked
I've been plugged in since the day I could walk
My mama said girl you're a hazard
I said mama I'm just getting started
Got voltage running through my veins
Got static in my lips again
I'm the spark before the fire
I'm the crack before the thunder
I'm a livewire, I'm a livewire
Don't you put your hands on me unless you want the burn
I'm a livewire, I'm a livewire
Touch the flame and watch it turn
I'll light you up and never learn
Livewire, livewire, livewire
Every room I walk into goes bright
Every boy I ever kissed saw white
They say calm down, simmer, be polite
But polite don't sound like dynamite
I'm the hum inside the wall
I'm the reason circuits fall
When they cut the power to the building
I'm the one still standing tall
I'm a livewire, I'm a livewire
Don't you put your hands on me unless you want the burn
I'm a livewire, I'm a livewire
Touch the flame and watch it turn
I'll light you up and never learn
Livewire, livewire, livewire
They tried to ground me
Tried to shut me off
But you can't kill what's already hot
You can't tame what won't be caught
No no no
I'm a livewire, I'm a livewire
Put your hands up if you want the burn
I'm a livewire, I'm a livewire
Every single lesson never learned
I'll burn it down and never learn
Livewire, livewire, livewire
Livewire!