Hotelier, The - Housebroken Lyrics

The riff at 1:43

HOUZE ALBUM
HOUZE ALBUM

twintage brought me here

Hi Vianca I still love you

and I'm just slightly nervous... of what I might do, if I were let loose 💔

In this song you can tell there’s a love for someone who is abused. The imagery of an abused dog protecting it’s owner is used very well on this track. You see a love for the hurt and a denial of freedom, concluding with our point of view refusing to end up like the ‘Housebroken’ dog. Once coming to an understanding of it’s full meaning, it is undoubtedly one of the sadder songs on the album.

To me this seems like a pretty grim song about how to deal with people who are "bad" not out of "evilness"/"greed" but simply out of weakness in the face of their own oppression.

e.g. the average Nazi soldier. But also lots of other less extreme examples.

Very underrated song

Anyone else from the parallel 10k montage?

Lol me but its a good song

Yeah xD

Yeah me

me lmao

rip slawd, miss you everyday homie.

We called off your guard as we entered the yard
To convince you to redirect some of that rage
Because who fed you rocks while they ate their thanksgiving
And who left you out all alone in their cage

And when you were a pup, I watched you so close
You ran straight to the distance allowed by his rope
You got kicked, you got choked, phrases crept up your spine
When he said "we must keep our bitches in line"
And on his poker nights he says the same of his wife
He's the top dog/pack leader/true alpha-male
So make no sudden moves keep your nose from the border
You move fast. You eat last this side of pecking-order

So why don't you come with me?
We've got acres with streams. We won't keep you in cages/make you beg for your treats. We won't tell you to heel, though you might need some time to
Dig up those old bones your young self left behind

You said
"Your offer is nice but here should suffice
Yeah, my younger years were something but that isn't my life
Master is all that I've got
He keeps me having a purpose
Gives me bed, keeps me fed
And I'm just slightly nervous of what I might do
If I were let loose
If I caught that mail car
Or ate garbage for food
So, as I bare all my teeth
I will ask of you please to just leave."

Well your heart has spoken
I feel you're already house broken

Well I made you a hood ornament for an oncoming car
Because your bark might seem bad but I'll show you the scars
From when the state sent you over to deliver your teeth
To the heels of your kindred breaking chains from their feet
And then you wipe your hands clean. Splash of water/paper napkin
While the parrots sing headlines, we wear the leash like a fashion
Try to take out my claws expect a visceral reaction
Try to muzzle me up, I'll lash out, I'll bite back and
Keep my options open
For fear of becoming housebroken

I get the symbolism behind the song, but at the end of the day, the literal interpretation of an abused dog is sad enough for me.
Poor pupper :(

Ive come to realize that I shouldnt be upset about The Weakerthans splitting up... this is good stuff! any chance we'll get a saga?

I feel like its definitely about some form of child abuse

Idk alot of people are saying stuff about dog abuse.

@aeewfefdf uqu tbf with the lyrics of the album, it's plausible to say that the whole dog abuse thing can be one elaborate metaphor of child abuse.

We called off your guard as we entered the yard
to convince you to redirect some of that rage
Because who fed you rocks while they ate their thanksgiving
and who left you out all alone in their cage.

And when you were a pup, I watched you so close
you ran straight to the distance allowed by his rope
you got kicked, you got choked, phrases crept up your spine
when he said "we must keep our bitches in line".
And on his poker nights he says the same of his wife.
He's the top dog/pack leader/true alpha-male.
So make no sudden moves keep your nose from the border.
You move fast. You eat last this side of pecking-order.

So why don't you come with me?
We've got acres with streams. We won't keep you in cages/make you beg for your treats. We won't tell you to heel, though you might need some time to
dig up those old bones your young self left behind.

You said "Your offer is nice but here should suffice. Yeah, my younger years were something but that isn't my life. Master is all that I've got. He keeps me having a purpose, gives me bed, keeps me fed. And I'm just slightly nervous of what I might do if I were let loose, if I caught that mail car, or ate garbage for food. So, as I bare all my teeth I will ask of you please to just leave."

Well your heart has spoken.
I feel your already house broken.

So I made you a hood ornament for an oncoming car
because your bark might seem bad but I'll show you the scars
from when the state sent you over to deliver your teeth
to the heels of your kindred breaking chains from their feet
and then you wipe your hands clean. Splash of water/paper napkin.
While the parrots sing headlines, we wear the leash like a fashion.
Try to take out my claws expect a visceral reaction.
Try to muzzle me up, I'll lash out, I'll bite back and
keep my options open
for fear of becoming housebroken.

this isn't entirely a song about politics or anarchy, or at least to me. i see this as a song about a person in an abusive relationship who constantly submits to their abuser, but i interpret it that way because i'm a victim of it both in a familial and a romantic way. i think that he's being a bit clear on that, especially with the lyric "we must keep our bitches in line".

Drew McDaniel Music yup! spot on friendo c:

the song might have been more powerful actually if it used the relationship thing you mentioned as the allegory for government instead of the dog thing, because with dogs (or children) the argument could be made that they legitamately can't fend for themselves and need the nanny state or what have you. whereas a woman in an abusive relationship should be able to fend for herself, but choses not to. although maybe they're saying that people aren't ready for anarchy because they still have this kind of dog/animal mindset and can't be trusted.

Drew McDaniel Music i don't know, i think domestic abuse is a topic that hits home harder for a lot of people rather than political discourse as it's often a more direct effect, but to each their own!

i think everybody can find different meanings in this song and that's why it's so good

Fuck you it's about my dog.

What is this about? any ideas?

lol not quite my friend

It’s about a dog being abused by its owner, but it’s from the perspective of both the dog and the owner

Abusive partner or parent?
At any rate its basically about someone with Stockholm syndrome, the whole not leaving 'cause there's nowhere else to go, and that no matter where they'll go, they can only see the situation getting worse.

That's how I see it at least.

@Samantha Berck It's all about home, and how it's the only place they know

I understand this is probably a neckbeardian libertarian metaphor about "the state" daring to have some authority with their people while "giving them bed, keeping them fed" but taken literally I really love this song

this comment is old but like...there is nothing inherently libertarian about wanting to abolish the state.

@hostileplant I think they've already established that...

@Samantha Berck ok

If you interpret it as being about abusive relationships, then how do you interpret that last section of the song where he talks about hitting the dog with a car because the dog is used to oppress other, more rebellious dogs?

Well I made you a hood ornament
For an oncoming car
Cuz your bark might seem bad
But I'll show you the scars
From when the state sent you over
To deliver your teeth
To the heels of your kindred
Breaking chains from their feet

And then you wipe your hands clean
Splash of water, paper napkins
While the parrots sing headlines
You wear a leash like a fashion

Well, I guess you could take it as a remark about how someone who's abused may, if they fail to cope with their abuse well, end up being an abuser themselves.

@Lessen I definitely agree it's about the state but in abusive situations a hierarchy of abuse usually forms.

Love this song 💕💕

"You said your offer is nice but here should suffice ..." . The beauty and meaning of that song can't be described by words <3

That whole section fucks me up, from "Why don't you come with me" onward.

favorite song of the album