"Tag, You're It" is the ninth track by Melanie Martinez featured on her debut album, Cry Baby. The story of this song is the prequel of the next song on the album, Milk and Cookies, with her eventual escape.
The first studio snippet was released on August 3rd, 2015 on Melanie's Instagram. The music video was released on August 23rd, 2016.
Theme
Tag, You're It is about Cry Baby getting kidnapped, utilizing the children's game "tag" as a metaphor. Cry Baby is now very vulnerable and alone, and gets kidnapped by a "wolf". As the song begins, it is evident that the "wolf" has been watching her for a while, and sees her as the perfect victim. The "wolf" pulls up alongside Cry Baby in his car and offers her candy. The tinted windows will hide her once she’s inside. Despite the fact that she says no, he continues to pursue her and chase her through the parking lot, meaning that she's running and he's following after her. The phrase, "Tag, you're it" is a metaphor for him catching her. He finally catches up to her, pushing her down so she stops running and covers her mouth so she cannot scream. She still screams for help but her situation is starting to seem hopeless. She attempts to fight back by biting him, despite being incapacitated in the lyric, "Little bit of poison in me, I can taste your skin in my teeth". She is taken to his basement where he is fascinated by the proof of her presence through something as simple as her breathing.
As the last part of the chorus is sung her tone shifts to a more bitter and angry tone, having given up hope of being rescued. The repetition of the phrase makes it seem as if it was replaying it in her head.
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Looking at me through your window
Boy, you had your eye out for a little
"I'll cut you up and make you dinner
You've reached the end, you are the winner"
Rolling down your tinted window
Driving next to me real slow, he said
"Let me take you for a joyride
I've got some candy for you inside"
[Chorus]
Running through the parking lot
He chased me and he wouldn't stop
Tag, you're it, tag, tag, you're it
Grabbed my hand
Pushed me down
Took the words right out my mouth
Tag, you're it, tag, tag, you're it
Can anybody hear me?
I am hidden underground
Can anybody hear me?
Am I talking to myself?
Saying, "tag, you're it, tag, tag, you're it"
He's saying, "tag, you're it, tag, tag, you're it"
[Verse 3]
Little bit of poison in me
I can taste your skin in my teeth
"I love it when I hear you breathing
I hope to God you're never leaving"
[Chorus]
Running through the parking lot
He chased me and he wouldn't stop
Tag, you're it, tag, tag, you're it
Grabbed my hand
Pushed me down
Took the words right out my mouth
Tag, you're it, tag, tag, you're it
Can anybody hear me?
I am hidden underground
Can anybody hear me?
Am I talking to myself?
Saying, "tag, you're it, tag, tag, you're it"
He's saying, "tag, you're it, tag, tag, you're it"
[Bridge]
Eenie meenie miny mo
Catch a lady by her toes
If she screams don't let her go
Eenie meenie miny mo
Your mother said to pick the very best girl
And I am
[Chorus - Variation]
Running through the parking lot
He chased me and he wouldn't stop
Tag, you're it, tag, tag, you're it
Grabbed my hand
Pushed me down
Took the words right out my mouth
Tag, you're it, tag, tag, you're it
Running through the parking lot
He chased me and he wouldn't stop
Tag, you're it, tag, you're it
Grabbed my hand
Pushed me down
Took the words right out my mouth
Tag, you're it, tag, tag, you're it
Videos
The music video begins immediately after the events of Pity Party, with shots of the exterior of Cry Baby's house being shown. Cry Baby is shown angrily throwing away the streamers from her party. The Big Bad Wolf is then shown driving an ice cream truck and it is seen that he has a knife with him. Cry Baby is then shown in the grocery store buying food. Meanwhile, the Big Bad Wolf is driving in his ice cream truck, following Cry Baby. On his way there, he waves to a bus full of kids. When Cry Baby checks out, the cashier hands her a bottle of poison. When Cry Baby walks out of the grocery store, the Big Bad Wolf is waiting for her in his ice cream truck. Cry Baby asks for strawberry ice cream, but he instead gives her an ice cream cone with vanilla ice cream. She tries to hand him money, but he shakes his head. When she eats the ice cream, she begins to become drowsy and shots from the video and the Milk and Cookies portion of the double feature are shown, and she then falls to the ground. The Big Bad Wolf then lifts Cry Baby into his ice cream truck. As it begins to fade to black, music is heard from the ice cream truck.
Cast
- Big Bad Wolf: Brian Zuniga
- Cashier: Yungelita
Trivia
- Tag is a playground game that involves one or more players chasing other players in an attempt to "tag" or touch them, usually with their hands. There are many variations; most forms have no teams, scores, or equipment. Usually, when a person is tagged, the tagger says, "Tag, you're it".
- It was explained by Melanie that since now Cry Baby is single, "wolves" are on the prowl. She gets kidnapped by a "wolf".
- The wolf is disguised as an ice cream man.
- The wolf has the same knife that Cry Baby had in Alphabet Boy.
- The wig Melanie wore in the music video is similar in color to the silver and black wig that she wore in Cry Baby.
- This is the shortest song on the standard version of Cry Baby.
- On the deluxe version, Tag, You're It is the second shortest song; it is only longer than Play Date.
- Melanie has explained that this song, along with Milk and Cookies and Dollhouse, wasn't inspired by her own life.[1]
- Tag, You're It replaced Jump Rope on the album at the last second.
- The double feature has reached over 65 million views and 1.1 million likes on YouTube.
- The double feature took 4 days to edit.
- When Cry Baby is in the grocery store, Crazy Cow and Jets cereal boxes appear, which were popular cereal brands by General Mills from the 1970s.
- Sugar Crisp cereal boxes also appear which was a popular cereal brand by Post Cereals.
- According to BMI Repertoire, Tag is an alternate title for this song. [2]
- At the beginning of the music video, Cry Baby is shown angrily throwing a pile of streamers into the trash, indicating that her birthday party from Pity Party just ended.
- Melanie said in an interview that there could be a song on the second album flashing back to this song.
- Melanie stated that this song was originally about an abusive relationship, and that Milk and Cookies was her poisoning her abusive boyfriend with milk and cookies. However, both songs were changed to fit the theme of Cry Baby.
- The bridge references the children's counting rhyme "Eenie Meenie Miney Mo".
- The music video was filmed at Prospect Park South, Brooklyn, NY on Albemarle Road.
- In the physical storybook edition of Cry Baby, "vulnerable" was misspelled as "vunerable." This mistake was fixed in newer releases of the album.
- The story and illustration for this song appear on the 19th page of the Cry Baby storybook, reading:
Tag You're It's Digital Booklet Page
"A lonely girl so vulnerable
To her house she walks alone
The bad wolf ice-cream man had known
And took her to his awful home"
