Uninvited

by

Alanis Morissette

Album: City Of Angels Soundtrack      Released: 1998

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This was the first song Alanis released since her 1995 album Jagged Little Pill, which sold over 16 million copies. The wait created a lot of anticipation for this song, which was leaked to radio stations a few weeks before it was officially released.

This was featured in the movie City Of Angels, starring Nicolas Cage.

In 1999, this won Grammys for Best Rock Song and Best Female Rock Vocal. Morissette won 4 Grammys in 1996 for Jagged Little Pill.

In 2007 the English dance production team, The Freemasons, recorded a remix of this using the original vocal line. However licensing issues got in the way and they were forced to bring in singer Bailey Tzuke to perform the vocals. It proved successful giving them their first UK Top 10 hit. Bailey Tzuke is the daughter of Judy Tzuke, who recorded the 1979 British hit 'Stay With Me Till Dawn." The Freemasons are a duo consisting of Russell Small, who previously had UK charts success as one half of the House production duo Phats & Small, and James Wiltshire. (thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England)

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Comments:

this song is about rape. "but you, you're not allowed, you're uninvited" "strangely exciting to watch the stoic squirm" this song is definitely about rape.
- Arielle, Hershey, PA

This song is about a puppy talking to her vet while on the operating table before surgery. At least, that's how i hear it. :D
- asdfasdf, here, Taiwan

OK Here goes... I beleive that a song can mean many different things to people depending on your own personal experiences. My statement here has nothing to do with how or why Alanis wrote it... just what I feel with what I'm going through in my life right now. I recently starting dating someone of the same sex and this song really hits the key points of how I feel. I have had relations like this before but never with strings attached or any emotions. This one started the same but has now turned into something more. She is what I would like to call "Obsessed or Fascinated" with me. Reminds me of the line "I am flattered by your facination with me Like any hot blooded woman I have simply wanted an object to crave" Well... I now have feelings for her but don't know if they are just out of lust or not. So while she continues to show me huge amounts of attention and love, I feel in a way ~cornered and rushed~ ! She wants to hear me say I love her and thats too much for me too quick... as the line states "You speak of my love like You have experienced love like mine before" and then to finish it off it ends with "I need a moment to deliberate " which means that I am confused and I need to think about wether or not she is really "Uninvited". But this again is just how I perceive the song at this point in my life! If I have offended anyone , I Apologize. I just wanted to get a different perspective out there for those few people that might relate to it or who might read it a different way. "The road of life is Rocky and you may stumble too, so while you point your fingers someone else is judging you" -Bob Marly- *Could you be Loved*
- Kenzi, Riverside, UT

Wow! very insightful comments. I feel most people have been able to capture the essence of this hauntingly beautiful song.
- Fariha, Dhaka, Bangladesh

I've always taken this song to mean that there is a guy in love with her, or at least he has expressed feelings, and she likes having someone fascinated with her. Perhaps they have or are sleeping together perhaps not, but she is finding that she is falling in love with him and that's what is 'uninvited', true love. She is torn, she doesn't want to be in love, but she is. While she is in love with this guy, she finds herself rejecting him, because she is rejecting love. But in the end she has to 'deliberate', which leaves the end of the song's narrative open. Does she accept love, does she reject love and the guy?
- frank, desmoines, IA

Haunting - that's all I can say!
- Theresa, Murfreesboro, TN

Is there anyone that know what key this song is in? I'm sure it adds to the melancholy and darkness of it. I get a powerful emotion from the instrumental parts alone. They bring a feeling of being torn and under emotional strain. The lyrics and vocals just add to that to produce something rare.
- Jackie, Virginia Beach, VA

Hi Folks, it's not really a new subject, but a couple of years ago I split up with the love of my life. After a messy break up we still spoke regularly as we couldn't walk away from one another. I was still in love her deeply, and still am. She told me once that I wasn't allowed to love her anymore because we were no longer in a relationship. I deem this song to be along the same lines and it sparks so much emotion for me because of the music and also because of the emotional denotations it has for me. I basically think about it as a guy hanging on and desperately trying to stay in love with someone and that person getting on with their lives as if nothing has happened. Although Alanis is flattered by the fact that the guy craves for her, she simply cannnot go back on her word and she had ended the relationship for a reason.
- Dale, Cambridge, United Kingdom

I agree with "Cat", at least partially.

I think it about her finding that a man shows her an almost obsessive-like interest, which he claims to be love, even though he does not even know her.
He acts like she'd automatically be interested in him as well, and that feels like a violation to her. At the same time, she is flattered by his interest in her, because it is always flattering to realise that you are desired by someone. If it really is true that he is in love with her, she recognises/respects this feeling.

I think he has come to resent her in some way, since she does not accept him. He believes that she thinks herself above him, which she wants to explain to him is not the case. It's simply that he will probably never be able to incur romantic feelings in her, and she simply can not help that.
She feels anything but attraction to him. In fact I think she is fighting with her logic against a slight feeling of disgust/resentment that she cannot help but feel towards him. She feels guilty about these feelings.

It's a very "potent", confronting and aggressive text. The vibe I get when she sings is "Do not touch me, stay away from me. I have not accepted you, so don't act like you are with me. You are violating my personal space. I'm sorry."

In the end she concludes that she needs to think about this heavily, but I don't think it's that she's saying there is any hope for him. I think it's more that she is confused and maybe a bit rattled, because she doesn't understand his intensity, and she doesn't like the reaction she has to his advances.
- katon, Stavanger,

this song is about someone being into you... and even though you are flattered by it... it doesn't mean he can touch your vagina while you're black out drunk in Osaka just sayin'
- Mariah, Boston, MA

I always thought it was about a guy who was already involved in a relationship but is showing interest in the woman...because it says "you're not alone"
- Heather, Salem, CT

I'm not sure if my comments will bring any new insight, but I've always liked this song because it IS about rejection, with a hint of hope at the end. What it really is at its core is a woman unwilling to reveal her mystery to an infatuated suitor. A guy (I suppose it could be a woman) has very professed his feelings for her in a manner that is earnest, but almost too earnest. She's flattered by the attention but the attention seems out of nowhere or unjustified. She knows that infatuations are natural, so in one respect, she's not offended. She doesn't have anything against the guy, and she's not opposed to passionate relationships, but she's just not "there" with him. However, despite being flattered, the more she thinks about it, the obsession he has with her is just plain weirding her out. She's especially put off by the notion that the guy thinks he understands what her love would be like. She feels violated by such a conceit. For that to be true, then her love, the past experiences that make her who she is, are not a mystery and are not unique. She's capable of loving very deeply and very intensely, but in her mind, it is to be reserved for someone else. She wants to remain a mystery, doesn't want to be figured out or put together like a puzzle. She wishes to remain unchartered territory, even though she understands its the very nature of wanting to know someone better that drives new love. Again, she doesn't think the fella is beneath her or not worth her time, just not necessarily for her. But, if there really isn't anything wrong with the guy, then what could it hurt to maybe open the door just a little bit and entertain the possibility of letting this guy in? This song really strikes a chord with me because I'm always afraid that this sense of being uninvited is how I might be perceived when I find myself secretly admiring someone. All the more reason to just knock (invited or not) and ask the question before things become in the mind much more than they really are.
- Tom, Dallas, TX

This is one of Alanis Morissette's most memorable, and lyrically uncluttered, songs. The gothic, foreboding musical textures match well with her vocal intensity.
- Bertrand, Paris, France

IMHO, It is about a woman who’s once loved deeply (love like mine before) but was hurt and is afraid that she would get hurt again. Now, she’s only interested in random play (I have simply wanted an object to crave) and doesn’t want to be emotionally involved (the stoic). Meanwhile, someone, who is in a sense like her (To watch shepherd meet shepherd/the stoic) falls for her (the stoic squirm). At first she didn’t even notice his feelings for her nor her feelings for him and if she knew, she would have walked away (You're uninvited/An unfortunate slight). She doesn’t want to open up to him “But you, you're not allowed/But this is not allowed” yet she likes him (I am flattered by your fascination with me/ I don't think you are unworthy) and kinda wants to be with him (Must be strangely exciting / must be somewhat heartening/ the stoic squirm). She is confused (like any uncharted territory) and overwhelmed (you're uninvited), doesn’t know what to do and need time to think over it (I need a moment to deliberate).
- John, perth, Australia

It's about same-sex attraction. The singer is approached by another woman and is uneasy/deeply ambivalent but flattered/intrigued despite herself.
- Lara, Marietta, GA

she is humbly stating her discontent as in all women,but she recognizes skill and confidence in him as he watches the stoic squirm they are both idols to the comman man [shepard meets shepard] but she contineus to be catuise all the while hoping hes the man of her dreams. then gets defensive over the greatness of her love finaly lowering her gaurd to risk great sorrow for a moment of great passion as all women do
- zac, fenton , MI

This song in this film is about two twin souls, who meet again in this new life, so they could learn from - and acomplish eachother.(don´t know if I use the right words here, my english is not so good..) They were meant to meet again... and despite they lose eachother here by `dead` (the other side), so they will finally meet again in a next life. But meanwhile have still contact by there intuition!
- Gitte, Beek, NE

I Know for me it was a very difficult time, when my mom was going to re-marry my father, after he sexually abused me for years, icluding intercourse @ 10 yrs of age.(yes she knew) I had not seen my dad for many years, but my mom was bringing him back. I felt that he was UNINVITED at least by me anyway...
- Carol Ann, Warren, MI

I feel that this girl has been thru all kinds of pain from past love failures.. She has made up her mind that no man will ever steel her heart again. And this guy came along and stole her heart before she could say get away from me... So now she says your not alloud, your uninvited... Randy, Jackson, Michigan
- randy, jackson, MI

This song wasn't from Jagged Little Pill.
- Beth, Worcester, England

Alanis wrote this song based off of a semi-obsessed fan who had a "fascination" with her.
- Dara, Denver, CO

Here it is... This song (from "City of Angels") is a woman speaking to an angel who is in love with her. The angel is ready to abandon his immortality for her; she recognizes his love for her but also is unsure whether she should encourage it, knowing what he is giving up for her. "I need a moment to deliberate..." whether she should let him take this devastating step into humanity to be with her. The angel is "uninvited" because, as long as he is an angel, he is not able to enjoy the colors, sounds, smells, tastes that humans are privy to. This angel wants more--to know these things, and to know love with this woman. This is an amazing song that captures the whole of the heart of this movie.
- Irina, denver, CO

It is my opinion that this song is about being tempted by something (or someone) that is wanted explicitly and over anything else; but then, when faced with the opportunity of actually achieving this, the person is not sure whether that is really what he/she wants, because he/she realizes the danger it ensues. (I use he/she and speak objectively as a writer myself, and this song - keep in mind - may not necessarily be about Alanis herself.)
- Alisha, Newberg, OR

i agree with missy... its about this person who comes into your life who is very open about their feelings for you, almost zealous and you can totally see yourself loving/being with this person but for some reason or another, its wrong to you (at least in this moment)
- Lily, Athens, GA

I think it's about a guy that is in love with a girl, but the girl doesn't love him back. She thinks of him as a friend. She says "I don't think you unworthy", which I take to mean that doesn't dislike him, she just doesn't have strong feelings for him. It's about rejection, but this time about the rejector, not the rejected (which is refreshing, considering today's music scene).
- Matthew, Marquette, MI

I reckon that it's about a guy who is intreged by this girl, not in love with her. And coz it's something to do, he makes a move on her. "Like any uncharted territory, I must seem greatly intriguing" - She's completely flattered by the attention at first but then realises that it wasn't anything serious to him, he just wanted to see if he could get some: "Like any one would be, I am flattered by your facination with me, Like any hot blooded woman,I have simply wanted an object to crave." The song is about the girl realising that she got sucked in and feeling like crap for getting dragged into the whole thing :"You speak of my love like You have experienced love like mine before" and now she REALLY regrets it: "But this is not allowed, You're uninvited, An unfortunate slight". My take, anyway :)
- Nat, Auckland, New Zealand

I believe this song is about a combination of these ideas already mentioned. This man really likes this girl and is almost obsessed with her. She likes him liking her, but she can't like him back for some reason. This reason may be that she is involved already or something similar. He is not allowed liking her, hinting to the fact that she may be already involved. In the end she has fallen a little for this man and has to think about whether she wants to be with him.
- Cat, Guelph, Canada

A girl I was once involved with basically took it along the lines of reluctant love. In other words, there's the guy that really loves the girl singing and she appreciates it, but isn't that interested -- and yet she keeps finding him working his way into her heart, "uninvitd." Then, of course, at the end, she needs "a moment to deliberate."
- NickC, Ft. Wayne, IN

isn't it about a stalker?
- hugh, dallas, TX

i think she is just talking about how she knows the guy really likes her. and she does want somebody to love, but not that person eg. " but this is not allowed, your uninvited"?
- India, blackpool, England

Leslie I think this song is about a person coming into your life that you love, but you try hard not to, for one reason or another. Or so it seems to me. missy anne
- Missy Smith, Tucson, AZ

Does anyone know what this song means?
- Leslie, Azle, TX

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