Stole

Album: Simply Deep (2002)
Charted: 2 27
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is about acts of violence that happen to young people and how they could have grown up to be something great. They never will because the chance was taken away from them. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Megan - Tracy, CA
  • The characters mentioned in this song are:

    Mary: She is pretty, talented and popular, but she gives guys the wrong impression and gets pregnant, possibly with the white guy's baby and it ruins her chances for fame.

    White boy: Possibly badly bullied for being a geek. Though he has a lot of knowledge, no one sees that as a good thing. His father is abusing his mother, and one day he cannot take it any more and kills himself.

    Greg: Great at basketball, he could be very famous. He has a lot of talent but someone was jealous of him and took his life.

    This song gives out a powerful message about how people with a lot of talent really aren't appreciated and eventually will have their lives stolen forever. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    lot - birmingam, England

Comments: 62

  • Kat from NoOkay so first of all the "geek" at the beginning did NOT kill anyone else, only himself. It wouldn't make any sense because she mentions that he was nice and quiet and it would be COMPLETELY out of character to kill his classmates. Also, to support this, in the end scene of the video there is a mural representing the lost lives of the loved ones. If he had killed the classmates he would NOT be on the wall where people could pay their respects. Also, his legs in chains, while most interpreted it as literal, is a metaphor for he feels trapped and strapped down because its so hard to walk and even live. Plus, she mentions that "he was a nice boy with good intentions" and good intentions certainly are not killing your classmates.
    Now on to wether or not he was Mary's baby. Seeing as Mary does not share the same characteristics physically as her baby, we would assume that the baby is the "geeks" seeing as he is the only one we saw in the video that had blue eyes and blonde hair. Why else would the video producers show us a direct shot of the baby if not to make a subtle point that he was the father? And finally, Mary writes "think before you act" directly on the mural of the "geek" which can be interpreted two different ways. The first one is obviously "think before you commit suicide" but others may think she might be referring to getting her pregnant and how he should have realized the effects that it would have cause in the future. Of course, if the baby was the "geek"s it would lead me to assume that he WOULDN'T commit suicide which leads me to the point that he probably wasn't aware that Mary was pregnant. So for me its debatable wether or not he is the father of the baby but im CERTAIN that the "geek"s suicide was not a mass shooting and that the only person he killed was himself.
  • Cherrelle from Atlanta, GaOkay so a lot of you people don't make any sense while most either make sense or make a little sense to me at the moment. How can y'all say that the baby is not the white boy's child? Watch the video over and over. See how they show the baby at the end! The baby looks just LIKE him and then why would Mary even write the words on his face specifically? That doesn't make any sense cause she could've just wrote it somewhere random, but NO she bypassed EVERYTHING ELSE AND WENT STRAIGHT TO HIM. Come on now it's common and sense people. Plus while she was talking to the camera she was still hurt and heartbroken and especially in the bathroom. She could have been crying not only because she was pregnant and her parents wouldn't approve, but because the white guy was the baby's father and now he's gone so now she has to raise the baby by herself [with her parents helpp of course and they want to have a part in it].

    Now as for the guy himself I really do think that he went to jail or something because the gothic part doesn't make sense because the words are "with his baggy pants and /legs in chains" not that they were on his pants. Why would a goth wear chains on his legs? COMMON AND SENSE PEOPLE.
  • Em from London, United KingdomSo what I'm thinking is that there isn't just solely one meaning to this song. After looking at all of these comments and watching the video and listening to the lyrics a couple o times you can see that there is more than one meaning to this song. As people have mentioned the song refers to the first kid just breaking and killing people, maybe in the lyrics she wants to refer to the shootings that have been mentioned on here, but at the same time in the video she also wants to refer to the background of the kid who snapped and shot everyone. The lyrics obviously refer to him going to jail due to the "baggy pants and his legs in chains" comment. so this yet again refers to shooting other people and not himself. I then think that in the video she want to target a different story and had the kid being seen as committing suicide, this I think was just so that in retrospect she could target issues that happen everyday, not just solely a school shooting. This coincides with the other two peoples stories, one girl with a bright future gets pregnant because she wasn't being careful and another guy im guessing get's shot in a drive by which is also comment. I think that the focus is to target issues that happen in society very frequently, there's bullying, teenage pregnancies, kids killing themselves, parents and children being abused, school massacres and just random shootings. If you look carefully you can also see that in the scenes where Kelly is sitting o the tree branch she is wearing a top with a picture of 2pac and someone else on there who had been killed, also signifying random shootings and gang rivalry. I think the song is more of a message to make a difference and be someone and not to fall in the norms of society. Also to show us and tell us of the horrible things that do happen even if we're not there to see them.
  • Andrea from Litteton, CoI WENT to Columbine. This is a REAL issue, that you will never understand unless you've experienced it, and it tears me up every time I hear this song :(
  • Danielle from Perth, AustraliaThis song just blew my mind
    It related to my life soo much and it just felt like someone understood
    the context of the song was perfect and the video clip brought me to tears
    my life feflects to that video dot to dot
    its just so sad when yuh see the video and they feel so bad after they know its too late
    but its so tru
  • Webby from Melbourne, Australiakelly rowlands stole is a mad song i think mary was carrying the geeks baby and she survived .
  • Katie from Leicester, United Kingdomthe song doesnt relate to the video because its not the original video. the geek goes into the school and shoots some of the pupils but they had to change it because it was around the time that there was shooting in schools in america or where ever it is. so they changed it to him commitin suicide
  • Anna from Marseilles, IlThe video and the song might be related: if the geek did'nt committed suicide at the beginning of the video, the song would have totally corresponded to the video! But the story had been changed and the geek killed himself... then, even if mary an greg had'nt been killed by him Their lives would have been broken all the same by their acts (sex for mary and maybe gangs or drugs for greg) So to resume the "watch sentence" is think before you act for the three of them... if it'not people, it's themselves who mess everything up!
  • Rin from Fishers, InOk, MUSIC VIDEOS DON'T MEAN ANYTHING!!!! Artist some times like to make music videos that have little to do with the song. Now with that said, if you listen to the song, you'll realize it's about school shootings. (Columbine seems to be very close to the song's description.) The guy with his father's 9mm, the geek, and the kid that got bullied are all the same person! *Shock* Who knew you could wear baggy pants and be a geek/smart kid. So, because he got bullied and no one helped him or was kind to him, he came in an killed Mary and Greg then finally himself. All three's futures were taken away. (Stole.)
  • Lindsey from Woodsfield, OhThis song is amazing and it very much reflects today's society and issues people have. When I first heard this song, a while back ago, I immediately assumed that the boy that was bullied killed both Mary and Greg because that is what the lyrics strongly suggest. I just recently watched the video on youtube, and I feel the video does not correctly portray the true meaning of the lyrics. I wanted to know what other people thought the meaning behind the video was, so I did some research. I found that most people were thinking what I did, but they had some different variations to the story. My explain for the video is as follows:
    Boy who commits suicide: He was a very intelligent young man, but he was a bit on the "nerdy" side. He tried to fit in but constantly ridiculed for being different. He was also having issues at home (his father is abusive to his mother). He felt that the weight of the world on his shoulders was too heavy, and he took his father's 9 to school. He went into a bathroom stall and shoots himself. Mary is walking by and hears the gun shot. She runs in, only to find her classmate dead. And that's where Mary's story comes into play.
    Mary: she was very talented and possessed "the same size hands as Marilyn Monroe". She was destined to be famous, but there was one thing stopping her. She was walking down the hall when she heard the gun shot, and she has something in her hand. Mary was pregnant, and it appears that what was in her hand might be an ultrasound or pregnancy test results. The video also led me to believe that she came from a religious family because her cross necklace keeps getting focused on while she is in the doctor's office. Her dreams of becoming famous were ruined.
    Greg: He was a talented basketball player and "had a try-out with the Sixers" that coming Saturday. He is seen with a girl, and then a group of boys walk near him. He was either shot because they were jealous of his talent or because of the girl he was talking with.
    -All three of these kids lives were "stolen". There are a few unclear things to me, though. Mary is seen crying in her bathroom before the shot where she is sitting in the doctor's office getting her blood pressure taken. It is almost like Mary's story should have been the main one here. Also, do all three of these kids go to the same high school or does Greg go elsewhere? At the memorial wall, I assumed that not a lot of time had passed since the two deaths because of the amount of people there. Mary is seen with her baby in a stroller, and she writes "think before you act" on the wall. It would have made more sense if Mary had been showing when the boy kills himself, and then she could have been very pregnant at the memorial wall. Great song and phenomenal video, but the the stories just don't match up.
  • Jasmine from Orlando, FlI think like a lot of songs the song has a different meaning from the video. Many artist do this recently usher and r kelly dis this with the same girl song an video. both versions are da song are true the song is about the boy who kills two of his classmates. but in the video she changes it up and makes it about three students who all have life altering events occur.
  • Emily from Arden, DeThe white boy doesn't fit in so he shoots himself Mary is pregnant so she ccan't be famous and Greg gets shot by someone who's jeleous of him! I'm not sure if the white boy is Mary's baby's daddy or not.
  • Nicole from Honolulu, HiI've always been curious about this song and couldn't quite piece it together, but after doing a lot of research I have a plausible explanation for most of the questions that have run through our minds. To make it easier for people looking only for specific answers, I've titled them in big fonts. By the way, I just use the word geek, suck it up; I don't know his name.

    LYRICS DIFFERENT FROM VIDEO
    The reason as to why the song doesn't quite match the video is because they are two seperate stories. The big giveaway is at the beginning: "He's not invisible anymore
    With his Father's 9 and a broken fuse
    Since he walked through that Classroom door
    He's all over prime time news." After he went in the classroom and killed other students, it became a big media storie the whole country would see. This is also a reference to the Columbine shootings as you'll see in the next section.

    REFERENCE TO COLUMBINE SHOOTING
    "He's not invisible anymore
    With his Father's 9 and a broken fuse
    Since he walked through that Classroom door
    He's all over prime time news."

    On April 20, 1999 at the Columbine High School in Colorado, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold brought guns ('Father's 9') and bombs ('a broken fuse') to school then attempted to kill all the students they didn't like.

    SUICIDE OR SHOOTING
    The Columbine shooters committed suicide after their killing spree was over. That reference is shown in the video, but not the lyrics. Instead, the lyrics rather make it seem as if the geek got sent to prison for the killings ('He's not invisible anymore With his baggy pants and his legs in chains Since he walked through that classroom door Everybody knows his name').

    REFERENCE TO MARILYN MONROE
    "Mary's got the same size hands
    As Marilyn Monroe
    She put her fingers in the imprints
    at Mann's Chinese Theatre show
    She could've been a movie star
    Never got the chance to go that far"

    Grauman's ('Mann's') Chinese Theatre located in Hollywood has long been famous for it's concrete blocks that contain the signatures, hand and foot prints of celebrities (She put her fingers in the imprints at Mann's Chinese Theatre show). Marilyn Monroe left her imprints there in 1953 (Mary's got the same size hands As Marilyn Monroe). The song uses this to suggest that Mary aspired to become famous, and could have had she not been killed by the geek.

    GEEK KILLS MARY AND GREG
    Yes, according to the lyrics, the geek most likely killed Mary and Gregg. Go look at the formation of the stories in the lyrics. After the introduction of Mary's tragic end, the song writer goes on to explain more about what happens to the geek. That is more evidence that unilke the video in which the three teens' stories could be completely uneffected by each other's, their stories are intertwined. To support the strong suggestion that the geek killed Gregg and Mary, take note a very important fact: not a single time throughout the whole song do the lyrics refer to the geek's life as 'stole'- only Mary and Gregg's. Their lives were stole by the geek killing them.

    MARY AND GREG'S FINAL RESULTS
    Okay, this is where the original lyrics stretch far from the music video. In the lyrics, Mary and Greg get killed by the geek as explained earlier. In the video, Mary gets pregnant and Gregg gets shot by a hater. Why does Greg get shot? This is where it gets interesting. We've heard suggestions about him being shot by a rival gang member or someone jealous, but here's one I haven't heard: he got shot by someone who liked the girl that Gregg was flirting with. When Greg saw the hater, his smile died down because he knew he did something wrong (or maybe he didn't it was just the girl's psycho ex). The girl also looks down to the floor after she sees the hater. This is the most rational explanation as to why Greg got shot in the video if you base your conclusion completely on evidence, not hunches.
  • Tash from Perth, AustraliaThe characters in this song dont share a relationship. The boy from the beginning who commit suicide is not the father of Marys child. Both those two characters, and Greg, all go to the same school. The singer, Kelly Rowland, tells the tale of three school students from third person point of view. she acts as if she grew up with them and uses them as an example to show the viewers of how people's lives and dreams were "stole". The importance of the words "think before you act" mary wrote on the "in memory of" wall signify the main message behind this song. if you think befor you act, you wont screw up your dreams, or in Greg's case, somebody else's. This song reflects modern life and is influenced by the social context in which the song was written. It deals with violence, suicide, early pregnancy, depression and death - all reflecting this social context. I hope those who understand this song and the meaning behind it will work towards getting rid of such issues that we will all face in our lives one day.
  • Kathleen from Pittston, Pathe kids who do the best and actuallly try in school never get recognized for what they do and the kids who are good at home never get realized either. there fore "smart dont make you cool".
    the song says hes not invisible anymore this is because he brought a 9mm to school and shot the characters in the song and shot him self. they say mary's got the same size hands as marylin monroe she put her fingers in the imprints and danced chinese theater show she could have been a movie star never had the chance to go that far. this implies that everything was going good for this girl and he shot her so she never had the chance to go as far as she could have it says that life was stole = her life was taken from her just like that! and we will never know what she could have been then it goes an to say they were crying to the camera saying he never fitted in this implies that he got extremely fustrated cause he couldnt fit in and he always go bullied. and people wishes they would have let him fit in know becasue it hurt them in the aftermath.and greg had it going for him too he was about to be a professional b-ball player and he got killed by that gun shot. and this song just goes to show what bullies and mean people can do to other kids that just want to fit in.
  • Noel from Alliance, Ohthis song is so awesome

    my way of seeing it is
    ~the white guy got bullied bad and he took his own life with his fathers 9mm the people that where picking on him after his death where crying and feeling bad about what happened.
    ~mary could have been a movie star, she got pregnant by im assuming the white guy according to the end of the video.she lost her chances to become a star because of her pregnancy, mary was also the one that found the white guy after he committed suiside.
    ~Greg was a great basketball player he had a tryout with a big team and before he could go to it he got shot.

    this song reprsenting the crule and violent world we live in.
    i used to see in my school pregnancy soo often that it was kind of like a ritual.1 in 4 girls in my school had gotten pregnant by there Jr. year. i was included in that but i love my baby more than anything.
    suiside in myschool was also common 1 outta 25 students committed suiside and 1 out of 10 attempted.
    shootings not in school are 1 in about 100 but its still awefull
  • Sylvia from Raleigh, Nci love this song the meaning of the song is that a boy who is very nice and smart and people is hating on his talent so he get's tired of it and kills himself.The girl thinks he may be the father of her child and know he won't know his father so know her dreams are mot accomplished.About Greg he was a very talented black man and some young gansters hated on him because he was about to become pro and killed him dead. but i love this song alot!
  • Michelle from Hollywood, CaAlright. Listen to me. We'll go slow.

    He was always such a nice boy
    The quiet one
    With good intentions
    He was down for his brother
    Respectful to his mother
    A good boy
    But good dont get attention [This means he wasn't so angry he wanted to kill everyone else. He didn't want to kill anyone else, just himself.]
    One kid with a promise
    The brightest kid in school
    Hes not a fool
    Reading books about science and smart stuff
    Its not enough, no
    Cause smart dont make you cool, whoa [No one likes you when you're a "geek". he got made fun of, and no one pays attention to him cause they thought he's smart, he doesn't need anyone. No one notices him unless they pick on him]

    Hes not invisible anymore [Now after he killed himself they now realize he's there.]
    With his fathers 9 and a broken fuse [9 mm, which he shot himself with and a broken fuse, meaning he couldn't take it anymore.]
    Since he walked through that classroom door
    Hes all over primetime news [Since he killed himself, he's all over the news.]

    Marys got the same size hands
    As marilyn monroe
    She put her fingers in the imprints
    At manns chinese theatre show
    She coulda been a movie star
    Never got the chance to go that far
    Her life was stole
    Now well never know [She did NOT have the "white boys" baby. That is rediculous. She just found him dead. And she got depressed and was pregnant so her life was pretty much thrown away, hence the name stole. The Marilyn Monroe refers to the fact that she was a major star and had tiny hands, and Mary's hands resembled them, and she wanted to be famous as well.]

    They were crying to the camera
    Said he never fitted in
    He wasnt welcomed
    He showed up to the parties
    We was hanging in
    Some guys puttin him down
    Bullying him round round [He was always bullied. Now everyone realizes him, again, and he was always put down.]
    Now I wish I woulda talked to him
    Gave him the time of day
    Not turn away
    If I woulda been the one to maybe go this far
    He might have stayed at home
    Playing angry chords on his guitar [If someone would've been a friend and talked to him they could have given him a reason to live and feel good about himself, and the angry chords thing means he'd just stay home and play angry music instead. Most people listen to angry music when they ARE angry.]

    Hes not invisible anymore
    With his baggy pants and his legs in chains
    Since he walked through that classroom door
    Everybody knows his name [Again. Now everyone knows who he is. Baggy pants and legs in chains clearly refers to how, well, this is kind of stereotypical but they refer to him as sort of gothic, even though he looked like a "dork" in the video. People think goths are angry people. And they wear baggy pants with chains on them, IE tripp pants.]

    Greg was always getting net from 20 feet away (20 feet away)
    He had a tryout with the sixers
    Couldnt wait for saturday (saturday)
    Now were never gonna see him slam
    Flying high as kobe can
    His life was stole
    Oh now well never know [He was also a bright kid, with much talent, had a tryout, but it could've been jealousy, a personal thing towards the person who shot him, or just rivalry.]


    We were here all together yesterday [It happened so quickly. We were all here, everything seemed fine, now we're not. That's how quick, and unexpected these things are]

    This is in fact about violence, it wants to make a strong impact on you so you won't bully people, and you'll be friends with someone.
    No one ever thought he's the type to kill himself, but you never know.
    Two people I know killed themself.
    No one saw it coming, at all.
    Never underestimate anyone.

    Thanks for reading.
  • Frankie from Cambridge, EnglandWhen I listened to the song without the video I thought it was about a boy who walked into a classroom with a gun and shot memebers of his class. I got this from "he's not invisible anymore, with his fathers 9(9mm)and a broken fuse, since he walked through that classroom door." And mary and greg are two of his victims. But then i watched the video and it seems to be something completely different. The white boy is bullied and kills himself and then the girl(possibly pregnant with his baby) finds him and both their lives are stolen and then greg is shot on another occassion. Overall i was abit confused.
  • Molly from Merseyside, OtherI Think what happened was the white guy's life was a bit of a mess and he was jealous of other peoples lives. i think mary got a bit friendly with him and he got her pregnant, they didnt plan it, and she's crying in the video because the child will never know his father. Greg the basketball guy, was a good player and people were jealous, so they shot him. i think the message her is about jealousy and what it can do. But i dont understand why she mentions mary's hands with marilyn monroe's and the imprints at mann's chinese theatre show?x
  • Melody from Brisbane, AustraliaShe says in the chorus a line about Marilyn Monroe and it says she could've been a moviestar, never got the chance to go that far. Maybe it was about Marilyn Monroe's death not about the white girl because it fits in with the whole drugs, stolen life thing.
  • Vicky from London, EnglandI think the "broken fuse" refers to the guy having mentally 'snapped' (so-to-speak).

    Greg being shot might not have been through jealousy, but possibly gang rivalry...?

    Also, I think maybe the situation with the 'geeky' boy would have been more effective had he actually shot his Dad and ended up in prison. That's actually what I thought the "baggy pants/legs in chains" part referred to.

    Anyways, that's just a few of my thoughts.
  • Vicky from London, EnglandGuys, this video is a sims-type interpretation of Stole. I think it's really good and sums up the song perfectly. I hadn't considered that the 'geeky' boy would have killed Mary and Greg, but there you go. See what you think:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k202XEi_YyA

    Also, did anyone notice the fact that the 'geeky' boy's name is never mentioned - coincidence or purposely making a point of the fact that he was 'invisible'???
  • Alex from Jacksonville, FlIn this song it is very very emotional and sad. As you see in the video the suicidle boy is bullied, unpopular and not happy in this world. His mother is abused and while walking out of the door on his way to school his mom looks up and he sees that she had been hit by his dad and he decides to not say anything to bear the pain for his mother.In the song it says "with his fathers 9 and a broken fuse"He had a gun which is a 9 and a fuse. He walks to school and knows what he is about to do to himself and family. He walks into school goes into the bathroom and shoots himself when that happens Mary is walking by she is startled whips around and goes into the bathroom. She opens the stall and sees him laying on the ground dead which I think is her freind. She runs down the hallway screaming for help while his parents had no idea that their son is dead.As they load him up into the back of an ambulance everyone is crying for the dork because of his choice to commit suicide. Also you may have noticed that kelly is always buy him where he was showed but he payed no attention and didnt see her. The meaning of this song is that in life and in his and yours there is always someone there for you even though you may not know it and it may not feel like there is because it happens to everyone. and the first time I heard this song and saw the video I was like "om my god this is harsh." Greg was killed because he had a great future in front of him and someone didnt like that Mary also had a future in front of her but when she became pregnant her dreams and future were ruined and destroyed.No matter what happens in life there is always someone there for you and we all love you and know what you are going through, you are not alone.In life everyone has many roads they can take greg took a good one but was stopped halfway there, The nerdy boytook thetotally wrong one and Mary took the right one but got stuck two thirds of the way there. who helped make the baby we dont know.the boy felt like life was stupid there was no point of him being there and that he was just fed up and his life was going nowhere and never will. I guess he thoughtwhats the point in life if I am nothing and have nothing.We all know people do stupid things and this world is very violent. And for everyone out there who thinks Mary killed herself you are wrong and I dint know where in the world you got that idea or impression.listen to this song and you will find the inner meaning. I think also Mary plays Meena on "Cory in the house". off topic okay just god has a life and plan for everyone so dont misdudje or underestimate someone or yourself because one day they could grow up to be greater and better even though we are all equal.dont ever take your life or anyone elses it is wrong and sad and pittiful actually.while Mary wrote"think before you act on the wall it is a memorable quote. In this song Kelly was sending out a very powerful message listen to her she is a great influence.
  • Donna from Dobson, NcOk, I agree with some of you but if you really pay attention to the song and video, it keeps flashing back alot, bear with me. OK, Nerd boy, first off I don't like that name so we will give him one, Sam, is severly bullied and he meets Mary at the party that all the guys were bullying him at and they end up being friends and one thing leads to another, and he gets her pregnant and she is running through the hall with the ultrasound in her hand looking for him to show him, when she hears the shot and finds him dead, he not only dreads going to school but his home life is as crappy as everything else and the baggy pants with his legs in chains is a reference to his gothic wear and maybe the fact that it took her son losing his life to finally press charges against his dad for abuse. Mary is hurt because she loved him and is pregnant and knows that her kid will never know his father and that is why at the end she writes "think before you act" under his picture on the mural and they cut to the baby in the stroller who has his red hair and some of his facial features. Greg the ball player is a totally seperate thing. He is an ex-gangbanger who is trying to turn his life around but he waited too late the central theme is think before you act because you are not only hurt someone emotionally, but spiritually as well and your action can result in devistating consequences. Take it from a former "Sam"
  • Brittany from Louisville, KyThe song and the vid do not go together. The song which is talking about how the "Geeky Boy" took a gun to school and started shooting and went to jail, but in the video the "Geeky Boy" killed him self in the restroom. So how could he had gotten in trouble 4 that. Other than that I think that this song was a very touching and it ment alot. Most people dont understand the sstruggles teens have in highschool everyday. Everyday people get bullied or a young girl ends up getting sexually harassed. As parents we need to watch our kids and realize that if we paid better attention we could prevent somthing horrible from happening weather it be they get cought up in drugs or alchol or pregnate or depressed we can help.
  • Meghan from Kc, KsIf you really think about the song and listen to it, it's basically telling you what it's about. Also seeing the video helps. Stole, as in life has been stolen from each person because of an obsicale. It's about life, real life, most people don't see think about this in everday life and arn't used to it but if you relate to any of the people in the video, the people who went to school with the kid, mary,greg, it's easy to know what the song is about. It's about depression, life, killing, everything that's wrong in the world and how it affects us.
  • Charlotte from Surrey, EnglandThis song is sooo confusing but Its obvious that Marys baby isnt the neeks isnt it?!!
  • Beth from London, EnglandWhen I recently listened to the song I linked it to the mass shootings in schools that take place, however, this view of the song is only recent and is possibly because in my course I have been studying shootings in schools. When the song was first released I thought it was about youths who have their life taken from them. The "geek" took hs own life because it was too hard to go on, the girl got pregnant therefore her life is now looking after a child and ends her chance of fame, the basket ball player sadly died, missing his chance to be a professional.
    I think the song has different meanings to different people, depending on their age and what wave length they are on.
  • Kimberley from Brisbane, AustraliaI believe that this song has to do with the nerdy guy, after lots of torment and bullying, he brings a gun to school and shoots Mary, the budding moviestar and Greg, the fantastic basketball player and how their lives were 'stolen' by the shooter. In our world today, they are so many acts executed similar to the ones in 'stole'. We need to be aware and help these kids through their problems so acts like this don't take place anymore!
  • Emma from Brooklyn, NyI would just like to say that "baggy pants and his legs in chains" could possibly mean the white boy wearing the big, baggy, gothic pants that have chains "around the legs"...it does not even have to refer to jail at all...
  • Mary from Hull, EnglandHmmm...
    couldItBeTheWhiteMansDadInJail?
    FeelingGuilty
    ThatHeHadAbusedTheWhiteBoysMother
    :S
    PleasecommentBack
    x
  • Emily from High London, Englandthis song could be interpreted two ways:
    listening to just the song, not the video, the song is about a situation similar to the columbine shootings: white boy is sick of being bullied at home and school so brings in a gun and shoots some of his fellow students, namely greg and mary. they lose their future opportunities because they die. white boy loses his opportunities because he is sent to jail (the line "with his baggy pants and his egs in chains" relates to prison slacks and the fullbody handcuffs inmates must wear to court).
    the video, shows a different interpretation of the song: white boy is being bullied at school, and seeing his mother abused sends him over the edge, so he kills himself in the school bathrooms. mary finds his body, and then finds out she is pregnant with his baby (the baby at the end of the video looks alot like white boy). meanwhile, totally unrelated to white boy/mary, greg is killed in a gang shooting while playing basketball.
    i think that the song was written about the first situation, but then the video represented the second because the first seemed to controvertial.
  • Chelsea from Bristol, Englandi think that the baby is the nerds. i think he killed himself because he was being bullied.i dont get why it says 'with his baggy trousers and chains round his legs'.
  • Chelsea from Bristol, Englandi think the song is great.it is really touching.
  • Kristi from Somewhere, IlAt first i didn't understand this song.. and so i read all these interpretations and then i watched the video again. It is about the boy who was a "nerd" and everyone made fun of him. He was sitting in bed dreading going to school and wondering if he should kill himself. He then went down into his kitchen to find his mom crying from being beaten most likely from his dad. He took his fathers 9mm gun to school and he couldn't take being bullied anymore so he went into the bathroom and shot himself. Mary heard the shot while she was walking down the hall and she ran to the bathroom and opened the stall and saw him dead and ran for help. He got taken away in an ambulance. All of the people in the song go to the same school and are connected but they don't die from eachother. And Mary didn't get pregnant from the white nerd guy... because why would she be having sex with a nerd when she obviously isnt one.. so she most likely either had sex with someone else or got raped. Also she was at the doctors and there was a sign behind her that said sex on it really big and at the end so that gives it away that they are finding out if she's pregnant. AND she had a baby with her when she was looking at the memorial and on it she painted "Think before you act" on the white guy's part because people should think before they make fun of someone. The black guy was really good at basketball and some bast***s shot him and so he was on the "in memory of.." painting too.
    and this song is basically telling everyone to think before they act because it can really ruin all your hopes and dreams.
  • Carley from Newport, United StatesAt the of the song it says ' WE WERE HERE ALL TOGETHER YESTERDAY ' but that is not written on the ong lyrics .
  • Ginger from Denver, Coafter watching the video a couple of time i think i know what its about. this song is about three young adults. the first boy shot himself because he was being bullied and his mother was beating beaten by his father and there is nothing he could do. the girl mary finds him dead. the basketball boy(greg) got shot because someone was jealous of him. the girl mary wanted to become a movie star but her dreams were crushed when she became pregnant, possibly with the dead boy's(the white nerd) baby. when you see the girl at the end write on the wall, she writes think before you act. all three of the people in the video had their dreams wrecked by something that affected them. it kind of reflects what not thinking about your actions does to you. it also reminds me of the columbine school shooting for some reason.
  • Ozgur from London, Englandthis song is about the columbine shootings. The boy gets bullied and takes it out on another people aka kills them .....
  • Jakkia from Lynchburg, VaI think that mary got pregnant by the boy that commited sucided and greg was shot by somebody that was mad at him or even wanted to be him and all their lives were stole by things. i think the white boy shot himself because he found out mary was pregnant and he didn't want to take care of the child.!!!
  • Megan from Essex, Ali think that stole is about there young peoples dreams crushed before they got the chance to forfill them.one of them commited suiside for being bulied and hes dad was beating his mum.the girl who no had to look after a baby on her own bearly over 17so she was stuck.and also the basket bal player was killed before he could take his chance to be famous.
    -megan'england
  • Sam from Newbothwell, Canadai think this song is about the violence in schools and what the amount of bullying does.
    the boy in the glasses was constantly being bullied that it drove him over the edge and he commited suicide mary who i think had a secret relationship with him and is having his child wanted to become famous and be a movie star but ever since she found him i think she felt guilty and angry and knew this child well grow up with no dad and only her which takes her freedom away. greg i think gets shot by a driveby because whoever shot him was jealous because he had a chance on becoming famous.
  • Matt from Taunton, Maafter watching this video a few times i think i got it down to what was going on. The kid that was being bullied was tired of everyone picking on him, and seeing his mother getting beat and him not being able to do anything. So he killed himself. Mary, the girl, was on her way back from the nurse's (you can see the note in her hand) when she heard a gun shot (the boy brought his father's 9(9mm) to school) and so she went in to find him dead. Mary, who had dreams and hopes of becoming a star was no shattered she was now pregnant with the baby's father dead. Greg, the basketball player had the chance to become a big time Basketball player and because someoen was jealous of his talent, they shot him (you can tell by everyone ducking and running away that it was a gun shot). The wall they showed at the end was made for the kid who killed himself and the guy who was murdered, cause you can see 2 different portraits 1 white guy and 1 black guy, no offense. And it is my beleif that the boy who committed suicide was the babies father cause she writes on his portrait and not the murdered guy's one. the only thing thats throwing me off is that phrase "With his baggy pants and his legs in chains" cause he doesnt go to jail cause hes the one in the body bag cause they show that its his shoes hanging out of the bag (i know this because if you watch him as he enters the bathroom they show what kind of shoes hes wearing). This is all i can think of so i hope im right, and i hope you agree with my summary.


    This kinda stuff happens everywhere and it is very painful, i know cause i was once like that boy who killed himself, and i almost did a few times, just as he had done, but i didnt. SO this stuf is very real and most people just turn a blind eye to it, dont care, or go about the LONG LONG LONG way of helping, like the "politically correct way" that starts way up top the chain and trickles down....so keep an eye out and do whats right
  • Matt from St. Louis, MoMary never died in the video. I have a feeling Mary got pregnant by greg because at the end of the video she has the baby in a carriage and writes something by the pic of greg.
  • A Somboddy from Texas, Dealso stole the title means that their lives were stolen(boy with glasses)>>what bullying might cause bullies stole his life(girl) not using protection..the baby stole his dreams(basketball star) jealous...so they stole his life
  • Jess from Melbourne, Australiai think the girl also runs into the bathroom because she hears an unusal noise (possibly a gunshot or a clash or something) and therefore goes to discover the boy is dead.
  • Jess from Melbourne, Australiawhat this song is about:

    In the video clip, there is a young boy wearing glasses lying on a bed. He goes into the kitchen and see's that his mother has been abused and is upset. He is unpopular and people said he didn't fit it.

    He goes to school and then into a bathroom and then kills himself. A young girl, walks around the corner into the bathroom and see's him dead.

    (theory 1) the young girl was having his unborn child
    (theory 2) she went to the same school as him but did not know him very well
    (theory 3) she knew him well and bullied him.

    The girl who found him, then discovers she is pregnant and is upset because now she has to care for the baby. She had a dream to become famous and be a movie star.

    The Boy on the basketball court, possibly died of an overdose of drugs. He had a dream to be a basketball player.

    At the end of the video, there is memorial on one of the walls. There is pictures of students/people who have passed away. The young girl with the baby writes "think before you act" on the wall.

    This may be interpreted like this:

    *People bullied the boy so it made him commit suicide, so you should think before you bully someone or put someone down.

    *The girl had sex at a young age and then became pregnant, which caused her to give up on her dreams and take care of the baby. So again, think before you act.

    *The boy at the end possibly died of an overdose. This is saying think before you take drugs and this death may of been easily prevented.

    I think kelly was sending out a powerful message about how people have dreams and they can be destroyed very easily and is about people who are growing up in a violet world.

    I think it is a very sad song but sends out a message.
  • Shannon Mulvany from Spokane, WaThis song is extremely sad and the video is heartbreaking, but it's a good song. And I don't think the girl killed herself. I think she just found the guy shoot himself in the bathroom and discovered what had happened. When it shows the body being carried away, that wasn't the girl, that was the boy. At least I don't think so.
  • Nora from East Longmeadow, Mathis is a great song. but i dont get why the girl killed herself? why was she in the hospital and cryin on the bathroom floor?
  • Emma from Des Moines, Iaits about a boy who cant take the bullying and stuff anymore so he brings a gun to school and kills someone? it says hes in baggy clothes and chains. so jail? then i think she gets raped or something and cant sing or do whatever she wanted and he gets shot because hes black and he also had a try out with the sixers - emma (Iowa)
  • Tiffany from Las Vegas, NvThis song isnt really about those ppl in the song in paricular they are just examples. what this song is saying is that kids/people loose there hopes and dreams because of whats happening in the world today and how cruel kids can be these days, and how they wanna become something but when they try theres always people trying to pull them down
  • Stacey from Nowra, Australiaboth stories about this song work but it doesn't matter because either way it's about people being taken away from us when life had so much to offer them
  • Kayla from Concord, Nhi changed my mind several times about the meaning of kelly's song "stole". at first when i just heard the song and had not seen the video i thought that it was about a boy who had been constantly bullied at school, and when he couldnt take it anymore he brought a gun to school and killed classmates of his kids ( greg and mary )who teased him. then when i saw the video i thought that mary found him after he commited suicide and then she and all the other students had to live with the guilt for the rest of their lives because it was basically their fault that he killed himself. but then i also read a comment that said that these were 3 seperate stories. so do these 3 kids even know eachother? are the connected in any way? also i heard that it was about not using good oppertunities to your advantage when you have the chance and destroying the remainder of your life. someone said that mary did this by becoming pregnant and greg did this by getting shot in a gang fight. im not quite sure how they got that out of the song. im so confused. what is this song basically about? ? ?
  • Shaylyn from Vernon, CanadaI think this songs about a boy being bullied and he commites suicide and MAry and Greg were being bullied to and they where killed or commited suicide.
  • Kristin from Bad Axe, Mi"Stole" tells the "tragic" stories of characters who never realize their dreams of stardom. The drama unfolds, and Her muses are on the brink of ending it all because they will never cast their hands in cement at Grauman's Chinese Theatre or play basketball like Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant.
  • Shana from Detroit Rock City, CanadaI never interpreted it the way Kat does, but if you don't consider the video, its very plausable. But in the video, it's obvious the three stories are seperate. I'm not sure if these were Kelly's intentions or not.
  • Lucas from Temple City, Calol I live in a very small city consisting of only 3,000 students in my High School, bordering both one of the richest (San Marino) and poorest (El Monte) in California or even America. This is my interpretation, the first boy is killed as a result of constantt bullying and social isolation, Mary becomes pregnant and unable to pursue her dreams. The last Greg is shot as a result of gang violence, most likey retaliation for a shooting that Greg might have commited.
  • Kat from Montoursville, PaI have a different interpretation of the song. I am pretty sure it is about a boy who was bullied and depressed so he brought a gun to school and shot some of his classmates. Mary and Greg being two of them. Sort of related to the Columbine School Shootings.
  • Jaimee from Manchester, Englandthis song has three different stories in it it is about life being stole in different ways the first is the guy who doesn't fit in so he commits suicide and then there is mary who gets pregnant so she isnt able to become famous because it steels her life away and then the guy who gets shot because he is coloured and his life is stolen by another person
  • Tina from Courtice, Canadathe song is about a student who never fit in and was bullyed into the point of bringing a gun to school and kill to of his fellow students nad how all of their oppertunites in the futer were taken away from them andhow thwy will be missed from their famliy and freinds. this song is telling us that if we need help don't keep it inside talk to someone about your problems don't try to be something your not and just be yourself always look for thr light at the end of the tunnel and and never give up hope.
  • Tiffany from Las Vegas, NvThe song is about the horrible things that happend to young people and how they could have grown up to be something or someone but it was all taken away because of the bad things that happend
  • Jaiyah from Australia, Australiathis song reflects on life and growing up in a violent world
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New York

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New YorkSong Writing

Our chat with Barney Hoskyns, who covers the wild years of Woodstock - the town, not the festival - in his book Small Town Talk.

Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots

Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple PilotsSongwriter Interviews

Stone Temple Pilots bass player Robert DeLeo names the songs that have most connected with fans and tells the stories behind tracks from their Tiny Music album.

Song Cities

Song CitiesMusic Quiz

Nirvana, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen are among those who wrote songs with cities that show up in this quiz.

Movie Stars In Music Videos

Movie Stars In Music VideosSong Writing

Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Mila Kunis and John Malkovich are just a few of the film stars who have moonlighted in music videos.

John Kay of Steppenwolf

John Kay of SteppenwolfSongwriter Interviews

Steppenwolf frontman John Kay talks about "Magic Carpet Ride," "Born To Be Wild," and what he values more than awards and accolades.

Paul Stanley of Kiss, Soul Station

Paul Stanley of Kiss, Soul StationSongwriter Interviews

Paul Stanley on his soul music project, the Kiss songs with the biggest soul influence, and the non-make-up era of the band.