Very few songs accurately articulate the anger and frustration that comes with being understood as a woman, especially in a world that caters to the male gaze. However, several women in the alternative genre have created powerful songs that channel these feelings quite well.
Soccer Mommy’s “Your Dog” is a staple within her discography and the standout lead single of 2018’s “Clean.” With over 43 million streams on Spotify, this song is one of her best, as it brings attention to the domestic abuse and misogyny she has endured.
The title of the song compares the singer’s abusive relationship to that of a man and the dog he chooses to neglect. This symbolism on first listen is quite disturbing, but this comparison emphasizes how many women are unwillingly subjected to toxic relationships because of societal norms.
Her perspective is empowering, as the singer has finally found her voice. Able to finally speak up, she opens the song with a bitter tone and playful bass riffs. She sings, “I don’t wanna be your f-----g dog / That you drag around / A collar on my neck tied to a pole / Leave me in the freezing cold.” In this moment, listeners can feel her anger.
This opening image enables the senses, an intentional move creating goosebumps. You can feel the bitter cold and the sensation of being pulled in one direction. Soccer Mommy wants her audience to hear how unacceptable it is to be treated like a dog and that a relationship is unhealthy if one focuses on hurting the other.
She continues into the next set of lines, singing, “I don’t wanna be your little pet / At the edge of every bed / You sleep in, body stretchin’ out / Guess I’ll curl up on the couch.” Her tone is stronger and full of intent in this section. Witnessing neglect from her partner, she feels unloved and under appreciated yet trapped in how to get out of the situation.
The singer addresses infidelity as well and how her partner uses her fear of abandonment to coerce her into staying. She says, “Always talk to other people / Dart my eyes across the room / Forehead kisses break my knees / And leave me crawling back to you." This image also shows the singer questioning if she really means what she is saying.
Many who have been in painful relationships have likely encountered this same doubt. While you don’t want to lose someone you have a history with, it’s also concerning if they don’t honor and respect the time you have shared. Soccer Mommy’s trembling, anxious vocals make the song more vulnerable than it already is, as fear can lead one to disillusionment when in a toxic relationship.
Fortunately, the singer’s disillusion seems to break, reverting to the same lyrical format to emphasize the chorus one last time. It signals how, with the right people in your life, you can break away from people deliberately making you suffer.
She says, “‘Cause I don’t wanna be your baby girl / That you show off to the world / When you decide you want to feel / Like you’re living something real,” a powerful couplet of lines the singer fearlessly shouts out. Knowing her former partner is also living in disillusion, the production increases in tempo, with the banging of drums destroying any feelings left for that person.
The songs ends with the lines, “I’m not a prop for you to use / When you’re lonely or confused / I want a love that lets me breathe / I’ve been choking on your leash,” serving as Soccer Mommy’s final words to her former partner, yearning to be free. Freedom is at the core of this song, and the final chords of guitar and drums fade as the singer’s twangy growl finalizes her feelings on the matter.
This song can be interpreted in many different ways. Whether it centers around the abuse of a partner, men in power, government bans or healthcare reversals, “Your Dog” begs the question of whether women can ever feel freedom without experiencing pain first to earn it.
“Your Dog” by Soccer Mommy is a timeless song calling out abuse and power dynamics that affect many female-identifying listeners.
