 The lyrics may indicate something as innocent as a dream dissolving into the clouds under diethyl ether intoxication, but while one critic takes the song as an account of a "harrowing" birth under archaic medical conditions, some critics such as Heather Phares hint that they "quite possibly" refer to "abortion, since unwanted children are some of the many broken family ties that haunt the album".However, when asked directly during an interview in "The Guardian", Harvey replied, "That's obviously what you hear, but for me it's not actually tied to anything specific, like an abortion.These aren't just words.