Laura Marling - Little Love Caster

Yes I am, yes I am a master.
I had you, bad man.
Little love, little love caster
Palm of my hand.

I wish that I had, I wish that I had've told you then
Where my kindness ends.

I will take you home, I will take you home and then
Our lovespell will end

You are new to me
You are new to me
And I can't seem to say
"I'd like you to stay"

Yes I am, yes I am a master
I had you, bad man
Little love, little love caster

They might know you best, they might know you best and love you most
But I would breathe you in
I would breathe you in and be your ghost.

I saw a lady dance yesterday
She was easily swayed
I cannot be tossed and turned in this way
I'm not your tiny dancer
I can't seem to say,
"I'd like you to stay."

I saw a lady dance yesterday, 
She is easily swayed.
I cannot be tossed and turned in this way.
I'm no one's tiny dancer.

And I can't seem to say,
"I'd like you to stay."
I can't seem to say,
"I'd like you to stay."

Laura Marling is a huge inspiration to me, I wish I could be more like her. She is so sure of herself and her self worth and completely brazen in the face of men trying to take advantage. She is 'the master hunter' and 'eagle' so is no victim of our society but uses her bad experiences to learn from: 'thank you naivety for failing my again.' She is so strong willed and independent but then beautifully romantic 'how did I sleep at night with you far from my side?' Mostly I love her because she does not let herself be manipulated by men and I think it is this song which illustrates this best. 'I'm not your tiny dancer' is a declaration that she will not be pulled around by any man. It is a great metaphor because in dancing it is the men who lead the women and so she is defying that convention. In the refrain she broadens her message 'I'm no one's tiny dancer' this is just so refreshing because she is not just speaking to one spurned lover but to all men, that she will not be manipulated. By using 'I cannot be tossed' instead of 'will not' it emphasises how it is not a choice, it is impossible to do this to her, she refuses to be acted on and is adamant that she will be her own dancer. At the core of this song she is refusing to be an object and to be lead by a man. 

I thought of this song the other day when I was rewriting the line in my poem, 'plaything of the patriarchy.' I was thinking at one time of visualising this with a girl on a puppet string and that reminded me of the imagery in this song. 

yes i can quote laura marling lyrics like that