"Show & Tell" is a song by Melanie Martinez that is featured as the fourth track on her sophomore album, K-12. The official music video, originally available as part of the film, was later separately released on October 3, 2019.
Background[]
In an interview with Alternative Press Magazine, Melanie revealed that the song was written back in March 2017, when she was performing at the Lollapalooza Festival in Brazil. She stated that she was alone in her hotel room, having the feeling of isolation, and being mistreated as a human; she decided to sing and make a voice memo of it, singing only the chorus.[1]
A snippet of the song was released on July 23, 2019 at the end of the film's trailer. On August 19, 2019, a second snippet was released exclusively in Canada and Mexico as an assignment before being officially released worldwide.
Theme[]
Similarly to "Dollhouse", the song is about how celebrities are portrayed as 'perfect' by the public as well as how they're treated in the music industry. The lines, "Harsh words if you don't get a pic with me" and "There are strangers taking pictures of me when I ask "no more", also speak on an incident from 2016 where Melanie stopped fans from taking pictures of her without consent.
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
You pull me by my hair so I don't go nowhere
Tell me you love me, but you treat me like I'm never there
You say the cruelest, words, yes, they break my heart
'Cause I'm over here working my ass off
[Pre-chorus]
Why is it so hard to see? (Why?)
If I cut myself, I would bleed (Ouch)
I'm just like you, you're like me
Imperfect and human, are we?
[Chorus]
Show and tell
I'm on display for all you fuckers to see
Show and tell
Harsh words if you don't get a pic with me
Buy and sell (Buy and sell me, baby)
Like I'm a product to society
Art don't sell
Unless you fucked every authority
[Verse 2]
You beg and cry for more, and yet I'm on the floor
There are strangers takin' pictures of me when I ask "No more" (No more)
It's really hard for me to say just how I feel
I'm scared that I'll get thrown away like a banana peel
[Pre-chorus]
Why is it so hard to see? (Why?)
If I cut myself, I would bleed (Ouch)
I'm just like you, you're like me
Imperfect and human, are we?
[Chorus]
Show and tell (Show and tell)
I'm on display for all you fuckers to see (Fuckers to see)
Show and tell (Show and tell)
Harsh words if you don't get a pic with me
Buy and sell (Buy and sell)
Like I'm a product to society
Art don't sell
Unless you fucked every authority
[Bridge]
Show and tell
Why can't you fucking hear me?
Show and tell, ahem
Are you listening yet?
[Chorus]
Show and tell (Show and tell, baby)
I'm on display for all you fuckers to see (Fuckers to see)
Show and tell (Oh)
Harsh words if you don't get a pic with me
Buy and sell
Like I'm a product to society
Art don't sell
Unless you fucked every authority
[Verse 1]
You pull me by my hair so I don't go nowhere
Tell me you love me, but you treat me like I'm never there
You say the cruelest, words, yes, they break my heart
'Cause I'm over here working my ass off
[Pre-chorus]
Why is it so hard to see? (Why?)
If I cut myself, I would bleed (Ouch)
I'm just like you, you're like me
Imperfect and human, are we?
[Chorus]
Show and tell
I'm on display for all you fuckers to see
Show and tell
Harsh words if you don't get a pic with me
Buy and sell (Buy and sell me, baby)
Like I'm a product to society
Art don't sell
Unless you fucked every authority
[Verse 2]
You beg and cry for more, and yet I'm on the floor
There are strangers takin' pictures of me when I ask "No more" (No more)
It's really hard for me to say just how I feel
I'm scared that I'll get thrown away like a banana peel
[Pre-chorus]
Why is it so hard to see? (Why?)
If I cut myself, I would bleed (Ouch)
I'm just like you, you're like me
Imperfect and human, are we?
[Chorus]
Show and tell (Show and tell)
I'm on display for all you fuckers to see (Fuckers to see)
Show and tell (Show and tell)
Harsh words if you don't get a pic with me
Buy and sell (Buy and sell)
Like I'm a product to society
Art don't sell
Unless you fucked every authority
[Bridge]
Show and tell
Why can't you fucking hear me?
Show and tell, ahem
Are you listening yet?
[Chorus]
Show and tell (Show and tell, baby)
I'm on display for all you fuckers to see (Fuckers to see)
Show and tell (Oh)
Harsh words if you don't get a pic with me
Buy and sell
Like I'm a product to society
Art don't sell
Unless you fucked every authority
Official versions[]
| Version | Released on | Release date | Producer(s) | Creation date | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ▶ | Final | K-12 | September 6, 2019 | Michael Keenan | Early 2017 | 3:35 |
| ▶ | Clean version | K-12 | September 6, 2019 | Michael Keenan | Early 2017 | 3:35 |
| Instrumental | Unreleased | April 17, 2020 (leaked) | Michael Keenan | Early 2017 | 3:35 | |
| Demos | ||||||
| Voice memo | Unreleased | Unleaked | Melanie Martinez | March 2017 | Unknown | |
Live performances[]
"Show & Tell" was performed at:
Gallery[]
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To view the gallery of Show & Tell, click here.
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Music video[]
The music video starts with Cry Baby coming late to 3 grade class, which makes students raise their heads at her. Later she gets turned into a puppet and being controlled by Ms. Penelope. She dances for all of the students in class, who cheer in a barbaric manner and consistently demand her to continue. They take pictures of her even though it clearly distresses her. At the end Cry Baby collapses from exhaustion by the end of the song and is tossed up as a doll that the students try to catch. However, the sight of her guts disgusts them and they no longer care for her.
Cast[]
Errors[]
- One of Cry Baby's female classmates raises her head twice: when the door first opens and in sync with the rest of the students.
Trivia[]
- On iTunes and The Google Play Store, the word "fucking" is reversed in the line "Why can't you fucking hear me?" in the trailer.
- In the real clean version, "fucking" is censored completely.
- Each showing of the film in theaters had a video of Melanie rehearsing the choreography for this song with narration after the movie.
- Some of the topics discussed in the song were mentioned in a Tumblr post from November 2016.[2]
- Each song on K-12 represents a different grade level in school, from Kindergarten through twelfth grade.
- "Show & Tell" represents third grade.
- Similarly to "Class Fight", the classroom blackboard has "3rd Grade" written on it (referring to the grade to which the song corresponds).
- This is Melanie's first song to chart on Spotify Global since "Pity Party", and the second in her career so far.
- The third line of the chorus is misspelled as "show you tell" in the original version of the booklet that comes the album's physical copies. This has since been fixed in newly printed pressings.
- During the K-12 Tour, the chorus was repeated at the end of the song.
- The music video for this song was the first from K-12 to be released separately.
- This was due to charting in Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100, climbing up charts, and being added to multiple streaming platform’s playlists.
- Gears turning, a handle being cranked, cameras flashing and snapping, and children talking and cheering can be heard throughout the song.
- This track uses the same "Kids Cheering" stem from the unreleased song "Unhappy Meal".
- The music video was filmed on October 29, 2018, and December 6, 2018.
- This was the last track on K-12 to be written & recorded that made it on the final cut.
- In the teaser video for The Trilogy Tour, "Show & Tell" is played to represent K-12.
