American Teenager
Ethel Cain
Ethel Cain is the stage name and character created by Hayden Anhedönia, a 28-year-old trans woman from Florida. Cain, on the other hand, is the daughter of a Southern Baptist preacher living in Alabama. So very fittingly, many of her songs contain some form of religious references. One of her most recognizable religious references comes from her song American Teenager.
"Jesus, if you're listening let me handle my liquor
And Jesus, if You're there
Why do I feel alone in this room with You?"
In a sense, Cain is reworking her religion and view on Christianity, begging for something very typical of a teenager, instead of what an adult would talk to Jesus about. She is taking a traditional practice of religion, prayer, and using it in a way that benefits her as a teen girl. She then follows up the line, questioning if Jesus is even there to answer her prayers, further reframing her view on the “realness” of Jesus and Christianity.
"[Pre-Chorus]
And I feel it there
In the middle of the night
When the lights go out
But I'm still standing here"
Cain then confirms that she feels Jesus' presence there that night. And while Cain may be reworking religion, Anhedönia is reclaiming the practice of Christianity by reframing it in the context of Ethel and her fictitious life story, working through sensitive topics and story lines as she reconciles with religion.
From this information, we issue American Teenager by Ethel Cain a rating of:
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