‘An Ode To Eaters’: How Bones and All inspired Ethel Cain
After seeing Luca Guadagnino's haunting movie Bones And All, Ethel Cain was inspired to write her own unofficial soundtrack to the moving final scene.
(Credits: Far Out / Ethel Cain)
Music » From The Vault
Tue 11 February 2025 2:00, UK
Cannibalism as a metaphor for love, for desire, for unbridled need – Ethel Cain is into that. At the end of Preacher’s Daughter, Ethel Cain, the protagonist in Hayden Silas Anhedönia’s debut album, is eaten. After a devastating tale of sexual and religious trauma, heartbreak and abuse, the story meets a grizzly end as she’s feasted on by the man she loved. So when Luca Guadagnino’s haunting movie Bones And All was released only a few months later, it was unsurprising that Anhedönia was a fan.
“Can I be yours? Just tell me I’m yours / If I’m turning in your stomach and I’m making you feel sick,” Cain sings over and over on the finale track of her album. Imagining a scene where her protagonist has been murdered and literally consumed by someone she loved and trusted, it’s both a gruesome and horrific fate for her to meet, but it is also a rich metaphor for her perspective on love. Throughout the album, listeners hear of Cain’s desperate desire to be wanted and to feel like she belongs with someone, even if that leads her to danger. “I’d hold the gun if you asked me to,” she sings on ‘Western Nights’. “I’d die yours,” she wails on ‘House In Nebraska’, learning to be with her lover even if it means the end.
Across films and artworks for centuries, cannibalism has repeatedly been used as perhaps the ultimate metaphor for that feeling. In Nosferatu, the story becomes less about him being a bloodthirsty vampire and more about him wanting to feast on Ellen, the woman he loves. It’s the desire to have someone close taken to the furthest extent as a character literally wants to consume them, to have their skin and blood inside them as if an embrace is not tight enough, not good enough.
Bones and All, Luca Guadagnino’s 2022 movie, captures this beautifully. Starring Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet as Maren and Lee, two young natural-born cannibals, the film becomes less of a horror film about that fact and more a love story between two outcasts desperate to find community and belonging in their connection. Hunger takes on two states in the film; the literal hunger they feel for blood and flesh, but also their emotional hunger for love and closeness.
It all comes to a head in a staggering and haunting final scene. If you haven’t seen it, pause here, watch the film and come back. If you have seen it, the images likely come straight to mind as a cinematic moment not soon forgotten. After being attacked in order to save her, Lee lies bleeding out and dying on the floor. In his final moments and in the final display of their love, he turns to her and begs, “Eat.” He pleads, “I want you to do it. This was always going to be it,” saying, “Love me,” as if eating him was the most loving thing she could do. “I want you to eat me. I want you to feed! Bones and all,” he says as his final words and she follows his orders, eating her lover.
“Eat of me baby, skin to the bone / Body on body, until I’m all gone / But I’m with you, inside,” Ethel Cain sings in ‘Famous Last Words (An Ode to Eaters)’, a song written specifically about the film. After posting about the film on her Instagram account, sharing a fan-made edit of the clips of the film layered over one of her songs, she returned soon after to share this track, stating, “Had to make a lil song for Bones and All cause I can’t stop thinking about it.”
Distilling Guadagnino’s movie into music, capturing the love of Lee and Maren and the gothic beauty of this final scene, Cain’s ode is a love song with this enduring metaphor at the centre of it. “Carry me with you all of the time,” she sings after a tragic song about Maren in these final moments, consuming the last of her love to keep him with her in some way as the ultimate image of love.
Related Topics
Ethel CainLuca Guadagnino
President Donald Trump said he isn’t interested in deporting Prince Harry, who left Britain with his wife Meghan Markle in 2020, and moved to California.
Read more >> : Cick here
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are currently in Canada for The Invictus Games 2025.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Two Labour MPs have been suspended after making offensive remarks in a messaging group.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Farmers descended on the capital in their tractors on Monday as they continued their protest against inheritance tax
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Lindy Leah, 44, is accused of wearing "completely unsuitable clothing" which was "skin tight and highly revealing" in the boy's presence
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
He has been banned from future NFL events and venues, with Roc Nation also issuing a statement about the stunt
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
SM Entertainment’s latest financial report has stunned netizens as the company revealed a drastic drop in its net profit.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
BLACKPINK's Rosé attained another iconic feat with APT. by surpassing Mariah Carey's iconic Christmas track on a US chart.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Southport attack hero Leanne Lucas shared touching images from the Prince and Princess of Wales' visits to the town as she shared hugs with William and Kate in the aftermath of the tragedy
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
David and Victoria Beckham were said to be close with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, attending their wedding, but things seem to have cooled
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Twitter (X), Inc. was an American social media company based in San Francisco, California, which operated and was named for its flagship social media network prior to its rebrand as X. In addition to Twitter, the company previously operated the Vine short video app and Periscope livestreaming service
Twitter (X) is one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 619 million monthly active users worldwide. One of the most exciting features of Twitter (X) is the ability to see what topics are trending in real-time. Twitter trends are a fascinating way to stay up to date on what people are talking about on the platform, and they can also be a valuable tool for businesses and individuals to stay relevant and informed. In this article, we will discuss Twitter (X) trends, how they work, and how you can use them to your advantage.
What are Twitter (X) Worldwide Trends?
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends are a list of topics that are currently being talked about on the platform and also world. The topics on this list change in real-time and are based on the volume of tweets using a particular hashtag or keyword. Twitter (X) Worldwide trends can be localized to a Worldwide country or region or can be global, depending on the topic's popularity.
How Do Twitter (X) Worldwide Trends Work?
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends are generated by an algorithm that analyzes the volume of tweets using a particular hashtag or keyword. When the algorithm detects a sudden increase in tweets using a specific hashtag or keyword, it considers that topic to be trending.
Once a topic is identified as trending, it is added to the list of Twitter (X) Worldwide trends. The topics on this list are ranked based on their popularity, with the most popular topics appearing at the top of the list.
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends can be filtered by location or category, allowing users to see what topics are trending in their area or in a particular industry. Additionally, users can click on a trending topic to see all of the tweets using that hashtag or keyword.