What Raye’s Song “Ice Cream Man” Means and Full Lyrics

April 16, 2024, 5:26 p.m.

With Raye’s performance at Coachella 2024, new fans are discovering her heartbreaking song “Ice Cream Man” for the first time and they want to know the lyrics and what the song is about.

Raye lit up the stage at Coachella 2024 and her runaway success saw an influx of new fans exploring her musical discography.

One of the songs she performed at the music festival that seemed to strike a chord with her listeners was of course “Ice Cream Man,” one of the most heartbreaking and personal songs the artist has released. published.

“Ice Cream Man” was dropped in 2023 alongside 14 other songs from his album “My 21st Century Blues”, an album that Raye fought very hard to release because it included the good, the bad and the downright experiences ugly things she experienced while being part of it. of the music industry.

You can hear the pain and strength in Raye’s voice when you listen to “Ice Cream Man,” but what are the lyrics to the song and what does the song actually mean? Here’s what we know.

What is the meaning of Raye’s song “Ice Cream Man”?

Raye’s song “Ice Cream Man” sheds light on the predatory male behavior she experienced throughout her life, focusing on her experience as a young woman in the music industry. I

In the first verse of the song, Raye sings about a music producer who sexually assaulted her. “The lyrics said / But when I got there I should have heard what he said / I’m tryin’ to touch me, I’m tryin’ to fuck me, I’m not playing.”

“I should have left this place as soon as I walked in / How the hell dare you do this to me, really?”

Talk to rolling stoneRaye revealed how this song was an emotional release for her: “As a woman in and outside of this industry, I’ve been through a lot of nasty, traumatic things that I’ve repressed, that I haven’t spoken, buried.”

“There’s still a lot of healing to be done there. For me, the power is really [that] It’s my way of shouting through the spinning microphone: “You know who you are and you know what you’ve done.”

The song’s chorus arrives with the lines “Until I feel her icy hands / And how I’m paying the price now, damn” and serves as the glue between the stories she weaves into the song.

Although horrific, her experience with the music producer was not the first time Raye had been assaulted by a man.

When she sings about “her icy hands”, it is not only about hers that she sings, it symbolizes all the men who have taken liberties that were not theirs with women and their bodies.

“Ice Cream Man” was first performed on tour in 2018, but while recording the song for his 2022 album, Raye revised some lyrics to include more of his story.

In the second verse, she sings: “I was seven, I was 21, I was 17 and I was 11 / If I was ruthless, they’d be in a penitentiary.” eBy exposing male behavior, she has lived her whole life.

But Raye doesn’t want “Ice Cream Man” to be seen as just another sad song, it has many more sides than that.

Talk to Apple Musicsaid the musician: “There are so many layers of what is taken and what is affected and changed after trauma and sexual violence.”

“So much is stolen. You fight so many minefields wondering, “Is this my fault?” Did I put myself in the wrong position? Am I blowing something out of proportion? It just becomes this ugly thing that I have to deal with for the rest of my life because of someone else’s stupid, disgusting actions.

“And I think, at the very least, this is me proclaiming who I am and those things should not be allowed to define who we become.” It’s as much for me as it is for the listener who needs to hear it.”

Raye’s strength in taking her narrative and making sure she has control of it shines through the lyrics, particularly in the chorus as she says, “I am a very brave and strong woman. And I’ll be damned if I let a man ruin the way I walk, the way I talk, the way I do it.

Raye opens up about her vulnerability on stage

What are the lyrics to “Ice Cream Man” by RAYE?

[Verse 1]
So this producer DM me
He said, “Hey, I really like what you do.”
He told me: “Come to the studio, we’ll cook it”
He said to me: “Come and get a vibe and make some music.”
But when I got there I should have heard what he said
I try to touch myself, I try to fuck myself, I don’t play
I should have left this place as soon as I entered it
How dare you do this to me, really?

[Pre-Chorus]
Come like the ice cream man
Until I feel his cold hands
And how the fuck am I paying the price now
Hell no, what is it? Whore
Everything you did left me in ruins
And no, I didn’t say a word, I guess that proves it
I’m a woman, oh yes

[Chorus]
Because I am a woman
I am a very courageous and strong woman
And I’ll be damned if I let a man ruin
How I walk, how I talk, how I do it
Man, I was broken for a while
I lived it, no
It’s even harder to be brave alone
I was a girl, now I’m an adult, I’m a woman
A very strong fucking woman

[Verse 2]
And I was seven
I was twenty-one, seventeen and eleven
It took me a while to understand what my consent meant
If I was ruthless, they would be in the penitentiary
But all the stress of being honest wouldn’t help me
I pushed him down, but he lived inside me rent free
And then I fell into unhealthy things
A place where no one heard me ask them to help me (Help me, help me)
[Pre-Chorus]
Come like the ice cream man
Until I feel his cold hands
And how the fuck am I paying the price now
Whore
Everything you did left me in ruins
And no, I didn’t say a word, I guess that proves it
I’m a woman

[Chorus]
Because I am a woman
I am a very courageous and strong woman
And I’ll be damned if I let a man ruin
How I walk, how I talk, how I do it
Man, I was broken for a while
I lived it, no
It’s even harder to be brave alone
I was a girl, now I’m an adult, I’m a woman
A very strong fucking woman, mmm

I’m a fucking brave and strong woman, yeah[Bridge]
I wish I could say what I feel, what I feel
And explain why I silently blame myself
‘Cause I’m making these faces, pretending I’m fine
Then I go to the bathroom and press rewind in my head
I’m always going around in circles in my head
Your fingerprints left a stain on my skin
You made me accuse myself of your sin
You pathetic, dead excuse of a man

[Outro]
Ooh ooh
I am a courageous and strong woman
Oh, yeah, yeah, oh, oh, oh
And I’ll be damned if I let a man go broke, oh

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