What does Left Hand Free mean?

alt-J: Left Hand Free Meaning

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Album cover for Left Hand Free album cover

Song Released: 2014


Left Hand Free Lyrics

Hey, shady baby, I'm hot like the prodigal son
Pick a petal eenie meenie miney moe
And, flower, you're the chosen one

Well, your left hand's free
And your right's in a grip
With another left hand
Watch his right hand slip
Towards his...

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  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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     Oct 10th 2014 !⃝

    I believe the song in narrated in a lustful man who is full of desire to get this girl. Out of everyone, she is "the chosen one". However, she is with another man who the narrator believes is not even competition for him. The narrator is trying to prove her that he is worthwhile to the girl. He also mentions that her left hand is free which means that she is not married that could be interpreted as she is free to pick him as well.
    It is yet another sensual song from alt-J, reaching to the inner emotions of the listeners. Pleasing to the ears and to the imagination.

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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     Sep 29th 2014 !⃝

    It means he wants this chick, but she's with another man who's bigger and violent. But he's telling her she's free, because she's not married, her left hand is free of a wedding ring, and he's free. Pick a battle, make a choice between him or me, einie meany miny moe.

  3. 3TOP RATED

    #3 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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     Sep 24th 2014 !⃝

    Left Hand Free is a song that is meant to be a jab at the label intervention that spawned this song. The song is about a guy scrolling through porn, picking out which video he wants to masturbate to. The lyric "Hey shady baby I'm hot" is pretty self explanatory. "Pick a battle eenie meenie miney moe" is about the actual act of picking the porn video. "Well your left hand's free and your right's in a grip... watch his left hand slip towards his gun" is about the right hand being in a grip about his 'gun'. The lyrics in the second verse: "...Girl you're the one for me. Though your man's bigger than I am all my days he disagrees" is about how he finally picked a video and about how in porn (at least in my opinion) the man is not suppose to make the viewer feel emasculated, so even though his dick is literally bigger, he 'disagrees'. Also the music video for this song is just shots of young, beautiful men and women just enjoying each others company in swimwear. This song was written as a subtle middle finger to their label company that forced them to write a hit; so they took 20 minutes to write a hit about jerking off.

  4. anonymous
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     Sep 11th 2023 !⃝

    In my opinion it is about a threesome where his desired women in doing it with another man, the lyrics "well your left hands free" implies that her left hand is free to do him at the same time

  5. anonymous
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     Aug 17th 2023 !⃝

    It's about a man(the narrator) who is love with a woman who is taken. She is currently in a relationship with another man, who is violent. Her left hand is free, so she is unmarried, and so is the narrator. The narrator is determined to get the woman for himself so they can be together. However, her current romantic partner is very violent and jealous, and as the song suggests, is willing to kill the narrator to ensure he doesn't have competition. The fact that the woman's partner feels the need to eliminate the narrator suggests that he sees him as competion, perhaps meaning that the woman reciprocates the narrator's feelings, however is stuck in an abusive relationship.

  6. anonymous
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     Apr 28th 2021 !⃝

    The song is about jerking off with your left hand instead of your right as “your left hand’s free”

  7. anonymous
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     Sep 20th 2019 !⃝

    You need two hands to use a single action gun.

  8. anonymous
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     Sep 25th 2014 !⃝

    Yes it's about the wankers at the music labels.


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