Don’t Make Me…

Behind The Song:

The song is an exploration of the guilt and fear that women who accused other women of being witches felt. It specifically looks at Margret Atkin (The Great Witch of Balwerie) and how she might have justified her actions to herself. Atkin was accused and persecuted as a witch, and may have found that selling other women out as witches was the only way she could survive.

The fact that Atkin never engaged in witch pricking and instead visually identified women as witches suggests that she felt guilt and didn't want to hurt these women physically. For her, this was a matter of survival. The lyrics bounce back and forth between Atkins’ conscience and the part of her that is rationalising her actions. The chorus highlights the harsh reality of the situation: Atkin was doomed to die either way, but she chose to cause more damage by accusing others; she was merely buying herself time. The lyrics, “I couldn’t bear to hear them cry, Don’t Make me,” emphasise Atkin’s true fear of confronting the wrongs she's committed to prolong her life. When the song concludes with the lyric “Don’t Make me,” it illustrates her terror at the idea of facing her actions, almost reverting to a childlike fear.

Interestingly, the theme of women judging other women visually is common in modern society. This highlights the prevalence of witch trials as a reflection of modern misogyny.