It’s Only Natural

Song Meaning

Robert Pollard, the poet laureate of power-pop disaffection, returns with "It's Only Natural," a seemingly simple track that burrows into the complex justifications we build for our basest impulses. The repetition of the title phrase acts as both a shrug and a challenge, a suggestion that the behaviors described – from careerist ass-kissing ("Stroke men in higher positions") to casual objectification and a general sense of rudderless modern malaise ("As a 21st century what the fuck") – are somehow preordained, inevitable features of the human condition. But is Pollard excusing these actions, or exposing the convenient lies we tell ourselves to avoid moral accountability? The song's unsettling juxtaposition of the mundane and the grotesque hints at a deeper unease. The offhand reference to a "camel toe website" isn't merely crude; it's a symptom of a broader cultural sickness, a numbing descent into the readily available and instantly gratifying. This is contrasted with images of impending doom ("Hurtling toward the night/With no runaway ramp in sight"), which paints a portrait of a society hurtling toward a cliff edge, fueled by its most selfish and short-sighted desires. The absence of salvation ("No adult superstore or diner") further emphasizes the bleakness of this vision. The closing lines, "I can take a garden/And turn it into a grave," provide the song's most chilling insight. This declaration of destructive potential suggests that the 'natural' impulses Pollard describes are not merely harmless quirks, but forces capable of corrupting even the most beautiful and fertile aspects of life. "It's Only Natural" becomes a darkly ironic commentary on human nature, a reminder that our capacity for both creation and destruction are inextricably intertwined, and that the choices we make ultimately determine which path we follow. Pollard doesn't offer easy answers, but he forces us to confront the uncomfortable truth about ourselves.