This song was used in the movie Thirteen, and pretty much denotes the message of the film, which deals with a young girl who grows up too fast. It seems to be about a mother and a struggling child not getting enough space.
In a 2018 interview with Rolling Stone, Phair explained the genesis of the song: "I think of that as a perfect little jewel song. It does so very little. Some songs, when I write them, come out completely formed, and I don't have to work on them at all, and 'Explain It to Me' was like that. It just sort of fell out of me. It's about a ruined rock hero and seeing one of your greatest figures at their weakest, I guess."
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