Real Tears for Sale

Such a pretty girl [...] you shaved your head, pulled a face'
Although Britney Spears might have been the pop star to shave her head most recently to when the song was released, h has stated the inspiration for the song was Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor.

'The horror show when you were young'
O'Connor has stated that her childhood was characterised by abuse from her emotionally-unstable mother.

'But even whores don't kiss with tongues'
Women working as prostitutes supposedly do not kiss their clients as kissing is felt to be more intimate than copulation.

Mark Kennedy also discovered the following gem from an interview with Hot Press from 2005: "She had become disillusioned, Sinéad added, with the business of music describing it as “for the most part spiritually bereft, with all the sincerity of a whore’s kiss.”"

'Nonetheless I do believe you cried real tears'
The video of O'Connor's version of the Prince-penned Nothing Compares 2 U largely comprises a single static shot of O'Connor in close up.

Towards the end of the song, starting at around 3:20, as a result of singing the lines, 'All the flowers that you planted, Mama in the back yard, All died when you went away,' a tear rolls down each cheek. O'Connor maintains these were real tears and were because the lyric made her think of her mother with whom she’d had a complicated relationship.

The entire album listing is included for completeness, but only songs with a link have explanations.

Volume 1: Essence