In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
She came from the Cocos Islands with a limp and a snow-shaker huh
Hocked by a fine Arabian ginger Monsignor
He said, "You aint's gets nothing 'cause nothing gets made by Koreans"
He had dubbin in his hair and he played the tambourine
They gave him a medal, they caught him shaving his hairpiece
Locked him in confinement wired like a banshee with a blade
She came to him in a dream disguised as a bus crash
Through the mud, the blood and the tears they kissed
And then they slipped away, they were singin'
Chunky chunky air guitar now
Chunky chunky air guitar
He was getting down like a freak show
She was going off like a whale
Chunky chunky air guitar now
Chunky chunky air guitar
Bellhop blues with a midget butt-boy in Sweden
Chockfull of puss and wolved by a little French maid
Eloped with his sister, married in a tag-team wedding
Sticky like a girl undercover of a Japanese glade
She came from the Cocos Islands, she came from the Cocos Islands
She came from the Cocos Islands, she came from the Cocos Islands
And they were singing
Chunky chunky air guitar now
Chunky chunky air guitar
He was getting down like a freak show
He was getting down like a freak show
He was getting down like a freak show
She was going off like a whale
Hocked by a fine Arabian ginger Monsignor
He said, "You aint's gets nothing 'cause nothing gets made by Koreans"
He had dubbin in his hair and he played the tambourine
They gave him a medal, they caught him shaving his hairpiece
Locked him in confinement wired like a banshee with a blade
She came to him in a dream disguised as a bus crash
Through the mud, the blood and the tears they kissed
And then they slipped away, they were singin'
Chunky chunky air guitar now
Chunky chunky air guitar
He was getting down like a freak show
She was going off like a whale
Chunky chunky air guitar now
Chunky chunky air guitar
Bellhop blues with a midget butt-boy in Sweden
Chockfull of puss and wolved by a little French maid
Eloped with his sister, married in a tag-team wedding
Sticky like a girl undercover of a Japanese glade
She came from the Cocos Islands, she came from the Cocos Islands
She came from the Cocos Islands, she came from the Cocos Islands
And they were singing
Chunky chunky air guitar now
Chunky chunky air guitar
He was getting down like a freak show
He was getting down like a freak show
He was getting down like a freak show
She was going off like a whale
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I know Mr Freedman intended this song to be a joke, not the first single. I just love how crazy and evocative the lyrics are.
"He was getting down like a freak show She was going off like a whale"
Awesome.