The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Aching to pupate
Aching to pup-p-p-pate
[repeats 4x]
Pu-pupate, pu pate,
Pu-pate, pu-pupate, pu pa-ate?
I should peddle butterflies
There's a shortage in the city,
I'll stand on the street corner
All mysterious and giddy,
When the passers by pass by
I will open up my trenchcoat,
They will see the butterflies
Dangling like fake rolexes?
Every morning I wake up
With a purpose and a smirk
I'll put on my fake mustache
I'll drink Heineken eat cornflakes?
Then I'll call my mum and dad
Tell them that I'm doing fine,
Or I'll write a tipsy letter
To a real good friend of mine,
Or I'll jump upon the bed
Waltzing madly with the broomstick
But before I leave the house
I will paint my lips with lipstick?
But peddling is a dirty sport
There's competition in the city,
Everyone is on a street corner
All mysterious and giddy.
Some are selling bags and shoes,
Some are selling books and gold,
I've been standing here for days
Not one butterfly's been sold?
And how I'm
Aching to pupate
Aching to pup-p-p-pate
(repeats 4x)
Pu-pu-pate, pupate,
Pupate, pu-pu-pate, pu pa-ate.
Aching to pup-p-p-pate
[repeats 4x]
Pu-pupate, pu pate,
Pu-pate, pu-pupate, pu pa-ate?
I should peddle butterflies
There's a shortage in the city,
I'll stand on the street corner
All mysterious and giddy,
When the passers by pass by
I will open up my trenchcoat,
They will see the butterflies
Dangling like fake rolexes?
Every morning I wake up
With a purpose and a smirk
I'll put on my fake mustache
I'll drink Heineken eat cornflakes?
Then I'll call my mum and dad
Tell them that I'm doing fine,
Or I'll write a tipsy letter
To a real good friend of mine,
Or I'll jump upon the bed
Waltzing madly with the broomstick
But before I leave the house
I will paint my lips with lipstick?
But peddling is a dirty sport
There's competition in the city,
Everyone is on a street corner
All mysterious and giddy.
Some are selling bags and shoes,
Some are selling books and gold,
I've been standing here for days
Not one butterfly's been sold?
And how I'm
Aching to pupate
Aching to pup-p-p-pate
(repeats 4x)
Pu-pu-pate, pupate,
Pupate, pu-pu-pate, pu pa-ate.
Lyrics submitted by tasteslikeG0LD, edited by Justintp89
Aching to Pupate Lyrics as written by Regina Spektor
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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to me, as a angsty teenager, this song is about a girl who is going through adolescense and is herself, her joyful happy self who enjoys life. such lines as
"or i'll jump on the bed waltzing madly with the broomstick but before i leave the house i will fill my lips with lipstick"
and
"i'll stand on a street corner all mysterious and giddy"
suggest that to me.
but then:
"but peddling is a dirty sport lots of competition in the city everyone is on a street corner all mysterious and giddy"
there are other girls. this girl wants to receive attention and admiration, for the beauty of herself she is discovering. (the butterflies she is selling)
"some are selling bags and shoes some are selling books and gold i've been standing here for days not one butterfly's been sold"
the problem is, these other girls have things that people want, that people will give attention to. "bags and shoes, books and gold"
and she wants attention and love, a lot: "and how i'm aching to pupate"
so, basically, regina is singing about me.
i just see this as funny narrative song. just random, and cute. "i will fill my lips with lipstick!"
Working on a butterfly farm is so Regina.
i think its about how people no longer pay attention to inner beauty, like the butterfly inside her coat...
I think that it's about a girl going through puberty, and how all the other girls are pretty but she's not. So she's aching to pupate in the way that she wants to sleep and then wake up an adult. She wants to skip the akward phase and she just wants to change.
Obviously? Ugly Hooker? I can understand how you would come to that conclusion, but I don't think that's what the song is about...To me it's just really fun imagery about selling butterflies, and about waiting to get through puberty...To finally transform! I am kind of reminded in the rose petal scene in American Beauty: A girl opens up her trenchcoat and a flood of beautiful butterfiles fly out...Cool...It's also sad, beacuse no one wants to buy butterflies, they don't mind matericalistic things like bags and shoes, but no one wants a peice of real beauty...sigh...
butterflies pupate when they turn from caterpillars to their butteryfly form. def. to go through a pupal stage (The nonfeeding stage between the larva and adult in the metamorphosis of holometabolous insects, during which the larva typically undergoes complete transformation within a protective cocoon or hardened case).
Of course, this is symbolic of her longing to change...
i read that she wrote this while working on a butterfly farm.
Ooooh, I love this song. It's like she just picked up a book on butterflies and was like "Hey...that word is cool." =]
this song is so pretty, but it makes me sad, how she was so excited about her beautiful idea to brighten up and beautify the city and then no one wants to buy the butterflies and how disappointing that must be.
and her want to transform into something beautiful as well is so pretty, ahhhh! i just cant get enough of this song.