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.
Neath the bougie a thimble rigger slyly rolls the pea
Bye the bye the bye the bye
Red is patchy snows the silver
Bye the bye the bye the bye
Can't turn from a crotch in the darkness
To turn to the valley of a king
Ja-da ja-da ja-da ja-da jing jing jing
Wrapped in blankets then in blankets
Hear the germs pinging on the night wind
Cross the west coast to the west coast to the west coast
The angelus begins
Eye for hand dye why-et eye bye-t
The negro come on sucker
Anthrax jesus sack of the-be
Shawl for he-be
No bye the bye pulling out won't be slow sorry baby be
The needles another night I gotta pull muffle
Bye no bye the bye by the bye no bye the bye
Neath the bougie a thimble rigger slyly rolls the pea
Bye the bye the bye the bye
Red is patchy snows the silver
Bye the bye the bye the bye
Don't think it hasn't been fun because it hasn't
Donje is Donje in the spring
Ja-da ja-da ja-da ja-da jing jing jing
Hear the blankets! Here come the blankets!
They plunge like rays snapping down the night wind
Cross the east coast to the east coast
Scratch the air and blue burn
The angelus begins
Pulling out won't be slow sorry baby staple
Jesus dreamed he mammoth gathered ye-t bye
The bye no bye the bye scaling comes scaling comes red is patchy
Snows the silver an other night gotta pull muffle
Bye no bye the bye bye the bye no bye the bye
Bye the bye the bye the bye
Red is patchy snows the silver
Bye the bye the bye the bye
Can't turn from a crotch in the darkness
To turn to the valley of a king
Ja-da ja-da ja-da ja-da jing jing jing
Wrapped in blankets then in blankets
Hear the germs pinging on the night wind
Cross the west coast to the west coast to the west coast
The angelus begins
Eye for hand dye why-et eye bye-t
The negro come on sucker
Anthrax jesus sack of the-be
Shawl for he-be
No bye the bye pulling out won't be slow sorry baby be
The needles another night I gotta pull muffle
Bye no bye the bye by the bye no bye the bye
Neath the bougie a thimble rigger slyly rolls the pea
Bye the bye the bye the bye
Red is patchy snows the silver
Bye the bye the bye the bye
Don't think it hasn't been fun because it hasn't
Donje is Donje in the spring
Ja-da ja-da ja-da ja-da jing jing jing
Hear the blankets! Here come the blankets!
They plunge like rays snapping down the night wind
Cross the east coast to the east coast
Scratch the air and blue burn
The angelus begins
Pulling out won't be slow sorry baby staple
Jesus dreamed he mammoth gathered ye-t bye
The bye no bye the bye scaling comes scaling comes red is patchy
Snows the silver an other night gotta pull muffle
Bye no bye the bye bye the bye no bye the bye
Lyrics submitted by oswaldtherabbit
Psoriatic Lyrics as written by Scott Engel Bob Carleton
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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"Bougie": a slender, flexible instrument introduced into passages of the body, esp. the urethra, for dilating, examining, medicating, etc. "Thimble Rigger": A person who controls the game of thimble rigging, in which he/she hides a small object underneath one of three nutshells, thimbles, or cups, then shuffles them about on a flat surface while spectators try to guess the final location of the object.
"Ja-da ja-da ja-da ja-da jing jing jing": Possibly a reference to an old 1919 Arthur Fields song. He also was one of the few white artists to work with black artists of this time period. He also served in World War I.
"Wrapped in blankets then in blankets Hear the germs pinging on the night wind Cross the west coast to the west coast to the west coast The angelus begins" - I think that this is referring to someone being in a trench in World War I. Although it could have multiple meanings, the reason I see this is the line "Hear the germs pinging on the night wind". Notice how germs could also mean 'Germans' in this situation, 'Pinging" meaning the sound of gunshots.
And I've always heard "angelus" and "anschluss", which was Germany's unification with Austria in the inter-war years. Could be deliberate?
The scraping sounds = the cups being moved by the thimble rigger, but massive
A "bougie" also means a candle, from the french "bougie". I think this definition makes more sense in the context of the song.
There are several clear references to psoriasis (it's in the name so...): "scaling comes scaling comes red is patchy Snows the silver".
There are several villages named "Donje" in the Balkans and in India too. The previous song on the record, "Buzzers", also contains references to the Balkans. It's something I've noticed in several Scott Walker songs : see The Cockfighter followed by Bouncer See Bouncer on Tilt and their shared Holocaust references.
The "Angelus" is the prayer for the angel Gabriel who's come to announce to Mary that she would conceive the Son of God . The Angelus bell rings to mark the time of the prayer at 6 am, noon and 6 pm.
Still don't know what to make of this song despite these explanations...