was it a broken arm or collar bone
it depended on the week
and me with my black eyes
stitched from head to feet
uncomfortably happy
all skinned knees and gapped teeth

all the summers with the speak-n-spell
trying to make the robot cuss
if mother knew the words
we used while she worked
she would be fuming
cuz that's not how she raised me

and when you taped over
a good half of the wedding tape
i bet you never thought thundercats
would ever make you cry
you sat in disbelief
as lionel made plans to
slay the whole wedding party
they're discodancing to their deaths
oh, ma, you just don't know it yet

and all the hand-me-downs stuck to me
from all the blood i couldn't keep
oh, such a likely scene
10-year-old body
face down on rosall street
my bike passed out on top of me

remember how i swore i would
pass you up in age
you just scoffed at me
well i'm still gonna do it
just haven't quite figured out how yet

we cornered teddy ruxpin
smashed his story tape
and put guns n roses in
and watched him sing along to
appetite for destruction
yeah, he knew every word
i'm dying in the hallway
oh john you gotta turn it off

and when you taped over
a good half of the wedding tape
i know you never thought thundercats
would ever be the end
you sat in disbelief
as lionel made plans to
slay the whole wedding party
oh john you gotta turn it off


Lyrics submitted by zoeyzoeyzoeyzo

Skinned Knees & Gapped Teeth song meanings
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7 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    its lion-o, not lionel.

    lion-o, like the thundercats, not lionel, like the richie.

    adamantseve2on August 16, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    "Was it a broken arm or collar bone it depended on the week and me with my black eyes stitched from head to feet uncomfortably happy all skinned knees and gapped teeth"

    That paragraph symbolizes the simplicity of childhood. At that time of your life, You really didn't give a damn what happend to you.

    You knew nothying of death or what happens or could happen to you.

    The damage that he describes shows that no matter how bady he got hurt, he just kept going and having fun.

    kilo_fireshardon May 26, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I love how every one of this bands best songs are the least discussed.

    thedeadwalk138on January 20, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Ahhh, this song is so clever. I'm pretty sure it's about childhood memories. The song writter must have gotten hurt alot as a kid, and his brother (John?) probably got in trouble or was the ring leader of all these adventures. I think my favorite part is about Teddy Ruxpin because that thing used to scare the shit out of me. I also think the Tundercats part is pretty clever because the first couple of times I heard it, it sounded like his wife messed up the wedding tape. If you listen closer you relize it was John, his brother?, messing up their parents wedding tape.

    zbuton March 05, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Hey 'zbut', John is Ian's brother. Good analysis.

    makemegoldagainon November 08, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    what a brilliant song, a brilliant look back at childhood memories with your siblings, it's beautiful.

    but i think it's his older brother cos my favourite bit, the:

    'remember how i swore i would pass you up in age you just scoffed at me well i'm still gonna do it just haven't quite figured out how yet'

    is the kind of thing i'd have with my sister, where age is power, being older gave you the upper hand, the first toys - not hand-me-downs - and yet that would be the only thing you can't change.

    heyjuderefrainon August 19, 2008   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion

    This is one of my all time favorite DATH songs. And when I first heard it the first thing that came to my mind was it was just him telling about his childhood. And about how everyone's childhood is, how it's all about being reckless and not giving a damn what happens to you or anyone one else. Of course all this has already been stated. I'm just glad I wasn't alone in thinking that this is what it was about.

    YesYesMaybeYeson July 18, 2009   Link

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