Dark alley (dark alley) black star
Four turkeys in a big black car
The road is shiny (bright shine) the wheels slide
Four turkeys going for a dangerous ride
The lacquer crackles (black tar) the engines roar
A ship was turning broadside to the shore
Splish splash I was raking in the cash
The biology of purpose keeps my nose above the surface (OOH)
King's lead hat put the innocence inside her, it will come, it will come, it will surely come
King's lead hat was a mother to desire, it will come, it will come, it will surely come
In New Delhi (smelly Delhi) and Hong Kong
They all know that it won't be long
I count my fingers (digit counter) as night falls
And draw bananas on the bathroom walls
The killer cycles (humdrum) the killer hertz
The passage of my life is measured out in shirts
Time and motion (motion carried) time and tide
All I know and all I have is time and time and tide is on my side
King's lead hat put the poker in the fire, it will come, it will come, it will surely come
King's lead hat was a mother to desire, it will come, it will come, it will surely come
The weapon's ready (ready Freddy) the guns purr
The satellite distorts his voice to a slur
He gives orders (finger pie) which no one hears
The king's hat fits over their ears
He takes his modicate (indecipherable) cold turpentine
He tries to dial out 999999999
He dials reception (moving finger) he's all alone
He's just a victim of the telephone
King's lead hat made the Amazon much wider, it will come, it will come, it will surely come
King's lead hat put the poker in the fire, it will come, it will come, it will surely come
King's lead hat was a mother to desire, it will come, it will come, it will surely come
King's lead hat put the innocence inside her, it will come, it will come, it will surely come
King's lead hat was a hammer to desire, it will come, it will come, it will surely come.


Lyrics submitted by _dandy

King's Lead Hat Lyrics as written by Brian Eno

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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King's Lead Hat song meanings
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    General Comment

    I'm pretty surprised no-one has pointed out the saliently sexual nature of most of these lyrics; I'm not the kind of guy that reads sex and drugs into most lyrics, but here, the double-entendres come thick and fast ;)

    E.g. "the biology of purpose", the repetition of "it will come", "put the innocence [i.e. a baby] inside her", "put the poker in the fire" etc.

    In fact, part of me wants to interpret the phrase 'king's lead hat' as a sort of futuristic metal condom. Of course, the whole song is probably just an Eno-esque joke, instigated by forming an anagram of 'Talking Heads' and then making a nonsense song out of whatever resulted. He's probably got other songs in the vaults, along the lines of "Stagehand Ilk", "Head Stalking", and "Death's Laking".

    as2191on August 16, 2013   Link

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