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.
Jumping up and down the floor
My head is an animal
And once there was an animal
It had a son that mowed the lawn
The son was an OK guy
They had a pet dragonfly
The dragonfly it ran away
But it came back with a story to say
Her dirty paws and furry coat
She ran down the forest slope
The forest of talking trees
They used to sing about the birds and the bees
The bees had declared a war
The sky wasn't big enough for them all
The birds, they got help from below
From dirty paws and the creatures of snow
La la la
La la la la
La la la
La la la la
So for a while, things were cold
They were scared down in their holes
The forest that once was green
Was colored black by those killing machines
But she and her furry friends
Took down the queen bee and her men
And that's how the story goes
The story of the beast with those four dirty paws
La la la
La la la la
La la la
La la la la
La la la
La la la la
La la la
La la la la
My head is an animal
And once there was an animal
It had a son that mowed the lawn
The son was an OK guy
They had a pet dragonfly
The dragonfly it ran away
But it came back with a story to say
Her dirty paws and furry coat
She ran down the forest slope
The forest of talking trees
They used to sing about the birds and the bees
The bees had declared a war
The sky wasn't big enough for them all
The birds, they got help from below
From dirty paws and the creatures of snow
La la la
La la la la
La la la
La la la la
So for a while, things were cold
They were scared down in their holes
The forest that once was green
Was colored black by those killing machines
But she and her furry friends
Took down the queen bee and her men
And that's how the story goes
The story of the beast with those four dirty paws
La la la
La la la la
La la la
La la la la
La la la
La la la la
La la la
La la la la
Lyrics submitted by Macuahuitl
Dirty Paws Lyrics as written by Nanna Bryndis Hilmarsdottir Arni Gudjonsson
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is my opinion but after listening to and reading the lyrics very closely I can safely say this is not about WWII. This song is most certainly about war, possibly one that occurred in Iceland (where the band is from) [Note: I have little knowledge of Icelandic History] or just in general.
To return to WWII the song states that "Dirty Paws" (The title character), the creatures of snow, and the Birds killed the "queen bee and all her men". This is problematic for the WWII interpretation as the allies did not kill Adolf Hitler but rather he committed suicide. To further this thought: Iceland was neutral in WWII and actually protested against the British invading their territories.
I think the most logical answer is that this is a simple story of the Bees declaring an unnecessary war and the friendship of the birds, the creatures of snow, and Dirty Paws battling with and ultimately winning against the Queen Bee and her men. Oh and of course the lovely intro about a Man/Woman and his/her son's dragonfly telling the story.
@jomo_1986 NOT WWII, you sure?