Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
He materialized at the edge of my street,
In a big beater collar,
Never missed a beat,
I can you can say that's all where it began,
He seduced me on my way home from marching band,
It was 1991,
It was the summer of the purple man,
God only knows we didn't know we did,
You bet we played that card because we were just kids,
Re-educated while working on our tans,
He controlled us with a touch of his purple hand,
We we're falling one by one,
It was the summer of the purple man,
Suddenly the universe was out of whack,
And once you go there,
You can't come back,
And daddy look at you he's gonna have a heart attack,
"Commence conscription," he said,
"When I get my hands on that mother fucker,
Gonna put his purple ass in the ground,
And weight the fucker,
I'll tear him limb from limb on a torture rack,"
The afternoons were spent in nap,
The nights were sitting on his lap,
Feeding him purple beans out of a can,
Everything went according to his plan,
It was the last time I had fun,
Yeah, it was the summer of the purple man,
Spilling our seeds into the serpent's garden,
Our young love muscles began to harden,
That's when mother copped and begged our pardon.
Cleared her throat and she said,
"You're such a good little boy,
And you always want to please us,
Surely we can fix this with a little more Jesus,
And pray and pray that purple gay away,"
Hey Nancy boys this ones for you,
And the big pink bow from the gum you chew,
It's such a hoot watching what you turned into,
As the days fly pass,
We'll stand aghast,
Trapping you in a social impasse,
Run out the door just as fast as you can,
And try to go back to the summer of the purple man,
In a big beater collar,
Never missed a beat,
I can you can say that's all where it began,
He seduced me on my way home from marching band,
It was 1991,
It was the summer of the purple man,
God only knows we didn't know we did,
You bet we played that card because we were just kids,
Re-educated while working on our tans,
He controlled us with a touch of his purple hand,
We we're falling one by one,
It was the summer of the purple man,
Suddenly the universe was out of whack,
And once you go there,
You can't come back,
And daddy look at you he's gonna have a heart attack,
"Commence conscription," he said,
"When I get my hands on that mother fucker,
Gonna put his purple ass in the ground,
And weight the fucker,
I'll tear him limb from limb on a torture rack,"
The afternoons were spent in nap,
The nights were sitting on his lap,
Feeding him purple beans out of a can,
Everything went according to his plan,
It was the last time I had fun,
Yeah, it was the summer of the purple man,
Spilling our seeds into the serpent's garden,
Our young love muscles began to harden,
That's when mother copped and begged our pardon.
Cleared her throat and she said,
"You're such a good little boy,
And you always want to please us,
Surely we can fix this with a little more Jesus,
And pray and pray that purple gay away,"
Hey Nancy boys this ones for you,
And the big pink bow from the gum you chew,
It's such a hoot watching what you turned into,
As the days fly pass,
We'll stand aghast,
Trapping you in a social impasse,
Run out the door just as fast as you can,
And try to go back to the summer of the purple man,
Lyrics submitted by hornytheclown
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Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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"The closing track on Moving Through Security is "Summer of the Purple Man". This song tells a story. Takes us back to that summer after graduating from high school, the summer where the rest of our life is now ripe for the taking. What better time to be recruited by a large purple man to join his harem of young boys?? That's what we're saying. It's not a choice, no sir, that's why they need recruiters....to recruit you and bathe you in their perverse perversity. But what if one chooses to be recruited??? Did you ever think of that, you sanctimonious fuckwit??!!! This song has no agenda, it just paints a picture and tells a story. A story where innocence lost is the purple man's gain. And by the way kids, if your parents were always right, well then there would be no need for Evil Cowards, wouldn't you agree? Play this song for your parents on their way to church.....then pull out their chairs and cover them with feathers. Take a picture of it and put it on the internet."
-Evil Cowards