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.
Peek-a-boo!
I can see you
And I know what you do
So put your hands on your face
And cover up your eyes
Don't look until I signal
Peek-a-boo! peek-a-boo! peek-a-boo!
The way that we weren't is what we'll become
So please pay attention while I show you some
Of what's about to happen
Peek-a-boo!
I know what you do
Cause I do it too
Laugh if you want to or say you don't care
If you cannot see it you think it's not there
It doesn't work that way
I can see you
And I know what you do
So put your hands on your face
And cover up your eyes
Don't look until I signal
Peek-a-boo! peek-a-boo! peek-a-boo!
The way that we weren't is what we'll become
So please pay attention while I show you some
Of what's about to happen
Peek-a-boo!
I know what you do
Cause I do it too
Laugh if you want to or say you don't care
If you cannot see it you think it's not there
It doesn't work that way
Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery
Peek a Boo Lyrics as written by Mark Allen Mothersbaugh Gerald Casale
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Word Collections Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Amazing
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Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
The Line "if you cannot see it you think it's not there - it doesn't work that way" is a reference to the game "Peak-A-Boo". It had been said that babies think that when they can't see you, you no longer exist.
"Peek-a Boo! was a song about Devo's circus-like look and the dark side of human nature, the side we try to keep secret, the side we try to deny, in this Christian world where we're only supposed to have happy endings and only supposed to be good, and instead Devo is dealing with what evil is here in a very light-hearted manner."
-Gerald Casale, DEVO's bassist.
Basically it's someone looking into a mirror & trying to hide from their own dark side. No matter how they try to pretend it doesn't exist we all have to face it at one point or another. Some of us are just better at accepting & coping with it than others.
Well, this is a different take on things. I believe it to be about people who think they can get away with everything, or at least cut corners and cheat when it suits them. However, that kind of thing can never work forever. For example, in the video they show a guy on an old exercising machine while drinking a milkshake. They're implying that cheating on a diet won't help you lose weight. Rationalizing doing the wrong thing is a very deevolved thing. The devil clowns with the pills swirling around them is actually from a Spanish public service announcement in the early 1980's that tries to equate using illegal drugs with evil. Here they're using it to equate doing bad things with evil. (As they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.) The underlying message is this: instead of doing wrong, do right. One of the biggest lies then (and it's only gotten worse) that we teach people is that it's okay to break the rules as long as you're not caught.
I know that it's about looking in a mirror and seeing your own darkness, when I was a kid, I was convinced it was about advertising. Subliminal messages from large corporations feeding your mind with "wants and needs" . Spoon fed like a child, because you have no original thoughts. Seems even more rational now with cellphone tech and AI feeding you adds.
my take on it is it's about electronic surveillance and the attitudes/thinking that goes along with it.
or it could be simply be refering to how people avoid varrious problems
The problem with DEVO is that some of their songs are completely reliant on the video to infer any meaning from it. I think this song is a post-modern version of Plato's cave. The images that come on the screen are distractions from the lyrics themselves.
I think the Billy Idol looking clown thing, was a representation of aimless fashion rebellion, that never goes anywhere and doesn't help the music only distracts from it.
I totally agree with fractured sanity on this one. I was just listening to it and I remembered that DEVO actually makes social commentary with their songs, so it couldn't possibly be about the "game" of Peekaboo!
Anyway I came here to write about it but fractured sanity has it covered.