Give me a dollar or give me 50 cents
Let me take it back if that ain't what I meant
Give me a coat or give me a bite
Give me a light bulb and make sure it's bright
Give me the moon or give me everywhere
Give me some powder to spray up in the air

[Chorus]
Let me take my thoughts away to think about another day
Remembering the times I pray to help me deal with me
To be the dogman

Give me some attention lend me your ear
Give me what to do and get me out of here
Give me a book give me something to read
Give me a horse race and give me who's the lead

[Chorus]

All the sleeping never waking all the leaves in need of raking
All the business undertaking all my bones and muscles aching
Thoughts and mind are surely flaking over luncheons hands are shaking
Surety of no mistaking cars and horns and glass is breaking

Give me a color make it black or white
Give me a newspaper tell me if it's right
Give me a nail or give me a bat
Give me a skinny or give me a fat

[Chorus]


Lyrics submitted by jules4099

Dogman Lyrics as written by Jerry Wayne Gaskill Douglas Theodore Pinnick

Lyrics © Reservoir Media Management, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Dogman song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

10 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    Wow, hard to believe nobody has commented on this track yet. An amazing song, but I can't find a meaning in it anywhere. King's X is truly one of the most underrated, overlooked bands of all time.

    ElectricFuneral91on April 04, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i think this song is about being put down by society, the government, and the music industry, and i think the term dogman means like he is societys dog because he is not treated right and he is just trying to catch a break.. one of my alltime favorite songs

    shanetkoon January 13, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    That's an interesting thought, shanetko , but I think the song is more about simply swallowing what people, especially those in positions of authority, tell you without questioning what they say first. I think that the term "dogman", then, is a play on the word dogma, which in religious circles are beliefs that are held that do not come from the religion's primary sacred text, beliefs that are not to be doubted or disputed. A good example would be how many fundamentalist Christians believe that the King James translation of the Bible is the only translation that a person should read or that rock music is inherently sinful. I've been a Christian for nearly seventeen years and I have yet to find the verses in my Bible that say this.

    This album was released when the band members, particularly Pinnick and Gaskill, started questioning and distancing themselves from the idea of modern Christianity, which, I'm sad to say, offers more along the lines of pat answers than it does contemplative thought ("Give me a color, make it black or white/Give me a newspaper, tell me if it's right"), often turns a blind eye to its own shortcomings ("All the leaves in need of raking/All the business undertaking"), and is often more known for what it hates and opposes, than for what, or more properly Whom, it is supposed to love and esteem ("Give me some powder to spray up in the air").

    I think this is one of the band's best songs ever. Musically it has one of the best hard rock sounds I've heard and still sounds badass nearly fifteen years later. Lyrically it goes places few Christian bands ever have before or since (one notable exception being the under appreciated Five O'clock People). It's just too bad that King's X never really attained the commercial success that they deserved.

    Bryanthemuggleon January 20, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I am in love with this song.

    pusvomiton February 27, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    The term " Dogman " is well known in theological usage. It is used as an analogy to define and understand the difference between Man / Man created in God's image / and God.

    God is supernatural to man; He puts into man something man does not naturally have as the created animal developed through evolution...something supernatural. His Divine nature...man created in the image of God. For example: The ability or even desire to love your enemy.

    Dogman is a term describing taking a dog ( a non human ) and giving it human ability...hat would be supernatural to the dog. For example: A dog that can run 80 mph...that is natural...dogs can run...this is just an exception natural dog ability....now a dog that can talk that would be supernatural because dogs cannot naturally talk.

    So Dogman is reference to man trying to live up to the divine nature God put in us to rise above our animal nature and live and exist on a higher plane. Living out our higher self rather than our lower instinctual feral self.

    taoboyon February 16, 2014   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Remembering the times I pray To help me deal with me To be the Dogman

    "To help me deal with me".......man knowing a recognizing in himself what he thinks and does that is not according to the divine input God has put into every man since the beginning of man...No man does not know what God wants...a prayerful man tries to recognize where he misses the mark so to speak and ask for help beyond himself to do so because it is humanly impossible to live up to this divine gift. We ask for God to do it for us.

    So rather than hate ourselves we ask for understanding to help me deal with who we are and what we do that does not meet up to the divine encoding we cannot deny.....but we sure can rationalize really fast with all kinds of contorted "logic."

    taoboyon February 16, 2014   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Give me a dollar, or give me 50 cents Let me take it back if that ain't what I meant Give me a coat or give me a bite Give me a light bulb and make sure it's bright Give me the moon or give me everywhere' Give me some powder to spray up in the air

    We are beggars asking for help in our direction .....but asking for the correct direction ( make sure it's bright )

    Powder to spray up in the air.......air freshener......so much information out there really stinks.

    taoboyon February 16, 2014   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Give me some attention, lend me your ear Give me what to do and get me outta here Give me a book give me something to read Give me a horse race and give me who's the lead

    Asking for prayer to be heard......show me how to get to you ( GOD)...maybe in a book or someone to follow ( horse race...the one in the lead )

    taoboyon February 16, 2014   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    All the sleeping, never waking All the leaves in need of raking All the business undertaking All my bones and muscles aching Thoughts and mind are surely flaking Over luncheons hands are shaking Surety of no mistaking Cars and horns and Glasses breaking

    All the business of life...missing the whole reason for existence and our eternal goal.....all of the stuff that is temporary we make so important...and we are so sure of ourselves aren't we.

    taoboyon February 16, 2014   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Give me a color, make it black or white Give me a newspaper, tell me if it's right Give me a nail, or give me a bat Give me a skinny, or give me a fat

    Give me clear direction and confirmation of it.

    Nail...bat ...skinny...fat...???????????????????????????????????????????

    Nail....something to solidly hang something on ... or... be suffering ( nailed to a cross)

    A bat.... be the one causing the suffering???? something to fight your way through or tear down what is in your way?????????????????

    Skinny.....the inside truth ???????

    Fat...... rally cool or wealthy ??????

    taoboyon February 16, 2014   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him. There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve. The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future. Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere" The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Album art
When We Were Young
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Album art
Magical
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.