He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
All down the street they're standin' in line
With white lipstick and one thing on their minds
Hey little freak with the lunch pail purse
Underneath the paint you're just a little girl
Dancin' at the Zombie Zoo,
Dancin' at the Zombie Zoo
Painted in a corner and all you wanna do
Is dance down at the Zombie Zoo
Cute little dropout, how come you pack a rod
Is your mother in a clinic? Has your father got no job?
Sometimes you're so impulsive, you shaved off all your hair
You look like Boris Karloff and you don't even care
You're dancin' at the Zombie Zoo,
Dancin' at the Zombie Zoo
Painted in a corner and all you wanna do
Is dance down at the Zombie Zoo
She disappears at sunrise,
I wonder where she goes until the night
Comes fallin' down again
You show up with your friends, half-alive
Dancin' at the Zombie Zoo,
Dancin' at the Zombie Zoo
Well, you can make a big impression or go through life unseen
You might wind up restricted and over seventeen
It's so hard to be careful, so easy to be led
Somewhere beyond the pavement
You'll find the living dead.
Dancin' at the Zombie Zoo,
Dancin' at the Zombie Zoo
Painted in a corner and all she wants to do
Is dance down at the Zombie Zoo
She disappears at sunrise,
I don't know where she goes until the night
Comes fallin' down again
She shows up with her friends, half-alive
Dancin' at the Zombie Zoo,
Dancin' at the Zombie Zoo
Painted in a corner and all you wanna do
Is dance down at the Zombie Zoo
Yeah dance down at the Zombie Zoo
Yeah get down at the Zombie Zoo
With white lipstick and one thing on their minds
Hey little freak with the lunch pail purse
Underneath the paint you're just a little girl
Dancin' at the Zombie Zoo,
Dancin' at the Zombie Zoo
Painted in a corner and all you wanna do
Is dance down at the Zombie Zoo
Cute little dropout, how come you pack a rod
Is your mother in a clinic? Has your father got no job?
Sometimes you're so impulsive, you shaved off all your hair
You look like Boris Karloff and you don't even care
You're dancin' at the Zombie Zoo,
Dancin' at the Zombie Zoo
Painted in a corner and all you wanna do
Is dance down at the Zombie Zoo
She disappears at sunrise,
I wonder where she goes until the night
Comes fallin' down again
You show up with your friends, half-alive
Dancin' at the Zombie Zoo,
Dancin' at the Zombie Zoo
Well, you can make a big impression or go through life unseen
You might wind up restricted and over seventeen
It's so hard to be careful, so easy to be led
Somewhere beyond the pavement
You'll find the living dead.
Dancin' at the Zombie Zoo,
Dancin' at the Zombie Zoo
Painted in a corner and all she wants to do
Is dance down at the Zombie Zoo
She disappears at sunrise,
I don't know where she goes until the night
Comes fallin' down again
She shows up with her friends, half-alive
Dancin' at the Zombie Zoo,
Dancin' at the Zombie Zoo
Painted in a corner and all you wanna do
Is dance down at the Zombie Zoo
Yeah dance down at the Zombie Zoo
Yeah get down at the Zombie Zoo
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More Featured Meanings
Corpse I Fell In Love With
Gadjits, The
Gadjits, The
Battle Royale
Word Alive, The
Word Alive, The
This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Techno Ted
Audioslave
Audioslave
Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
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.
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
I loved this song when I was a kid. I was starting to discover good music it's about sub-culture freaks.
He should have wrote a song about brahs but they didn't exist yet. The brah emerged with The Phish.