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Take The Skinheads Bowling Lyrics
Every day, I get up and pray to Jah
And he decreases the number of clocks by exactly one
Everybody's comin' home for lunch these days
Last night there were skinheads on my lawn
Take the skinheads bowling
Take them bowling
Take the skinheads bowling
Take them bowling
Some people say that bowling alleys got big lanes
Some people say that bowling alleys all look the same
There's not a line that goes here that rhymes with anything
I has a dream last night, but I forget what it was
I had a dream last night about you, my friend
I had a dream--I wanted to sleep next to plastic
I had a dream--I wanted to lick your knees
I had a dream--it was about nothing
And he decreases the number of clocks by exactly one
Everybody's comin' home for lunch these days
Last night there were skinheads on my lawn
Take the skinheads bowling
Take them bowling
Take the skinheads bowling
Take them bowling
Some people say that bowling alleys got big lanes
Some people say that bowling alleys all look the same
There's not a line that goes here that rhymes with anything
I has a dream last night, but I forget what it was
I had a dream last night about you, my friend
I had a dream--I wanted to sleep next to plastic
I had a dream--I wanted to lick your knees
I had a dream--it was about nothing
Song Info
Submitted by
stubenedict On Jun 06, 2002
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i agree, take your local skinhead bowling. it's fun!!!
Keep in mind this tune came out before Skinheads were racist, and at the time were just a subculture of Punk, with emphasis on the Working Class.
Back then there were Hispanic Skins, Black Skins, Eastern European Skins and Asian Skins.
BUT this song is basically about taking Skinheads bowling. Nothing more. Dave Lowery is a genius and a dadaist.
Sorry, but that's wrong. Most skinheads at the time of this song were all about white power. There were of course a few who adopted the skinhead look that weren't racist, and some even took on the style in an attempt to defuse the stereotype, but since it was so ingrained (started out in the 70s), the connotation couldn't be lost.
Sorry, but that's wrong. Most skinheads at the time of this song were all about white power. There were of course a few who adopted the skinhead look that weren't racist, and some even took on the style in an attempt to defuse the stereotype, but since it was so ingrained (started out in the 70s), the connotation couldn't be lost.
Well, by its release in 1985 the term skinhead was more associated with Right Wing racist groups here in England (where the skinhead racism scene originated), but the skinhead look and culture did come from the ska/raggae scene in England. Carribean immigrants working alongside white lads shared their music with them and thats where skinheads came from, it was the extreme opposite of racism and was a multi-cultured and friendly scene, the previous reply is wrong to state that right wingers had it first, it was the racist dickheads who stole the look from the ska crowd. Watch 'This...
Well, by its release in 1985 the term skinhead was more associated with Right Wing racist groups here in England (where the skinhead racism scene originated), but the skinhead look and culture did come from the ska/raggae scene in England. Carribean immigrants working alongside white lads shared their music with them and thats where skinheads came from, it was the extreme opposite of racism and was a multi-cultured and friendly scene, the previous reply is wrong to state that right wingers had it first, it was the racist dickheads who stole the look from the ska crowd. Watch 'This is England' if you're interested.
That may be true, C3llarD00r, but but my point was that this song, at the time of its recording, was most likely referring to contemporaneous (and bigoted) North American skinheads. Which is partly where the song's humor lies.
That may be true, C3llarD00r, but but my point was that this song, at the time of its recording, was most likely referring to contemporaneous (and bigoted) North American skinheads. Which is partly where the song's humor lies.
Maybe it's just where I lived, but being a skinhead back then meant being racist. It wasn't until the late 80s, early 90's that I met skins that were anti-racism...
Maybe it's just where I lived, but being a skinhead back then meant being racist. It wasn't until the late 80s, early 90's that I met skins that were anti-racism...
I thought the meaning of this song was VERY obvious. I thought everyone knew it was about using a skinhead's head as a bowling ball! Great song! I like how they use it in Bowling for Columbine.
Right, well do you think Michael Moore used it in Bowling for Columbine because he wanted to remove people's heads and use them for bowling? Or maybe, do you think the song is about taking aggressive people and giving them something to do -- something innocent and absurd rather than harmful and serious.
Right, well do you think Michael Moore used it in Bowling for Columbine because he wanted to remove people's heads and use them for bowling? Or maybe, do you think the song is about taking aggressive people and giving them something to do -- something innocent and absurd rather than harmful and serious.
@teenymarie I think @Bootcut is right. I was in my early 20s and living in the SF bay area at the time. My impression of skinheads was that they were kind of angry, uneducated and dangerous, and also that their chosen style was kind of a throwback to pre-hippie days. So an old-school form of recreation like bowling seems like a good bet for something that might appeal to them. So when a bunch of skinheads show up at your house, what do you do?
@teenymarie I think @Bootcut is right. I was in my early 20s and living in the SF bay area at the time. My impression of skinheads was that they were kind of angry, uneducated and dangerous, and also that their chosen style was kind of a throwback to pre-hippie days. So an old-school form of recreation like bowling seems like a good bet for something that might appeal to them. So when a bunch of skinheads show up at your house, what do you do?
(a) Run away and hope they don't catch you? Or... (b) Try to fight them and...
(a) Run away and hope they don't catch you? Or... (b) Try to fight them and probably get badly beaten? Or... (c) Take The Skinheads Bowling!
The answer is obviously (c). What a good idea! CVB are geniuses!
It has also been suggested that the central image of the song is the superficial resemblance between a skinhead's head and a bowling ball. That may be true.
But David Lowery says the song was deliberately nonsensical, i.e. deliberately devoid of meaning. I think we have to take his word for that.
This song for me is a general poke at racism and the white middle classes. The first verse is about the futility of religion and says that life continues in a kind of mundane way anyway. It also hints at the paranoia and complacency of suburbia.
The second verse is about racial stereotypes.
The last verse is a reference to Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' speech and bemoans how diluted the message has become.
skinheads need love and friends just like everybody else, then maybe they can stop being dorks.
I have fond memories of this being on a mix tape my hip college-age cousin sent me when I was around 12 or 13. So around the time my favorite songs were \"The Sign\" by Ace Of Base and... this. Heh.
As the liner notes to the Cigarettes And Carrot Juice box set point out, a skinhead\'s head looks like a bowling ball. So yeah, there\'s that.
During the 1980's it was common for Community Groups to organize bowling teams of trouble youth and the intellectually disabled. Camper Van is probably relating skinheads to both. It was believed that troubled people had little access to good influence, a decent friends network and lived daily with derelict parents and families. Bowling was quite popular at the time and it was easy to reserve lanes for groups and organizations. What I'm trying to figure out is what Jah (John) has to do with clocks.... or if 'sleeping next to plastic' is a metaphor?
im not sure this song means anything it has a subtle inclinations to suggest peace and tolerance, but other than that it seems completely random
Lighten up! Life is but a dream!
Sometimes, ya just gotta let it all go.....
I've sort of conjured up some sort of meaning, except it's really hazy and weird in places, and everyone probably assumed what I'm gonna say.
The narratorish guy is something of a mean guy, praying that certain people die. He sympathizes with the Skinheads (most likely implying the racist neo-Nazis), seeing that they're not accepted (they have to come out at night because everyone's out in the day), and he goes out bowling with them. Once they're there, there are several stereotypes/racist remarks about bowling lanes (all look the same, got big lanes), which is a pretty funny metaphor itself. Later, he has a dream in which he's in bed with a person in some ultimate race (plastic meaning apparent perfection in people-- big stretch, I know), and then says that the "you" is really nothing, it's just the body with skin color/etc, nothing deeper... or something.
So yeah, I'm saying it's about getting pulled into racist philosophy and making fun of racism in essence.