Gigantic

According to Deal, the main inspiration for the song was the film Crimes of the Heart, in which a married woman falls in love with a black teenager[2] and the song "Gigantic" is credited to Mrs John Murphy (Kim Deal's pseudonym at the time of Come On Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa and an ironic feminist joke). so yeah

this song is about how taboo were black and white love and sex in the 1950s...i saw it in an interview of pixies on youtube ..here is the link :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ywtZspXUjR8

that bassline at the beginning gets me everytime, especially in the live version. my favourite pixies song

This song is about the big, black cock. Kim is singing in 3rd person about her need for the BBC.

OK, to deny the interracial sexual element of this song you would have to be either willfully dense or hopelessly oblivious yet i believe as with many pixies songs there exists a metaphysical interpretation underlying the surface. Let's imagine that the woman narrating is speaking of her feelings for Paul as a spiritual manifestation of the love of god and naturally comparing Paul's physical characteristics to her preconceived notion of god's appearance. The opening line, "And this I know: His teeth as white as snow" sounds like a declaration of faith using a simile that contains divine symbology. The color white being symbolic of light and purity and the comparison with snow which falls from the heavens. The heavens being the mythological dwelling place for most deities.

The next line, "What a gas it was to see him" can be seen as an expression of exuberant joy at the thought of being in the presence of your creator in addition to being a metaphor for the energy such a force would emanate. The following line, "Walk her every day into a shady place" I think suggests that contrary to conventional wisdom god may not always have the best intentions and in reality does have a dark side so even though this entity provides this amazing illumination it is still capable of leading some souls into shady places. The pre chorus line, With her lips she said, "Hey, Paul, hey Paul, hey Paul Let's have a ball" reveals both the humorous irony of this song and the desired outcome of this supernatural relationship. The irony residing in the meaning of the name Paul which is of latin origin and is defined as, "small; humble" if that wasn't intended, excuse the pun but it's one gigantic coincidence.

Now, the let's have a ball line is of course a metaphor for having a good time but in the metaphysical context a ball is explained as an spherical celestial body. So, having a ball could be akin to having a world which is what two people in a relationship would be sharing or in relation to god it could be said that one experiences god through this world. At this point, the remaining lyrics I haven't expounded upon shouldn't be that HARD to attribute DEEPER meaning to within the spiritual context theorized throughout. The idea of god is gigantic, the existence of such a being powerful enough to have created the known universe and all life made from it is a gigantic concept.

I consider "Divine Hammer" to be a sexual/spiritual sequel of sorts to "Gigantic" in a way. Hopefully, I'm not the only one who sees it from this vantage point. If anybody else does please let your thoughts be known. Oh, just to clarify I'm agnostic leaning towards atheist but even in the absence of faith god is a fascinating idea to ponder.

R.I.P. Morgan Freeman and may black Jesus return in 2012! ;)

kim deal said in an interview that is was about a white girl in the 1950s dating a black guy which was frowned upon back then, and all the people that ridiculed them

this song is a bit racist. What are we all just animals with big equipment?

yeah theres nothing racist to it. Its just about a white girl and a black guy. and she obviously wants him stated by the chorus. yep and then i guess we all got the whole Gigantic about his cock and shit. not really a lesson or anything to be learned from it. it is awesome though, and surfer rosa kicks ass.

I'm so sick of closed minded people saying that every piece of art or entertainment that has a subject matter of or includes in some fashion race and ethnics is racist. I just want to punch those people. You are not helping anything or anybody, assholes. You are pushing all of impressionable society back to ignorance. And furthermore art or entertainment that addresses common stereotypes of certain races is not racist either. It's motherfuckin statistics. Its facts. It doesn't single anyone out. Why don't you get over your own fear and actually listen to what is being said.

Considering Charles Thompson the III had a penchant for writing songs with ethnocentric caricatures: fumanchus, mexican maids, cholitas with tattooed tits, means this song probably IS about a white or lighter-skinned /lighter-caste girl wanting to get fucked by a big black stud. Whether or not you read this song as being about liberation in the same way Hanoi Jane is being liberated by those hot black panthers in Sonic Youth's cool thing or whether you think Black Francis is just another privelaged white crooner in the long standing tradition of Minstrelsy we call Rock and Roll is totally up to you. I love the pixies for their atmospheric pandering, but I don't see myself seeking spiritual or moral guidance anytime soon from some round-limbed, screeching man-child.