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,
The cuckoo sleeps, hungry and wild and crawling
Through the storm that breaks
Clears away the vicious and violent heat
Breathe deep, breathe long and hard
Kiss and caress the hands that feed
Love me primitive, betray my lips
And the treacherous heart, the savage breed
Hollow eyes only cry hollow tears
And the tinselling flesh melts away
The scars and fears that the shameless years
Leave laughing and dancing
On a wasted and tattered dream
Cry hollow tears, stifle the tortured kiss and scream
Screaming in the darkness, torn and ravaged
Spinning round in circles
And in the crazy and the howl of the naked and savage
The cuckoo sleeps, hungry and wild and crawling
Through the storm that breaks
Clears away the vicious and violent heat
Breathe deep, breathe long and hard
Kiss and caress the hands that feed
Love me primitive, betray my lips
And the treacherous heart, the savage breed
Screaming in the darkness, torn and ravaged
Spinning round in circles
And in the crazy and the howl of the naked and savage
Tarnish, taint and punish me softly
Kiss the heavens where the angels tread
Love is the corpse that crawls on dreams
Rips them apart and tears them to shreds
Screaming in the darkness, torn and ravaged
Spinning round in circles
And in the crazy and the howl of the naked and savage
Savage, savage, savage, savage
Through the storm that breaks
Clears away the vicious and violent heat
Breathe deep, breathe long and hard
Kiss and caress the hands that feed
Love me primitive, betray my lips
And the treacherous heart, the savage breed
Hollow eyes only cry hollow tears
And the tinselling flesh melts away
The scars and fears that the shameless years
Leave laughing and dancing
On a wasted and tattered dream
Cry hollow tears, stifle the tortured kiss and scream
Screaming in the darkness, torn and ravaged
Spinning round in circles
And in the crazy and the howl of the naked and savage
The cuckoo sleeps, hungry and wild and crawling
Through the storm that breaks
Clears away the vicious and violent heat
Breathe deep, breathe long and hard
Kiss and caress the hands that feed
Love me primitive, betray my lips
And the treacherous heart, the savage breed
Screaming in the darkness, torn and ravaged
Spinning round in circles
And in the crazy and the howl of the naked and savage
Tarnish, taint and punish me softly
Kiss the heavens where the angels tread
Love is the corpse that crawls on dreams
Rips them apart and tears them to shreds
Screaming in the darkness, torn and ravaged
Spinning round in circles
And in the crazy and the howl of the naked and savage
Savage, savage, savage, savage
Lyrics submitted by [inactive account]
Naked and Savage Lyrics as written by Mick Brown Craig David Adams
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Gentle Hour
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I think it's about a loveless sexual encounter like a one night stand