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Buzz Fledderjohn Lyrics

I stood on the roof, stood till dark
To get a better look at the Fledderjohns' lawn
Big sharp pistols, ammo too
Nothing but books about World War II
Rottweiler, Dobermann, a Pinkerton guard
I ain't allowed in Buzz Fledderjohn's yard

I ain't allowed
No, I ain't allowed
I said, I ain't allowed in Buzz Fledderjohn's yard

I seen a python swallowing a Dobermann whole
Piranhas swimming in a mixing bowl
Buzz Fledderjohn

Paper's full of stabbings, the sky's full of crows
She's singing in Italian while she's hanging out her clothes
Carp in the bathtub and it's raining real hard
I ain't allowed in Buzz Fledderjohn's yard

I said that I ain't allowed
No, I ain't allowed
No, I ain't allowed in Buzz Fledderjohn's yard

Well, the sailor's ringing doorbells, the sinner's in the pew
Weathervane's squeaking to the west
I seen the cliffs of Dover and the deepest ocean blue
One thing in the world I can't recommend to you

Because I ain't allowed
I said, I ain't allowed
No, I ain't allowed in Buzz Fledderjohn's yard

I said, I ain't allowed
No, I ain't allowed
I ain't allowed in Buzz Fledderjohn's yard

I ain't allowed
I ain't allowed
I said, I ain't allowed in Buzz Fledderjohn's yard
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Cover art for Buzz Fledderjohn lyrics by Tom Waits

No comments??? This is a wonderful song. This little kid has been told not to go in the neighbour's yard & now he's letting his imagination run riot. Or is he? You don't know for sure. "I seen a python swallowing a Doberman whole Piranhas swimming in a mixing bowl" Great stuff! And underneath the words is this creepy music with dogs howling. A favourite of mine.

@morbid morag Going by the last verse, I think he might be an adult looking back on what he's seen, and reflecting that the one thing he hasn't seen is the Fledderjohn place from his childhood. It seems small from his perspective of a grown man who has traveled the world, but at the time it was a big mystery to him. That's my interpretation anyway.

@morbid morag Going by the last verse, I think he might be an adult looking back on what he's seen, and reflecting that the one thing he hasn't seen is the Fledderjohn place from his childhood. It seems small from his perspective of a grown man who has traveled the world, but at the time it was a big mystery to him. That's my interpretation anyway.

@morbid morag Going by the last verse, I think he might be an adult looking back on what he's seen, and reflecting that the one thing he hasn't seen is the Fledderjohn place from his childhood. It seems small from his perspective of a grown man who has traveled the world, but at the time it was a big mystery to him. That's my interpretation anyway.

Cover art for Buzz Fledderjohn lyrics by Tom Waits

This makes an interesting companion to "What's He Building in There?" They're similar pieces, but one from the perspective of a child and one from the view of an adult. You could even argue that the narrator in both pieces is in fact the same character, and that the mystique of Buzz Fledderjohn triggered a natural curiosity/paranoia in him about the people living around him that still manifests itself.

 
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