Sample and Hold Lyrics
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Blue
Weight: 110
Disposition: Even
Mood Code: Rotary Adjustable
But not the angry one
A new design, new design.
But not the lonely one
A new design, new design.
But not the lonely one
A new design, new design.
Satisfaction guaranteed.
Please specify
The color of skin and eye
We know you'll be happy.
We know you'll be satisfied
When you energize
And see your unit come alive
We know you'll be happy.
But not the lonely one, the lonely one, the lonely one
Sample and hold.
Weight: 110.
Fabricated from the curl of the hair
To the tip of the nail
Because our units never fail
We know you'll be happy.
We know you'll be satisfied
When you energize
And see your unit come alive
We know you'll be happy.
We know you'll be happy
We know you'll be happy.
A new design, new design
Perfection in every detail, new design
Sample and hold.
I can't believe I am the first to tackle this song as this might be Neil's most timely statement and most brilliant song. A dating service for robots is the surface meaning, but I believe at the root is a comment on how superficial our search for a soulmate is. We have our checklist of what we look for (blond, blue eyes, 110 pounds) and when the person is found that fulfills it we call it love, or at least lust, and sample and hold them happily because our list has been satisfied. In that sense we are only robots responding to "blank + blank = perfect partner" in a souless way without consideration for the surprises and intangables that surely go with any higher meaning of love. Think of the popularity of sites like E-harmony and the purely sex related ones. Or just the "sample and hold" mentality of today's hook-up culture. This song well predated all of that.
I agree with this comment, but also think it has another layer like A Man Needs a Maid in that there is a desire to detach from emotion and feelings to avoid heartache. I love the performance of this on Live in Berlin. Need to checking it is on You Tube.