Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band

China Pig

3 Meanings

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China Pig Lyrics

(Duos of change, of change, change, change, oodles of...)
(It's going really slowly...)

I don't wanna kill my china pig
No I don't

A man's gotta live
A man's gotta eat
A man's gotta have shoes to walk out on the street
I don't wanna kill my china pig
Aw, he was a baby, I want you to see
I don't wanna kill my china pig

Well I used to go to school
With a little red box
And I used to have my pig go with me
We walked for blocks
I don't wanna kill my china pig

His tail curls five times in a circle round
It's glazed
He's got a slot in his back, flowers grow
My china pig be, uh, quite a show
I don't wanna kill my china pig
Whoa no

My china pig

I got him by the snout
And I take him by the cuff
And I whipped out my fork
And I poked at him
Three hairs laid out on my floor
I remember my china pig

I fed the neighborhood
He was in a big neighborhood
A lotta people liked my pig
One little girl used to put her fingers in his snout
I put a fork in his back

I didn't wanna kill my china pig

Submitted by

anarchitect On Apr 19, 2008

Big Eyed Beans from Venus

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When in doubt, ask the crowd

Not sure what they’re singing in that fuzzy bridge? Drop a question in the comments and let the music nerds swarm. Someone always knows.

Anarchitect

Submitter

2008-04-19 02:12:55

3 Meanings

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by merrickjohn92

11y ago

Keep in mind; this was the only spontaneous recording on the entire album (excluding the woodwinds in Hair Pie: Bake One). So what was the Captain thinking of at that time? Was it a lack of food? A lack of money? Memories? It could be his way of expressing his grievance towards human being killing things they love so they can keep their own lives going. I've also interpreted it as, like, a ceramic piggy bank being broken for reasons of survival. Regardless of it's intentional meaning, there's that regretful, skeptical refrain, "I DON'T wanna kill...my china pig."

My Interpretation

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by Pagliaro

11y ago

Yes, it's the ceramic piggy bank. He does not want to smash it to get his savings.

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by es111

5y ago

its about the crim inal elemnet which makes humanity evil. killing pigs to satisfy their lack of joy. cpatn used to say, he never met anyone better than a pig, truth..shes all the time cryin..shes all the time cryin

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