Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
They used to think it was so cute
When she said "Dyer Maker"
All the boys knew it was a joke about Jamaica
She'd always find a ride back home from the bar
She used to feel so stupid
When they'd talk about the music
Born into every single tune
They used to hum against her lips
With their hands on her hips
They used to kiss in the car
Dancing days, houses of the holy
Hot-shot in the city in the middle of the prairie
Floating with the boys, with all her charms
At first the laugh, then the eyes
Then the touch-em-on-the-arm's
And the drinks, they'd never seem to cost money
And Saturday night was a runway
That extended into Sunday
And sometimes Monday
Back then it was beautiful
The boys were sweet and musical
The laser lights looked mystical
Messed up stuff felt magical
Girls didn't seem so difficult
Boys didn't seem so typical
It was warm and white and wonderful
We were all invincible
Tired eyes, trampled under foot
Dazed and confused
C-C-C-C-Cocaine blues
She hasn't got any eye contact tonight
The boys are getting younger
And the bands are getting louder
And the new girls are coming up
Like some white unopened flowers
She's pretty sure that that's where their power is
Back then it was unified
The punks, the skins, the greaser guys
Then one summer, two kids died
And one of them was crucified
Now it's so competitive
The sleeplessness and sedatives
I know it sounds repetitive
Every show can't be a benefit
We were kids in the crowd
Now we're dogs in this war
We were wasps with new wings
Now we're bugs in the jar
We were hot, soft and pure
Now we're scratched up in scars
We were counting cards
Now we eat in our cars
The boys in the band
They know they'll never be stars
Back then they were quite convinced
Flyerin' and stickerin'
The front row girls were posturing
We were all imagining
And man, we had some massive nights
Some bashes and some bloody fights
Back before those two kids died
When she said "Dyer Maker"
All the boys knew it was a joke about Jamaica
She'd always find a ride back home from the bar
She used to feel so stupid
When they'd talk about the music
Born into every single tune
They used to hum against her lips
With their hands on her hips
They used to kiss in the car
Dancing days, houses of the holy
Hot-shot in the city in the middle of the prairie
Floating with the boys, with all her charms
At first the laugh, then the eyes
Then the touch-em-on-the-arm's
And the drinks, they'd never seem to cost money
And Saturday night was a runway
That extended into Sunday
And sometimes Monday
Back then it was beautiful
The boys were sweet and musical
The laser lights looked mystical
Messed up stuff felt magical
Girls didn't seem so difficult
Boys didn't seem so typical
It was warm and white and wonderful
We were all invincible
Tired eyes, trampled under foot
Dazed and confused
C-C-C-C-Cocaine blues
She hasn't got any eye contact tonight
The boys are getting younger
And the bands are getting louder
And the new girls are coming up
Like some white unopened flowers
She's pretty sure that that's where their power is
Back then it was unified
The punks, the skins, the greaser guys
Then one summer, two kids died
And one of them was crucified
Now it's so competitive
The sleeplessness and sedatives
I know it sounds repetitive
Every show can't be a benefit
We were kids in the crowd
Now we're dogs in this war
We were wasps with new wings
Now we're bugs in the jar
We were hot, soft and pure
Now we're scratched up in scars
We were counting cards
Now we eat in our cars
The boys in the band
They know they'll never be stars
Back then they were quite convinced
Flyerin' and stickerin'
The front row girls were posturing
We were all imagining
And man, we had some massive nights
Some bashes and some bloody fights
Back before those two kids died
Lyrics submitted by shrodes, edited by rasterbate
Joke About Jamaica Lyrics as written by J Kubler C Finn
Lyrics © Songtrust Ave
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Step
Ministry
Ministry
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
"we were counting carbs now we eat in our cars"
"flyering and stickering"
from thealbum booklet