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,
We're the stand-ins, we're the walkthroughs
We are the understudies in the side view
We will come to you then with your hats in our hands
Can we get an amen?
We are the bodies dumped in the forest
We are the patients at the bottom of the donor list
We know spite never sleeps so we rinse and repeat
But we never get clean
We will scream out his name in the meadow
Wander the woods like we're Hansel and Gretel
'Cause God only knows how cold it's getting
And by his design, he must know we're starving
Don't curse it don't work you'll be cursed for cursing
Don't hurt it don't work you'll be hurt for hurting
'Cause now our credits are rolling, the bells they are tolling
It's getting more colder it's apropos
I'm certain it's curtains, it's curtains for you and me
We're the sudden we're the random acts of what I can only call mayhem
We're not willing to change we're not willing to try
We're the "good enough guys"
When the ship comes in, we're gonna be there waving those bastards in
And when the votes get count, we'll be demanding the recount
And when the checks will clear, we're gonna be the pickpocket swatting at your rear
To the small of your back, the nape of your neck marks appear
God only knows how cold it's getting
And by his design, he must know we're starving
Of course, we won't help it won't help for helping
Of course, it won't work we won't work for working
'Cause now our bodies we torture with hands from our suitors
Forever we're kicked up the ass by the future
I'm certain it's curtains, it's curtains for you and me
He's got the whole world in his hands
We are the understudies in the side view
We will come to you then with your hats in our hands
Can we get an amen?
We are the bodies dumped in the forest
We are the patients at the bottom of the donor list
We know spite never sleeps so we rinse and repeat
But we never get clean
We will scream out his name in the meadow
Wander the woods like we're Hansel and Gretel
'Cause God only knows how cold it's getting
And by his design, he must know we're starving
Don't curse it don't work you'll be cursed for cursing
Don't hurt it don't work you'll be hurt for hurting
'Cause now our credits are rolling, the bells they are tolling
It's getting more colder it's apropos
I'm certain it's curtains, it's curtains for you and me
We're the sudden we're the random acts of what I can only call mayhem
We're not willing to change we're not willing to try
We're the "good enough guys"
When the ship comes in, we're gonna be there waving those bastards in
And when the votes get count, we'll be demanding the recount
And when the checks will clear, we're gonna be the pickpocket swatting at your rear
To the small of your back, the nape of your neck marks appear
God only knows how cold it's getting
And by his design, he must know we're starving
Of course, we won't help it won't help for helping
Of course, it won't work we won't work for working
'Cause now our bodies we torture with hands from our suitors
Forever we're kicked up the ass by the future
I'm certain it's curtains, it's curtains for you and me
He's got the whole world in his hands
Lyrics submitted by sweetsomethings, edited by windymelon
The Small of Your Back, the Nape of Your Neck (The Blizzard) song meanings
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I think the general theme is a dig at the Christian god and the believers who devote their lives to him and ask for help but receive nothing. The whole song just sounds like the perspective of a devout, god-fearing person.
The chorus "God only knows how cold it's getting..." is about the belief that god is in control of everything and the people who are cold and starving are the result of that. They fear god though and don't want to curse him or his plans because then they will suffer even more.
I'm curious about the third stanza. It seems that the part about the "good-enough guys" is about people who put all their stock in their beliefs and are content with doing and believing what they are told. The rest of the stanza seems to be saying that god is jealous (demanding a recount) and greedy (pickpocket swatting at your rear). I'm not sure about the titular line.
I love the final part where he starts singing "He's got the whole world in his hands". It's just more about god's design, again from the perspective of a devout believer. The background music adds so much too. It starts soft but slowly grows louder and more driving until it collides with the optimistic (at least they're intended that way) lyrics to a children's song to make an amazingly dark finish.