The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
The lady said to the tiger,
As they stood behind some doors,
"I'm sick of this job.
I don't know what we're waiting here for.
I'm turning off life support.
I'm putting an end to this joke."
The tiger thought about this,
And then the tiger spoke.
"Starving the beast, at the very least,
Will just increase its hunger.
Go right ahead and starve me dead.
It will only make me stronger."
The lady said,
"I'm bustin' out of this prison.
I got laser vision, and I'm burning a hole in the wall."
The tiger said "Wait, you'll start a fire,
Destroy the entire lady and the tiger hall.
"Felines and dames in flames will hardly serve your aims.
Do you surmise it's wise to have laser beams
Emitting from your eyes?"
"Point taken, cat.
I can well see that our lives are worth protecting,
But I submit it's time we quit this hoping and expecting.
"Felines and dames in flames will hardly serve my aims,
But in my dreams,
It seems that my eyes are always shooting laser beams."
The hall remains, it still contains a pair of doors, a choice.
Behind one door, a muffled roar, behind the other, a voice.
As they stood behind some doors,
"I'm sick of this job.
I don't know what we're waiting here for.
I'm turning off life support.
I'm putting an end to this joke."
The tiger thought about this,
And then the tiger spoke.
"Starving the beast, at the very least,
Will just increase its hunger.
Go right ahead and starve me dead.
It will only make me stronger."
The lady said,
"I'm bustin' out of this prison.
I got laser vision, and I'm burning a hole in the wall."
The tiger said "Wait, you'll start a fire,
Destroy the entire lady and the tiger hall.
"Felines and dames in flames will hardly serve your aims.
Do you surmise it's wise to have laser beams
Emitting from your eyes?"
"Point taken, cat.
I can well see that our lives are worth protecting,
But I submit it's time we quit this hoping and expecting.
"Felines and dames in flames will hardly serve my aims,
But in my dreams,
It seems that my eyes are always shooting laser beams."
The hall remains, it still contains a pair of doors, a choice.
Behind one door, a muffled roar, behind the other, a voice.
Lyrics submitted by aaronjsolomon
The Lady and the Tiger Lyrics as written by John S Linnell John C Flansburgh
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I submitted the lyrics just to comment on this.
First of all, the hook in this song is awesome--classic TMBG--and shows that they can still bring the special sauce even after all these years. Kudos, Johns & co.
This is another brilliant Linnell lyric that explores the perspective of a person or thing that is normally only considered an object (e.g. "Birdhouse in Your Soul" written from the perspective of a nightlight).
"The Lady, or the Tiger?" (see below for link) is a Victorian-era short story that contains then-established themes of Orientalism, as well as then-emerging interest in psychology. As such, the story is something of a "bridge" between two eras, as its setting is firmly Victorian in sensibility, while the thought experiment that it posed was a literary innovation, and foreshadowed the scientific rationalism that would characterize the post-Victorian world.
The author of the short story presents a complex thought experiment by placing a character in a harsh dilemma--he must open one of two doors, behind one is a beautiful woman for him to marry, and behind the other a hungry tiger. The character must choose blindly, knowing that the wrong choice will result in a gruesome death. (Actually, the scenario in the story is more complex than that--again, see link below.)
Cf. "Birdhouse," Linnell has inverted conventional perspective, and written a dialogue between the lady and the tiger as they wait for one of the doors to open. In my interpretation, their dialogue concerns their being stuck behind these doors eternally, since they are essentially props in a mental experiment that will never be resolved. (The short story ends the moment before a door is opened.) There are also shades of Schroedinger's cat--living beings trapped inside an eternal limbo created by an intellectual construct.
Re: laser beams: Linnell often includes whimsically anachronistic or otherwise out-of-place elements in his songs, which often seem to be done for humor as much as anything. My initial weak interpretation is that the lady's "laser beams" are such an element, although I concede they may be substantively symbolic. One of the reasons I was motivated to post these lyrics (my first) was that I was very interested in hearing further deconstruction, as I suspect there are additional layers of meaning to this great song.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lady,_or_the_Tiger%3F
Two thoughts on the above:<br /> <br /> I think the most striking thing about this song is how it takes two characters who are essentially objects in the dilemma, and makes them the central characters in the story. The conflict then becomes how the arrangement is pretty positive for the Tiger (who assumes that he'll eventually get to eat or just starve to death), and pretty lousy for the Lady (who either languishes in boredom or becomes the objectified wife).<br /> <br /> I think the purpose of the laser eyes does go beyond the typical TMBG's whimsy though. In a way, the revelation that the woman has this ability creates a dark mirror to the Princess' dilemma: the Lady can either continue her unhappy existence, where she waits for either someone to eventually open the door and treated as a prize or just languishes in infinite boredom, OR she can use her secret destructive power to bring an end to the torturous wait, in the process also killing herself. The crux of the dilemma is which is better, seeming infinite misery or the unknown consequences of death?<br /> <br /> And just like Stockton, Linnell refuses to answer the question for you, instead backing out of the story and leaving the resolution to hang forever.
The laser beam serves to equalize the power of the lady and the tiger. She is now just as dangerous (if not more) than it is. I wonder what happens if her door is opened?