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Scavenger Type Lyrics
Giggin' alone at the bottom of the hill
Our protagonist named Bill
Sets his sights on an anchor steam pint
All he needs is thirteen quarters
Congregated in his hat
A crow, a scavenger type
California redemption provides him with his rent
Room and board inside of a fifth of comfort
As the wind penetrates his bones
His mind keeps focused
Tidal waves of sound
Catapulted from his horn wail like lovers
The coins don't drop consistent as does the mercury
His meter slows realizing
A zenith, he's reached perfection
No one did see him die
ok, my intrpretationism of the song is:
Giggin' alone at the bottom of the hill. (Hes playing his horn at the bottom of some random hill for money like a street musician. DUH!)
Sets his sights on an anchor steam pint. (He wants to raise some money for the booze that he wants.Anchor team is a type of alcohol. DERP!)
All he needs is thirteen quarters (he needs $3.25 for the booze he wants. ADOI!)
Congregated in his hat (thats where some street musicians collect the money people give them. i use my guitar case. DERPA!
California redemption provides him with his rent. (i imagine this means that everything is chill in cali. kinda easy to kick back and be homeless for awhile. i dont know from experience)
Room and board inside of a fifth of comfort. (this means its REALLy FUcking easy to homeless and kick it on the streets when youre in cali, AND DRUNK!)
As the wind penetrates his bones his mind keeps focused. (He reall y wants that booze, man. even if it means ice chilled fingers from playing in the sub freezing tempatures)
Tidal waves of sound Catapulted from his horn wail like lovers. (Have you ever sat next to someone playing a trumpet? Its exactly how the song desribes it.)
The coins don't drop consistent as does the mercury. (its fucking cold! DUH!)
His meter slows. (he's dieing. i think this means his heart is slowing basically)
realizing A zenith, he's reached perfection. (a zenith basically means hes had an epiphany. and hes where he want to be in life. or maybe in his music. somethings going well for him, atleast he thinks so. i think hes slipping into delerium from the cold and probably old age)
no one did see hime die:( oh bill, i miss you bro:(
There's a bit that I think you missed.
There's a bit that I think you missed.
A crow, a scavenger type. California redemption provides him with his rent, room and board: inside a fifth of comfort.
A crow, a scavenger type. California redemption provides him with his rent, room and board: inside a fifth of comfort.
Bill is a scavenger: He collects cans and bottles which he redeems for $, according to California's redemption program (California's Bottle Bill). There’s probably a play on words with “redemption”.
Bill is a scavenger: He collects cans and bottles which he redeems for $, according to California's redemption program (California's Bottle Bill). There’s probably a play on words with “redemption”.
Crows are scavengers, because that they eat dead animals. I think the author is playing on the double meaning of scavenger.
Crows are scavengers, because that they eat dead animals. I think the author is playing on the double meaning of scavenger.
So, with the money that Bill gets from the empties, he buys a fifth (a 1/5 of a gallon = 750...
So, with the money that Bill gets from the empties, he buys a fifth (a 1/5 of a gallon = 750 ml) of Southern Comfort (Alcohol); Which is all he needs (rent, room and board). Bill might be homeless…
@smartE bottom of the hill is a venue in san francisco.
@smartE bottom of the hill is a venue in san francisco.
@smartE bottom of the hill is a venue in san francisco.
@smartE bottom of the hill is a venue in san francisco.
hindsight, i'd say it's about a homeless alcoholic.
the reference to a 'scavnger type california redemption' is not about receiving welfare from government, but the 5c redemption on cans and bottles. in the states that have this redemption one of the prime occupations for bums is collecting bottles and cans to cash in. i'm pretty sure california is one of the states with such a redemption scheme.
but he's after quarters, so i guess he's panhandling or, more likely given the references to him gigin and his horn - he's busking.
I think the guys dies of hypothermia or something simular...
"The coins don't drop consistent as does the mercury"
I'm pretty sure that he didn't earn enough money to keep paying for the heating, so the mercury "the element inside a thermostat which measures the heat of a room" dropped ??? And no-one did see him die kinda points that he died alone, no family etc??
Very sad song.
i love this song sooo much!its just sooo good and the perfect way too finish one of the best punk albums in the world...........punk in drublic.
its a sad song
yeah i agree, its a sad song but perfect for the last of the album. Its about a guy who dies trying tomake it through life
This song may sound ugly at first but you warm up to it and like it alot. I am gonna give you my take on this song. I bet most of you people think it's about a homeless person, but it's really about an alcoholic. It is all there. "Gigin alone at the bottom of the hill Our protagonist named Bill Sets his sights on an anchor steam pint All he needs is thirteen quarters"
Bill is what we like to call a free-loader and he spends the little money gets on alcohol.
"California redemption provides him with his rent Room and board inside a fifth of comfort" is a reference to him getting aid from the government and then spending it on a "a fifth." Then he dies a no body. Maybe a little depressing, but I find it very easy to relate to. Hindsight
at the end of a version of scavenger type...you hear fat mike practicing to sing "how did the cat get so fat" for perfect government and el hefe is saying "This guy is more punk than me" in different ways...its funny
i really like this song a lot. I think it's about a poor man who lives in california and is on welfare. he might have alcohol problems, not sure. the welfare money isn't consistent and as it gets cold, he can't pay for heating, and dies.
This song is so sad. Makes life seem so lonely and meaningless.