Doesn't anybody feel
That all these killers should be killed
And all these healers should be healed
So all these beggers can be filled
Now tell me why am I to lie
If I'm holding firm and feel the right
to lie down beside this dog of mine
And let that perverted though really run through my mind
I'd scrape my toes across the floor
This day's the same as those before
And though inside I'm feeling giddy
Always wrong for never giving myself an uninvaded door
So now I'll take a little glue
I'll put together a new glittered room for you
So I can start sitting so pretty
Instead of sitting here not seein' clear
Just sitting here not fittin' here
No things ain't fittin' here
I'll just lay my head down beside this God of mine
And let that perverted thought burn a hole in my mind
And if I can't lay my head beside this God of mine
Maybe the Hunter's dog called God
Could be my friend in time
That all these killers should be killed
And all these healers should be healed
So all these beggers can be filled
Now tell me why am I to lie
If I'm holding firm and feel the right
to lie down beside this dog of mine
And let that perverted though really run through my mind
I'd scrape my toes across the floor
This day's the same as those before
And though inside I'm feeling giddy
Always wrong for never giving myself an uninvaded door
So now I'll take a little glue
I'll put together a new glittered room for you
So I can start sitting so pretty
Instead of sitting here not seein' clear
Just sitting here not fittin' here
No things ain't fittin' here
I'll just lay my head down beside this God of mine
And let that perverted thought burn a hole in my mind
And if I can't lay my head beside this God of mine
Maybe the Hunter's dog called God
Could be my friend in time
Lyrics submitted by bubbrock316, edited by Junkemail123
Toes Across the Floor Lyrics as written by Terry L. Hunter Aaron Jerome Smith
Lyrics © THE ROYALTY NETWORK INC., Royalty Network, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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The first stanza is his opinion on the world and is pretty self-explanatory. The killers should be killed, the religious leaders have social/moral sicknesses, and the poor shouldn't go hungry. But it's more of him asking can he really be the only one out there that feels this way? If he's not the only one who thinks that way then why do these problems exist? I think he comes to the conclusion that he must be mostly alone, mostly different and therefore can not live like everyone else does.
The next stanza is about God and his idea of God. He uses "God" and "dog" interchangeably on purpose because no one really knows who or what God is; people just view God in their own ways and generally assume that God is there to serve their own individual purposes, i.e. provide positive mental/spirital feelings or even provide opportunities or physical gifts. So, in a sense god=dog because they are both slaves to the owner/believer. I think all he's saying in the second stanza is that he has some guilty desire or problem that he needs help with, but it's worded so that it reads like if he asks God, or his own idea of God anyway, for assistance it would be like some kind of rape or severe violation of code of conduct between man and God.
Stanza 3 sounds like he's found God or at least for some short period of time conformed to a set of ideals of a certain religion. He's just getting by, just like every other day before, but he's happy that he's found something even though whatever question or desire or need he's referring to in the previous stanza is still being left alone. He's always open to the invasion of new ideas so he's running with whatever new religion or God he's currently following.
Stanza 4 is just like the previous stanza; he knows he's not getting what he wants/needs out of this religion even though he's making it appear that he's a loyal follower. This dog or God is fine for others but it isn't working for him, because their God/supernatural slave by law does not exhibit compassion/sympathy or advice for whatever his "perverted thought" is.
The last stanza is him saying he's through with pretending to be part of this other group and their God. He'll have his own God and hope that it's the right one, and he'll talk to him but he still doesn't expect to receive help for whatever it is he's most desperate for (whatever the "perverted thought" is). If he ends up wrong though and the others are right, and the God who they say serves them is the one and only real God, then maybe that God will be his friend, i.e. understand and pity.
Then again, maybe Shannon Hoon wanted to get it on with a dog. I don't think so though, and I really hope not because he was and still is my favorite vocalist, but you never know these days. This comment is going to be really long and probably confusing to anyone who reads it, but oh well. I read this song for like 10 minutes and this was the main meaning I could pull from it.
R.I.P. Shannon, and hopefully your bandmates burn in hell for relaunching Blind Melon without you. I heard the new guy and he sucks a big fat hard one.
I think the theme of your opinion is right on. There are a few lines however that have always stuck out to me, and because they stuck out I racked my brain to try to understand his view. This line in the third Stanza: "And though inside I'm feeling giddy Always wrong for never giving myself an uninvaded door." I agree with the attempting to believe part, but uninvaded door makes me think of death. The fight between what he knows should be right, selling out to someone elses beliefs, the feeling that something is all wrong, and the idea of him not giving into the ultimate test of life, which is death.
The other part that really gets me is the last Stanza. But I believe the perverted thought is not something that he necessarily deprives himself of, but the common beliefs of people, the faith that he just can't follow. You are right in that he is desperate for it, but something in his mind (maybe too much logic) just won't let him attain that blind faith. But he may try to let it sink in and control him " burn a hole in his mind." If he ends up not being able to convert, then maybe "the hunters dog" who collect dead prey will welcome him the way that he is.
Like you say, there is no way to figure out what he really meant, I have written stuff that has much more meaning than I originally put into it. The beauty of art is in the interpretation, regardless of the initial motivation. This song kicks ass on many levels, and if you don't like it I respect your fucked up opinion.
BoonVath: the bit re: death was something I hadn't thought of, but very interesting. You're right in that what makes real art so beautiful is that when it connects with someone, his/her own interpretations make the piece really come alive. I always kind of battle with myself trying to define what it is that makes art art, but I guess the best explanation may be that true art is personal to the author but beautifully ambiguous to the receptor. Isn't art supposed to promote thought? Isn't the message delivered, as in life, supposed to be a complex? I think what makes a great songwriter a great songwriter is that somewhere along in the process, the artist is able to touch a few nerves and prod the listener into thought, and in that thought process hopefully the listener discovers a new way to think about something. The message might not always be important because the message might be too complex to put into words to begin with, but as long as the result is the desire to think, and the desire to think in a new way, and a desire to see a part of life through the eyes of another, then ultimately isn't the message profound, regardless of it's original intended meaning?
Patricia: totally agree with you! And peace and ganja right back at you! I understand how someone might want to use the name to create interest in something different, but if you cut the thorns off the rose, how can you still call it a rose? You're left with a poor misrepresentation of the original species, regardless of how beautiful it still may be.
Dontfork: Wooh g.o.d. is amazing and I've noticed that too. My favorite Melon songs are all demos or live versions because I really think the studio kind of took away the rawness and power of Shannon's voice. I wish I could have seen the real Blind Melon live. Thank god for bootleggers.
next he talks about how that thought is perverted. it's perverted for the simple fact that if he kills all the killers, he too will become a killer, therefore, defeating the purpose of his wish to make the world a better place and rid it of all killers. he's owning up to the fact that even though he has good intentions and is not lying about being a good person (why am i to lie...holding firm and feel the right), the thought is a lowly thought (lie beside this dog of mine), but he really wants to get rid of the bad people in the world and make things right (...really run through my mind).
in the next stanza, he's overcome by the monotony of life in this imperfect world ( this day's the same as those before) what happens when you drag your feet? you scrape your toes across the floor. although he feels love for the world (feeling giddy), he has exposed parts of his inner self he wishes he would not have shown (never giving myself that uninvaded door). in other words, he's said too much.
so, instead of these dark thoughts, now he must create something more pleasing to share with the world (glittered room for view) **not "for you" like they have written** anyway, he wants to break free from this conondrum (start sitting so pretty) because it just doesn't add up in a moral sense (not thinking clear...things ain't fittin here). you can't do bad things to anyone and then call yourself a good person, no matter what the other person has done.
so he won't do those things. he'll just stay with being a good person (lay... beside this god of mine) and continue to think about those things (perverted thought burn a hole in my mind). but if he can't call himself a good person because of these perverted thoughts he's having(if i can't lay my head beside this god of mine), he may have to depend on time to rid the world of the killers.
think about it. what does a hunter's dog do? i grew up in a family of hunters, so i have been around hunters' dogs all my life. the dogs are bred and trained for tracking down and /or retrieving the object of the hunt. in this song, the "hunter's dog" is death. it's "called God" because everyone must face death in time. so in the end, death will be his friend and kill the killers, so he won't have to become a killer himself. and he will also, upon his own death, be free from these perverted thoughts and the anguish of being torn between trying to remain a good person with bad thoughts or becoming a killer who wants to make the world a better place.
I'm not really sure what its about but it makes me think of when i do something thats not good enough i feel like i should just lay down and not do anything letting "thoughts burn a hole in my mind"