The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete Lyrics

dusty screams, through doors and imaginary floors
"why can't you miss me?"
pistol pete removes the final breaths from her unkind and she is shaken
what does this mean in love or in peace?
with you lying next to me
so faithless serene
and she calls to him

let the waste cross the ancient trails to you
far out beneath the sorrow clouds
let them taste the bitter lost mistake of you
let them cry out through your rusted scars

alone he roams inside the ordinary catacombs of her waiting
with raven hands she steals and staggers towards her man
still scorned by his demon

because he's undone
become the language of
disaster and love, vengeance and dust
and she calls to him

let the waste cross the ancient trails to you
far out beneath the sorrow clouds
let them taste the bitter lost mistake of you
let them cry out through your rusted scars

dusty screams, through doors and imaginary scenes
of hurt and teardrop
as he holds her down, in the cold lonely winds
together again, her inside him
and she calls to him

let the waste cross the ancient trails to you
far out beneath the sorrow clouds
let them taste the bitter lost mistake of you
let them cry out through your rusted scars
Song Info
Submitted by
ice On Apr 01, 2001
13 Meanings

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Cover art for The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete lyrics by Smashing Pumpkins, The

Apparently it's 'based on a true story'; the man (Pistol Pete) murders the woman (Dusty) and thinks he has gotten rid of her but she comes back and haunts him, unaware that she is a ghost. After finding that out I can't tell you how many chills I got the next time I played it.

Cover art for The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete lyrics by Smashing Pumpkins, The

I can just picture a western version of a video for this song! It just reminds me of bedtime story...classic "non-single" Pumpkins right here.

Cover art for The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete lyrics by Smashing Pumpkins, The

In my opinion, the lyrics are about a woman having deep female (emotional) intelligence and tries to talk to the beloved man to face his demons and his past: "Let the waste cross the ancient trails to you Far out beneath the sorrow clouds Let them taste the bitter lost mistake of you Let them cry out through your rusted scars" (That's the past and a broken heart - all that made him this kind of hard hearted zombie). But he just can't stand it (can't leave his trails of trying not to feel anything). That hurts her deeply, and him also, but he is too much a coward to recognize. Don't know if he really kills her, but his state of mind is really "Pistol Pete", nowadays we maybe would say "toxic", but still no sociopath.

Cover art for The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete lyrics by Smashing Pumpkins, The

oh gee 2 more lost lovers... dusty needs to be with petey because it kills her not to be. but then again when she is with him she feels pain. he's next to her, "dead", and she doesn't know if he feels anything anymore. but in his mind he thinks that there's some unspoken dialogue going on and feels a connection. and of course there's the happy ending, they really love and need each other and they'll never leave

Cover art for The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete lyrics by Smashing Pumpkins, The

Has anyone else been so badly wronged that they have cursed someone's life with this chorus - not out loud to them, but in your heart? Raw song on raw emotions...

Cover art for The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete lyrics by Smashing Pumpkins, The

On VH1 story tellers Billy said this song is about: Pete kills Dusty and Dusty is in love with him. She does not know she is dead. Anyway beautiful song!

Cover art for The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete lyrics by Smashing Pumpkins, The

What Rocklovinggirl said does seem true. I can actually picture that with this song. Now that I think about it, maybe the girl in the song is called "Dusty" because she actually is dust since she is dead?

But if it isn't true, I can still also picture a sad grey-blue tinted western scene.

Cover art for The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete lyrics by Smashing Pumpkins, The

I have heard the Story Tellers story and it goes something like this. In the first verse, Dusty is murdered by Pete "Pistol Pete romoves the final breaths from her." She, however, is not aware of the fact that she is dead (maybe think Sixth Sense). So she keeps calling to him and he never responds( see the chorus) This tale is of course made up and had no real life inspiration as far as Billy cared to tell.

Cover art for The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete lyrics by Smashing Pumpkins, The

this song is amazing. "let them taste the bitter lost mistake of you." those lyrics hit home.

Cover art for The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete lyrics by Smashing Pumpkins, The

wow... this song is for me, the most amazing from the pumpkins... it reflects so much pain, hope and treason at the same time... it is just incredible... "dusty screams, through doors and imaginary scenes of hurt and teardrop" WOW...

 
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