In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Walking through forests of palm tree apartments
Scoff at the monkeys who live in their dark tents
Down by the waterhole
Drunk every Friday
Eating their nuts
Saving their raisins for Sunday
Lions and tigers
Who wait in the shadows
They're fast but they're lazy, and sleep in green meadows
Let's bungle in the jungle
Well, that's all right by me
I'm a tiger when I want love
But I'm a snake if we disagree
Just say a word and the boys will be right there
With claws at your back to send a chill through the night air
Is it so frightening to have me at your shoulder?
Thunder and lightning couldn't be bolder
I'll write on your tombstone,I thank you for dinner
This game that we animals play is a winner
Let's bungle in the jungle
Well, that's all right by me
I'm a tiger when I want love
But I'm a snake if we disagree
The rivers are full of crocodile nastiest
And He who made kittens put snakes in the grass
He's a lover of life but a player of pawns
Yes, the King on His sunset lies waiting for dawn
To light up His Jungle as play is resumed
The monkeys seem willing to strike up the tune
Let's bungle in the jungle
Well, that's all right by me
I'm a tiger when I want love
But I'm a snake if we disagree
Let's bungle in the jungle
Well, that's all right by me
Yes, I'm a tiger when I want love
But I'm a snake if we disagree
Let's bungle in the jungle
Well, that's all right by me
Yes, I'm a tiger when I want love
Scoff at the monkeys who live in their dark tents
Down by the waterhole
Drunk every Friday
Eating their nuts
Saving their raisins for Sunday
Lions and tigers
Who wait in the shadows
They're fast but they're lazy, and sleep in green meadows
Let's bungle in the jungle
Well, that's all right by me
I'm a tiger when I want love
But I'm a snake if we disagree
Just say a word and the boys will be right there
With claws at your back to send a chill through the night air
Is it so frightening to have me at your shoulder?
Thunder and lightning couldn't be bolder
I'll write on your tombstone,I thank you for dinner
This game that we animals play is a winner
Let's bungle in the jungle
Well, that's all right by me
I'm a tiger when I want love
But I'm a snake if we disagree
The rivers are full of crocodile nastiest
And He who made kittens put snakes in the grass
He's a lover of life but a player of pawns
Yes, the King on His sunset lies waiting for dawn
To light up His Jungle as play is resumed
The monkeys seem willing to strike up the tune
Let's bungle in the jungle
Well, that's all right by me
I'm a tiger when I want love
But I'm a snake if we disagree
Let's bungle in the jungle
Well, that's all right by me
Yes, I'm a tiger when I want love
But I'm a snake if we disagree
Let's bungle in the jungle
Well, that's all right by me
Yes, I'm a tiger when I want love
Lyrics submitted by knate15, edited by Vladislas32, imbroglio
Bungle in the Jungle Lyrics as written by Ian Anderson
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This "homosexual" explanation is outrageous. What planet are you from? The song is from a whole collection of stuff written around the Passion Play period (as a matter of fact all of War Child / Passion Play ideas were conceived at the time of this ill - fated project that Ian refers to as the Chateau D'Isaster Tapes - the original album wasn't released until 20 some odd years later - Passion Play and War Child were recorded and released INSTEAD). All the material is reflective of a George Orwell (Animal Farm) and Sinclair Lewis (The Jungle) sort of analogy. "Bungle in the Jungle" is a clever song that simply says, "look at it all - this is us". My favorite existential line being..."and he who made kittens put snakes in the grass..." (He = God). And, by the way, ...Bungle means to mess something up as in, " he bungled the whole deal."
@jcaudio That was a great description of the song. Thanks!
How the do you get gay sex among men of different races from this? Crack kills.
If there is anything gay in this song, I'm not seeing it. I've always viewed this song as a modernized version of something William Blake would have written.
If it was mentioned above, forgive my repetitiveness. But I must mention that there is plenty of reference to William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience here.
See more here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_of_Innocence_and_Experience
In other words, God and Life (and according to Blake, men's souls) are dichotomous - sometimes the creator and provider and sometimes the thief and the destroyer.
@clarenancy Or, like my favorite poem by William Blake..."Auguries of Innocence". Thanks for the great answer about this song.
I spent a lot of time thinking about this and really think that he is talking about the Garden of Eden. A bungle is a mistake (picking the fruit from the tree of Knowledge). He says that its all right by him, which means that he'd rather have emotions (tiger wanting love, snake when angry). He is debating whether it is a bungle at all. He mentions God and says that He put snakes in the grass with kittens which goes against the perfection and peace in the Garden.
"He" and "His" is capitalized mid-sentence, which is grammatical standard for pronouns referring to God. I assume these capitalizations appear on the original liner notes, as most of the online lyric reproductions have them capitalized too.
The rivers are full of crocodile nastiest And He who made kittens put snakes in the grass He's a lover of life but a player of pawns Yes, the King on His sunset lies waiting for dawn To light up His Jungle as play is resumed
The song is likely pointing out the irony of "He" (God) who made [cute] kittens also made [mean, ugly] snakes. We are entertainment for the King in his jungle.
The line "I'll write on your tombstone, 'I thank you for dinner' " likely refers to survival of the fittest. Kill or be killed.
This song is all about the way the city thrives and the people in it live. The word "jungle" that is used to represent the city is not new to Jethro Tull. There is a famous book called "The Jungle" which details the lives and work habits of certain people living in cities during the industrial age. I believe this song is almost a summery of this book.
P.S. "Jethro Tull" Is the name of the man who invented the Seed Drill.
The tiger in the jungle?
Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night.
Ah, any song that references Blake is all right by me :)
and He who made kittens put snakes in the grass. He's a lover of life but a player of pawns ---
has a touch of Blake's
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?
amazing that a song with such lyrics and depth of meaning/thought was a hit on the pop charts.
@offhand I only just noticed the lyrics are deep - better late than never :)
I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade here, but this song is quite definitely NOT about the US-Vietnam War, or at least, I'm sure Ian Anderson never had that idea in mind. For starters, Tull is a British band and the UK were not involved in that war so it seems like an unlikely topic to choose, especially given the Brit-focus of most Tull lyrics. Not everything revolves around the good ol' US of A, folks.
As various commenters have suggested, this is pretty transparently an allegory for nightlife in the big city (the concrete jungle). The monkeys in their dark tents (and probably the kittens mentioned later) are the innocent members of the urban populace who stay at home at night, while the wilder animals (lions and tigers) hang out in pubs or nightclubs (waterholes) lurking in shadows at night in search of a bit of action. These wild ones are "fast but lazy", as they spend their days asleep while the good people of the city work, and come out at night to take what they can.
The singer self-identifies as one of these wild types, part of a gang ("the boys") who are clearly a bit on the scary side ("is it so frightening to have me at your shoulder?"). The song concludes with a reflection on the apparently dichotomous nature of God ("He"), who has made both snakes and kittens (a clear allusion to Blake's "Tyger, Tyger", as somebody else here noted), which in turn is a reflection of the dichotomous nature of the city (pretty and ordered by day, wild and dangerous by night).
And finally, "bungle" is certainly not a made up word, but perhaps it's more common to UK English than US English. It refers to make a clumsy mess of things, and in the song I think it alludes to the clumsy, semi-destructive behaviour of the wild denizens of the urban nightlife, which, according to Mr. Anderson, "is alright by me".
I also like the line "he who made kittens..." and I find the entire end of the song interesting, portraying God as a "player of pawns" who watches the interaction between humans -- no better than "monkeys" -- and probably sits laughing at their foolishness.
tps12, I signed up for an account here and everything, just for you. To start off, there is no "Jethro" or "Mr. Tull", or at least there hasn't been in many hundreds of years. "Jethro Tull" is a band name, filed under "J" at your local music store, and Ian Anderson is the lead singer, song writer, and flute player (among other things).
The song Bungle in the Jungle was Ian's shot at big city life. "Bungle" is a made up word. The "Jungle" is, of course, the city itself. It is basically painting city life as a situation not much unlike the life of animals in the deep jungle, filled with the lazy yet deadly "tigers" and thier prey.
Although it would not surprise me that the "Christian right" would make up thier own connections, this is the first I've heard of this one.
@Tandek - The line, "By the way, which one's Pink?" come to mind, eh? Your comments are all valid, except the part about bungle being a "made up word." "Bungle" has been a recognized word in English usage from as early as the 1600s.