I see you go
Through a park in a haze
And I don't listen
For traffic going the same way
A simple system
Yeah
I string 'em up
I cut 'em down
Dare I say

To to to to to
To to to to to
To to to to to

A perfect vision
Some simple ways to let you know
Free range humans all cooped up
Naked clone is playing lame
Yeah
I string 'em up
I cut 'em down
Dare I say

To to to to to
To to to to to
To to to to to
To to to to to
To to to to to

To to to
To to to


Lyrics submitted by OwnPersonalDemon

Avon Lyrics as written by Josh Homme

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

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Avon song meanings
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25 Comments

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  • +7
    General Comment

    queens of the stone age songs with references to canablism or people being eaten- avon leg of lamb sick sick sick(in the music video the band gets eaten) mosquito song some ones in the wolf i never came and debatable tension head if anyone can think of any others feal free to add

    its_a_mad_worldon December 22, 2007   Link
  • +7
    General Comment

    Seems pretty obvious to me that it's about not living as an individual. And Josh is the 3rd party observer of what's happening. In the first verse, you have, 'through a park in a haze - traffic going the same way.' Metaphor for following the masses (traffic) without much thought (haze). Then, the ending line, 'a simple system.' Metaphor for society aka the masses. In the second verse, you have, 'free range humans all cooped up' and 'naked clone is playing lame.' Comparing mindless humans to mindless chickens going through the motions in life. Not living an aware, active life.

    alboogaon September 02, 2010   Link
  • +5
    General Comment

    Homme is obsessed with the idea of man as game or more precisely, food. He first visits the idea of Man as game in Avon when he mentions chasing someone, presumably into a park with ill intentions and even alludes to canibalism with the term "free-range humans", free range obviously a term applied to cattle or poultry, in the same line he mentions that although his prey is "free-range" it most certainly is trapped and is't aware of it which hints at Homme viewing the stalking as a sick game. This bares more than a glancing reseblence to Tobe Hooper's Texas Chainsaw massacre, a theme which appears to be revisted in the Mosquito Song, particularly the them of humans being food and the references to hooks knives, cutting boards and cooking books. I've not invested a great deal of time to this idea but there are several other references I can think of which show that Homme is preoccupied with this idea that Humans being game and or food, particularly the video for No-one Knows where a Buck kills all the members of QOTSA to make game trophies out of back home. First it giveth also mentions hooks, but I do feel that applying that reference of hooks etc. to the concept of cannibalism or human victimisation or humans as food is pushing it slightly.

    Please feel free to contribute.

    PS: Avon means river. It comes from the Welsh, afon. QUOTSA's use of it is simply Nova reversed though.

    champiodion November 03, 2006   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    I agree. Perhaps he's alluding to the fact that humans are for all their intricacies are just animals. Consumers and the consumed and somewhere along the way have forgotten this so he sees humour in the fact that we're mortal, that we're animals and that somehow we think we're better than other animals and feels we can escape our fate, which is to provide food for other things. At the end of the day, only cremation stops us feeding the worms. Just like Romero did with Dawn Of The Dead and belittled man through his consumerism allegory, I feel Homme does this too. I feel he mocks man for his attempts to separate himself from nature only to be seduced into other forms of consumerism, be it drug use or materialism...perhaps that is why he covered Never Say Never.

    champiodion April 20, 2007   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    FYI, Nova and Avon is basically the same song. They did it as some kind of test, to show how you can change the how feel of a song just by changing the vocals. So Josh sang Avon and Pete Stahl sang Nova.

    Carlstroemon July 28, 2007   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    Absolutely correct that Homme has themes of self medication, as well as references to humans as food, game, and plenty of cooking references. I read his parents worked in the service industry which might lend to his infatuation with humans as food, cooking, knives, etc. Avon is certainly one of the first songs to references these themes.

    Gumborificon October 11, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I think the song is called Avon because the song sounds a lot like a song called Nova, made by the desert sessions. That's avoN backwards.

    Elinon April 28, 2003   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    yeah, both "avon" and "nova" are desert sessions songs

    like monsters in the parasol, millionaire and hangin tree, avon was updated for qotsa

    uncletommyon May 01, 2003   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Just heard what avon is... a fucking river in england, haha.

    vaselineon March 30, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    elin is nile backwards - did your parents name you after the river?

    best kurt everon April 10, 2005   Link

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