Scared

Actually, I'm kinda going on out on a limb, but I think this song is about Hollywood, or someone who makes scary pictures, like war movies or Jaws, etc.

I mean, the guy says he gets paid to make people scared. He even says it's a business that uses of focus groups. The line "Clearly entranced, you're leaning back now" makes me think of people in a movie theater leaning back to watch the screen, completely absorbed in the images they're seeing. Also the idea that you can watch something dangerous without ever really being in any danger. "Their lives need not be shortened."

This is a guy that comes across as a bad ass. A real James Dean type. He does it to be cool.

He meets this fine woman. Hey baby. Just warning you. I'm trouble. Hell, even the most evil of evil would be frightened of me. Your parents won't like me. Are you sure you want to get involved?

Of course he doesn't say this to drive her away. He knows that some chicks dig the bad boy and this is one of those chicks. He is laying out the honey knowing that she'll eat it up. Of course, deep down, he really isn't a bad ass. This is all a calculated act to get what he wants.

He puts on a real show. He talks about all the bad ass things he's done but he is usually all talk. He doesn't really put himself in harm's way. He can go on with this charade forever. He loves the perks and attention being a bad boy brings.

But wait a second. This chick is a different. She isn't a sheep. She sees right through him. She's a bit of a bad ass herself. She calls him out for being the poser that he is. It throws him for a loop. No one has ever spoken or acted that way toward him. He is not sure about this relationship anymore. He is losing the upper hand.

This chick is smart. She knows what she's doing. She set out to tame the beast and has succeeded. She has him in the palm of her hand. She's wearing the pants in this relationship.

Jimmy Dean is now a shell of his former self. The tables have turned and he is no longer calling the shots. The chick has exposed him and took away his edge. No one is afraid of him anymore. The bad boy mystique is gone.

Dude isn't comfortable in this role at all. In fact, he finds it humiliating. He trys to play it cool and act like he knew what she was doing all along. He hightails it out of that relationship presumingly looking for a woman more obedient and unquestioning.

I love this song, recently heard it live. The meaning- somewhere along the lines of growing up during the Great War, "So when Nazis find the whole place dark They'd think god's left the museum for good"

I think is a key quote, maybe growing up in Russia or one of the other neighbouring European countries the nazi's invaded.

This is generally introduced as a song about a door-to-door salesman selling fear, which may be a sly comment on politicians or media.

It's one of several TTH lyrics dealing with Nazism (others are Fire in the Hole and Springtime in Vienna), and it's the one that deals with it most explicitly. Which of the three tales scares us?

First, we have the war, in which Russians hide art from Nazi invaders and the invaders think God has abandoned them. What's frightening about this? The Nazi's faith in God?

Then we're told that some group of people need not be killed (or at least, need not die prematurely). They can keep on living and feeling grandiose. Who are they?

Then the shark limps in, without its fangs, and kids play with it.

I think all these are the same: Nazis fight a war in God's name ("Gott mit uns" on their belt buckles); Nazi war criminals survive the war and are kept in prison; Nazi ideals, apparently defanged, live on and attract children. The last is certainly the most frightening.

But is the fear based on reality, or on some tale concocted out of the cold calculation of a salesman pitching fear?

You mean World War 2. World War 1 was referred to as "The Great War" not WW2, and there was no such thing as Nazis yet during World War 1.

It's also possible that this is from the perspective of a Vetran, going to the schools, talking to kids.

Also, the beach part could be about DDay, where the troops rushed the shores of Europe

i believe the defanged destroyer is refrencing to a damaged battleship coming and maybe that had lost crew members

Defanged destroyer is defiantly a shark, and theres no doubt this song is about WW2 in some capacity. The only part that i have trouble fitting into the reast of the song is the "tests have shown" verse. Still this is one of my top 5 all time favourites!

Relatively good lyrics, but what type of music is it?

Yes, I mean World War II.

Wonderdog, Gord often introduces it with "Dad's job that became obsolete" which seems almost sympathetic, which I don't think he would be to the sly politicians or the media.

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