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Wig in a Box Lyrics
On nights like this
when the world's a bit amiss
and the lights go down
across the trailer park
I get down
I feel had
I feel on the verge of going mad
and then it's time to punch the clock
I put on some make-up
and turn up the tape deck
and pull the wig down on my head
suddenly I'm Miss Midwest
Midnight Checkout Queen
until I head home
and put myself to bed
I look back on where I'm from
look at the woman I've become
and the strangest things
seem suddenly routine
I look up from my Vermouth on the rocks
a gift-wrapped wig still in the box
of towering velveteen.
I put on some make-up
and some LaVern Baker
and pull the wig down from the shelf
Suddenly I'm Miss Beehive 1963
Until I wake up
And turn back to myself
Some girls they have natural ease
they wear it any way they please
with their French flip curls
and perfumed magazines
Wear it up
Let it down
This is the best way that I've found
to be the best you've ever seen
I put on some make-up
and turn up the eight-track
I'm pulling the wig down from the shelf
Suddenly I'm Miss Farrah Fawcett
from TV
until I wake up
and turn back to myself
Shag, bi-level, bob
Dorothy Hammil do,
Sausage curls, chicken wings
It's all because of you
With your blow dried, feather back,
Toni home wave, too
flip, fro, frizz, flop,
It's all because of you
It's all because of you
It's all because of you
I put on some make-up
turn up the eight-track
I'm pulling the wig down from the shelf
Suddenly I'm this punk rock star
of stage and screen
and I ain't never
I'm never turning back
when the world's a bit amiss
and the lights go down
across the trailer park
I get down
I feel had
I feel on the verge of going mad
and then it's time to punch the clock
and turn up the tape deck
and pull the wig down on my head
suddenly I'm Miss Midwest
Midnight Checkout Queen
until I head home
and put myself to bed
look at the woman I've become
and the strangest things
seem suddenly routine
I look up from my Vermouth on the rocks
a gift-wrapped wig still in the box
of towering velveteen.
and some LaVern Baker
and pull the wig down from the shelf
Suddenly I'm Miss Beehive 1963
Until I wake up
And turn back to myself
they wear it any way they please
with their French flip curls
and perfumed magazines
Wear it up
Let it down
This is the best way that I've found
to be the best you've ever seen
and turn up the eight-track
I'm pulling the wig down from the shelf
Suddenly I'm Miss Farrah Fawcett
from TV
until I wake up
and turn back to myself
Dorothy Hammil do,
Sausage curls, chicken wings
It's all because of you
With your blow dried, feather back,
Toni home wave, too
flip, fro, frizz, flop,
It's all because of you
It's all because of you
It's all because of you
turn up the eight-track
I'm pulling the wig down from the shelf
Suddenly I'm this punk rock star
of stage and screen
and I ain't never
I'm never turning back
Song Info
Submitted by
lovechild On Feb 13, 2002
More Hedwig and the Angry Inch
The Origin of Love
Angry Inch
Wicked Little Town (Reprise)
Wicked Little Town
Midnight Radio
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A wonderful show of pressing on wiht your life.
This is one fun song!! Playing with a fantasy identity then taking it on completly is what I hear. It is expressed so beautifully too. My favorite Hedwig song.
i love the way they potray the idea of transformation. simple things like wigs can make you feel like a whole different person, and hedwig is just trying them all on for size, expressing the many facets of her/himself. i agree about this being the best hedwig song- well, closely tied with "origin of love", anyway. n_n
I dare someone to listen to this and NOT be cheered up. Especially if you sing along when prompted. (Don't you just love the "follow the wig" graphic on the film during the sing-along? Wig out, man!)
Besides the catchy lyrics and the catchy beat that goes from candy pop to head-banging material and back, the song also has deeper meanings and is the climax to the story.
It shows how Hedwig is using the drag to cover his true self. ("Until I wake up, and turn back to myself.") And don't we all use something or someone to cover our true selves, at least at some point?
Of course, on the surface, it's also just bloody fun to sing-along to as you "put on some make-up"... rock out! :-D
Gold star for the person who knows which NOFX song references this track...
Idiot Son of an Asshole
I love it how the emotion and the way she sings in this verse progresses to reflect how she feels.
I put on some make-up and turn up the eight-track I'm pulling the wig down from the shelf
Suddenly I'm Miss Farrah Fawcett from TV
until I wake up and turn back to myself
That was only on a live version of "Idiot Son of an Asshole" that they were doing near a production of Hedwig. I guess they're fans.
I think this song is dark and impossibly sad. It's about someone trapped in a life & situation over which they feel they have little control. They have alcohol (vermouth on the rocks) and music (Laverne Baker) to help get them through their despair. They feel trapped to perform and that they aren't quite a woman with "natural ease" so they have to pretend to be someone they aren't quite.
The song then showcases both the singer's denial of the situation and strength in overcoming that sadness by putting that wig on and doing a sing along to cheer everyone up. And they don't want to go back to that sadder persona they sung about early.
It's really just a beautiful song.
[Edit: Spacing]