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Quote Unquote Lyrics
All behold the spectacle
A fleshy limbless rectangle
Sitting on a pedestal
So nasal handicapable
Sniff and remember silver ball
Contortions that he can't recall
The torso on a trampoline
The happiness melts into dream
To talk is an enunciated sneeze
To taste is some foul air to breathe
One thought it lasts a day and at that rate he'll most likely live forever!
He's a bird in flight, a hermaphrodite
And he fucks himself as he fucks the world
His twitching brain can dance within
Gyrating more like gelatin
A secret means of ecstasy
Acute and very olfactory
To see is colors crawling in the nose
To hear is stinking highs and lows
He's got an itch but nothing with which to scratch the itch - so wish it away
With his mouth sewn shut, he still shakes his butt
Cuz he's Hitler & Swayze & Trump & Travolta
Smell, Sweat, Movement.
Everyone's dancing.
Disco.
Dimple.
Fading. Darker.
A subtle fragrance.
Faint.
Everyone's dancing without him.
Where did it go?
Dark.
Odorless.
Nothing.
A fleshy limbless rectangle
Sitting on a pedestal
So nasal handicapable
Contortions that he can't recall
The torso on a trampoline
The happiness melts into dream
To taste is some foul air to breathe
He's a bird in flight, a hermaphrodite
And he fucks himself as he fucks the world
Gyrating more like gelatin
A secret means of ecstasy
Acute and very olfactory
To hear is stinking highs and lows
Cuz he's Hitler & Swayze & Trump & Travolta
Everyone's dancing.
Disco.
Dimple.
Fading. Darker.
A subtle fragrance.
Faint.
Everyone's dancing without him.
Where did it go?
Dark.
Odorless.
Nothing.
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Anyone who thinks this song is actually about John Travolta hasn't read the goddamn lyrics.
The song is about some hypothetical gimp, with no arms and legs, who does drugs to escape his reality. In his drug-induced hallucinations he fantasizes about being a celebrity, that's why he's Hitler and Swayze and Trump AND Travolta.
All the lyrics support this interpretation (contortions that he can't recall, etc) and the only reason anyone would assume it's about John Travolta is that his name appears in the lyrics and was once the title.
@brian_james interesting point, I know u wrote this a while ago, but there is a possible way that this is about travolta, because swayze and trump were both dancers and actors, the lyrics show, at the very end, there all dancing and what ever. Also his twitching brain can dance with in gyrating more like gelatin. I'm not sure, I'm only 14 you are probably right. none theless I love the song.
@brian_james interesting point, I know u wrote this a while ago, but there is a possible way that this is about travolta, because swayze and trump were both dancers and actors, the lyrics show, at the very end, there all dancing and what ever. Also his twitching brain can dance with in gyrating more like gelatin. I'm not sure, I'm only 14 you are probably right. none theless I love the song.
This song is actually called Travolta; they had to print it as Quote, Unquote on the CD for legal reasons concerning John Travolta. Keep in mind, when this song was written, it was before Pulp Fiction and his "comeback" (jt should blow Tarantino every night for that); before that Travolta was a BIG TIME has been. Quote, Unquote was the name of some biograghy or autobiography of JT published around this time.
The rectangular torso is the same shape as the pedestal. They are reflections of each other. It's a bit reminiscent of Percey Shelley's "Ozymandias": a once great monument that's now a statue in ruin, doomed to fall over time...except it's alive like Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein"- the original Gothic freak show. Here the torso is a feedback loop of awareness based on faulty memory and crossed senses (synaesthesia). Are we perhaps responsible for this figure's suspended downfall? Are we partially responsible for his rise? The hermaphrodite is an interesting metaphor for someone who conceivably had it all in themselves. They had the best of both worlds yet it wasn't enough because they always wanted more from the world.
yeah, the video is pretty fucked up.
err... ive really been thinking about this song alot... and i can't really figure out exactly what its about... i think its about how much the world values lust and fame.... but when we think about it all it really is a combination of our 5 senses... does that make any sense at all?
It's about John Travolta and how he's a twat. If they wrote this song about me, I'd be upset. John deserves it, though...
Yes they wanted to call it travolta but were'nt allowed to for legal reasons and called it quote unquote instead. So it is actually called Quote Unquote.
The original pressings have it labeled "Travolta." So that's not entirely true. The second wave of pressings are the ones with the different title.
The original pressings have it labeled "Travolta." So that's not entirely true. The second wave of pressings are the ones with the different title.
Actually, they did press a bunch of copies with the song's intended title, Travolta, before the whole legal nonsense came about. Just because the "Man" makes you do something doesn't mean it's the be all, end all authority. I don't think anyone (including the former band members) have ever referred to the song as Quote, UnQuote.
This song is so about Travolta, and anywone else who was big but then saw their demise! I had an older version of the album and This song was called Travolta on the notes. I laughed my ass off when I got it again after Pulp Fiction and the title had changed. To be honest, the title became inacurate after his comback. It wasn't a personal stab at Travolta, so much as it was a statement on the fleeting nature of trends: Hitler: fascism Swayze: 80s Dirty Dancing Trump: Capitalism Travolta: Disco
@xinnerx capitalism isn't a fleeting trend unfortunately... It's worse than ever these days.
@xinnerx capitalism isn't a fleeting trend unfortunately... It's worse than ever these days.
The best band ever. This song makes me feel like I've taken about 600mics of really bad acid, an eight ball, and a few hits of angel dust all at once. And just for kicks, I decide to go to a carnival funhouse and I get locked in there with a bunch of incestuous serial killer clowns.
I agree, Their music is a total mindfuck thats extremely enjoyable