The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
"I think it's time to discuss your, ah
Philosophy of drug use as it relates to artistic endeavor"
Check it, yo, I always hit the tape with the rough road styles
You heard the psychedelic and ya came from miles
Keep my rhymes thick like a Guinness brew
So you could call me black and tan when I'm a wreckin' a crew
I'm like Bill Lee writing when he's in Tangier's
And now I'm on a soul safari with my Beatnik peers
Analog reel and a little distortion
Smokin' on somethin's you could say I'm scorchin'
I never been the type to brag but beware
I'll make a man burn his draft card like it was hair
Send ya up the river like you lookin' for Kurtz
I got the mugwump jism up in every verse
I always hit the apple when I'm going to shoot
So you can call me William Tell or Agent Cooper to boot
Mr. Mojo Risin' on the case again
So tell your mother and your sister and your sister's friends
Like an exterminator running low on dust
I'm bug powder itchin' and it can't be trussed
Inter zone trippin' and I'm off to Annexia
I gotta get a typewriter that's sexier
My name is Justin and that's all, that's it
And I'll be spittin' rhymes wicked like it ain't no shit
Houses of the Holy like Jimmy Page
But the song remains the same so I'm stuck in a rage
Just like Jane when she's going to Spain
I think I'm going away tomorrow, just a fool in the rain
Light up the candles and bless the room
I'm paranoid, snow blind, just a black meat fool
Bug powder dust an' mugwump jism
The wild boys runnin' 'round Interzone trippin'
Letter to control about the Big Brother
Trying like Hart to not blow my cover
Bug powder dust an' mugwump jism
The wild boys runnin' 'round Interzone trippin'
Letter to control about the Big Brother
Trying like Hart to not blow my cover
Never been a fake and I'm never phony
I got more flavor than the packet in macaroni
Rock drippin' from my every vowel
I've got the soul of the sixties like Ginsberg's Howl
Shootin' mad ball and I'm always jukin'
Take you to the hole and I'm surely hoopin'
Top of the pops like the Lulu's show
I'll take a walk on Abbey Road with my shoes of soul
I got a splinter though, damn, you know man it hurt
I got a Vegemite sandwich from Men at Work
I keep minds in line, but time sublimes
So when you search you find something like a gold mine
A psychedelic meanderings in the poem
I got a paddock in any place that I roam
Waiting for the sun on a Spanish caravan
Solar eclipse and I'm feeling like starin' man
Bug powder dust an' mugwump jism
The wild boys runnin' 'round Interzone trippin'
Letter to control about the Big Brother
Trying like Hart to not blow my cover
Bug powder dust an' mugwump jism
The wild boys runnin' 'round Interzone trippin'
Letter to control about the Big Brother
Trying like Hart to not blow my cover
Who's that man in the windowpane
Got somethin' on his tongue and it's startin' to stain
Sho' nuff equip so I can get down
Step up on my ladder and you'll get beat down
Hash bar style so I'm singin' day glow
Wakin' up the dead like Serpent and the Rainbow
Jeff Spicoli roll me another hay
The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh with Dr. J
Shockin' your ass like a faulty vibrator
Hear me now, but you'll probably get the vibe later
Who knows where the wicked wind blows
Que sera sera just leave it alone
Great Space Coaster toast up the town
Makin' midgets with my man Dr. Shrinker
Pass the hookah, throw down the pillows
Cloth on the ceiling, blow rings that billow
Kick off the shoes and relax your feet
Now roll up your sleeves for this lyrical treat
Bug powder dust an' mugwump jism
The wild boys runnin' 'round Interzone trippin'
Letter to control about the Big Brother
Trying like Hart to not blow my cover
Bug powder dust an' mugwump jism
The wild boys runnin' 'round Interzone trippin'
Letter to control about the Big Brother
Trying like Hart to not blow my cover
"I think it's time for you boys to share my last taste
Of the true black meat
The flesh of the giant aquatic Brazilian Centipede"
Philosophy of drug use as it relates to artistic endeavor"
Check it, yo, I always hit the tape with the rough road styles
You heard the psychedelic and ya came from miles
Keep my rhymes thick like a Guinness brew
So you could call me black and tan when I'm a wreckin' a crew
I'm like Bill Lee writing when he's in Tangier's
And now I'm on a soul safari with my Beatnik peers
Analog reel and a little distortion
Smokin' on somethin's you could say I'm scorchin'
I never been the type to brag but beware
I'll make a man burn his draft card like it was hair
Send ya up the river like you lookin' for Kurtz
I got the mugwump jism up in every verse
I always hit the apple when I'm going to shoot
So you can call me William Tell or Agent Cooper to boot
Mr. Mojo Risin' on the case again
So tell your mother and your sister and your sister's friends
Like an exterminator running low on dust
I'm bug powder itchin' and it can't be trussed
Inter zone trippin' and I'm off to Annexia
I gotta get a typewriter that's sexier
My name is Justin and that's all, that's it
And I'll be spittin' rhymes wicked like it ain't no shit
Houses of the Holy like Jimmy Page
But the song remains the same so I'm stuck in a rage
Just like Jane when she's going to Spain
I think I'm going away tomorrow, just a fool in the rain
Light up the candles and bless the room
I'm paranoid, snow blind, just a black meat fool
Bug powder dust an' mugwump jism
The wild boys runnin' 'round Interzone trippin'
Letter to control about the Big Brother
Trying like Hart to not blow my cover
Bug powder dust an' mugwump jism
The wild boys runnin' 'round Interzone trippin'
Letter to control about the Big Brother
Trying like Hart to not blow my cover
Never been a fake and I'm never phony
I got more flavor than the packet in macaroni
Rock drippin' from my every vowel
I've got the soul of the sixties like Ginsberg's Howl
Shootin' mad ball and I'm always jukin'
Take you to the hole and I'm surely hoopin'
Top of the pops like the Lulu's show
I'll take a walk on Abbey Road with my shoes of soul
I got a splinter though, damn, you know man it hurt
I got a Vegemite sandwich from Men at Work
I keep minds in line, but time sublimes
So when you search you find something like a gold mine
A psychedelic meanderings in the poem
I got a paddock in any place that I roam
Waiting for the sun on a Spanish caravan
Solar eclipse and I'm feeling like starin' man
Bug powder dust an' mugwump jism
The wild boys runnin' 'round Interzone trippin'
Letter to control about the Big Brother
Trying like Hart to not blow my cover
Bug powder dust an' mugwump jism
The wild boys runnin' 'round Interzone trippin'
Letter to control about the Big Brother
Trying like Hart to not blow my cover
Who's that man in the windowpane
Got somethin' on his tongue and it's startin' to stain
Sho' nuff equip so I can get down
Step up on my ladder and you'll get beat down
Hash bar style so I'm singin' day glow
Wakin' up the dead like Serpent and the Rainbow
Jeff Spicoli roll me another hay
The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh with Dr. J
Shockin' your ass like a faulty vibrator
Hear me now, but you'll probably get the vibe later
Who knows where the wicked wind blows
Que sera sera just leave it alone
Great Space Coaster toast up the town
Makin' midgets with my man Dr. Shrinker
Pass the hookah, throw down the pillows
Cloth on the ceiling, blow rings that billow
Kick off the shoes and relax your feet
Now roll up your sleeves for this lyrical treat
Bug powder dust an' mugwump jism
The wild boys runnin' 'round Interzone trippin'
Letter to control about the Big Brother
Trying like Hart to not blow my cover
Bug powder dust an' mugwump jism
The wild boys runnin' 'round Interzone trippin'
Letter to control about the Big Brother
Trying like Hart to not blow my cover
"I think it's time for you boys to share my last taste
Of the true black meat
The flesh of the giant aquatic Brazilian Centipede"
Lyrics submitted by Forevergreen, edited by NZfishboy
Bug Powder Dust Lyrics as written by Tim Simenon Justin Warfield
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Ah!! the true black meat of the giant aquatic brazilian centipede, mmmmm centipede uuuuggghhhh