Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head Lyrics
Probably my favorite TMBG song it's awsome
I have no earthly idea what it's about.
The most meaningful TMBG song! I think it's not random at all like some of their other ones where it's impossible to know what they were actually thinking when they wrote it...anyway....
It's a protest against the status quo: people just doing their duties without questioning, working just to please their boss, and generally being fake. It makes people like mindless puppets. Putting your hand inside the puppet head means conformity. The song is saying that if we could "bust in the puppet head", that is, throw all this fakeness away and start fresh, we'd be free. We could deal with each other honestly and sincerely.
The first verse is also attacking nostalgia and sappy sentimentality. Maybe TMBG thinks these are also empty and fake and used to keep people in line by manipulating their emotions. People are told (especially by pop songs) that all they need is some romantic love to make their life complete, when actually the problem is much deeper.
In the last verse, he decides to quit his job, which is at a carwash. It's important that the job is at a carwash. A carwash is where people wash the outside of their cars so they will look good to other people...another way of keeping up the status quo. Clean the inside of the cup, man!
I believe in the first couple of stanzas tmbg are referring to how nostalgia can be dangerous if you dwell on and romanticize it. You lose track of reality and start imagining the way you and things were instead of realizing how they really were.
The rest of the song seems to use the imagery of sticking your hand in a puppet to illustrate that we can never just be ourselves. We always walk around flashing a facade...a projection of what we think other people want us to be. If the puppet head was "busted in"...if we could just be ourselves...things would be much better for everyone.
I agree with rog27 about the meaning, and not wanting to be someone's "puppet", such as the boss in the 2nd stanza. But my favorite part is "Do the dumb things I gotta do...touch the puppet head." TMBG are classic!
these guys are fuckin insane. literal interpretation is useless. just lay back and welcome the chaos in.
these guys are fuckin insane. literal interpretation is useless. just lay back and welcome the chaos in.
I find it kind of funny in the first line "Well it's a mighty zombie talking about love and prosperity." It's talking about how people try and convert others to faiths.