Piglet is a piggy bank. "If I were a carpenter" is a reference to an old song lyric (look it up), it's not a reference to Jesus (other than a second-hand reference). So, he smashes his piggy bank with a hammer to get the seven bucks he has saved to buy the fake forehead. Not complicated.
Burning down the playhouse is also a reference to other song lyrics that I think originated long ago in the blues community. I'm sure the phrase appears in many many songs. I believe it's a sort of threat to out-do or defeat someone, but I was also told once that it an allusion to infidelity -- to burn (or tear) someone's playhouse down is to sleep with his woman. Maybe sort of like mowing someone else's grass? It's not very obvious or literal, but I can see it.
TMBG used to twist up old rock and pop lyrics a lot. They don't do it much anymore, but their early work is full of mangled lyrics from well-known songs. A lot of younger fans miss the references and get really, really confused.
The baseball interp is very interesting but doesn't cover all the bases, so to speak. I've always taken this song to be about pet rocks, fads, and (obviously) a pun on "We wanna rock." I like to think the pun came first and the rest of the song was built around it.
Piglet is a piggy bank. "If I were a carpenter" is a reference to an old song lyric (look it up), it's not a reference to Jesus (other than a second-hand reference). So, he smashes his piggy bank with a hammer to get the seven bucks he has saved to buy the fake forehead. Not complicated.
Burning down the playhouse is also a reference to other song lyrics that I think originated long ago in the blues community. I'm sure the phrase appears in many many songs. I believe it's a sort of threat to out-do or defeat someone, but I was also told once that it an allusion to infidelity -- to burn (or tear) someone's playhouse down is to sleep with his woman. Maybe sort of like mowing someone else's grass? It's not very obvious or literal, but I can see it.
TMBG used to twist up old rock and pop lyrics a lot. They don't do it much anymore, but their early work is full of mangled lyrics from well-known songs. A lot of younger fans miss the references and get really, really confused.
The baseball interp is very interesting but doesn't cover all the bases, so to speak. I've always taken this song to be about pet rocks, fads, and (obviously) a pun on "We wanna rock." I like to think the pun came first and the rest of the song was built around it.