Lyric discussion by thomhale 

Cover art for Cough Syrup lyrics by Butthole Surfers

Third BS song that I've re-done tonight:

She played for the Angels I played for the Tribe The summer had been stolen And the bases were all loaded There was big money on the line Big money all the time Yeah, there was big money on the line Well, I can't walk so I guess I'm gonna stay at home They can have my legs just leave my mail alone

I was in the kitchen The year was in the fall A friend of mine had told me that there weren't no point in moanin No there weren't no point at all There was big fire in the hall, yeah There weren't no points at all

Well I can't walk so I guess I'm gonna stay at home They can have my legs just leave my mail alone And I can't talk so I guess I got nothing to say I'll keep my eyes just take these tears away

Lock stock and barrel All the dogs were gone and feral And the car ran like a broken percolator His liver had gone hard and he wouldn't mow the yard There was big money on the line

And I heard that his brother was a viking He liked to solve a problem with a gun If you wanna know the facts you gotta teach em how to act And I hate cough syrup, don't you?

I'd rather be a sailor than a fighter I'd like to sail a ship into the sun If you wanna know the truth you gotta dig up Johnny Booth And I hate cough syrup, don't you?

I know that your mother is a martyr I heard she's got connections with the mob If you wanna learn to fight you gotta drink up all the light And I hate cough syrup, don't you?

I'd rather be a matchstick than a lighter I'd like to see the wood curl up and burn If you wanna touch the sky you must be prepared to die And I hate cough syrup, don't you?

I hate cough syrup and I hate the food in Europe And I hate cough syrup, it's true If you wanna know the truth, you gotta dig up Johnny Booth And I hate cough syrup, don't you? I hate cough syrup, it's true.

The song is about things that suck that you can't avoid. Such as cough syrup. "I can't walk, so I guess I'm gonna stay at home." "A friend of mine had told me that there ain't no point in moanin."

"If you wanna know the truth you gotta dig up Johnny Booth" alludes to John Wilkes Booth, who shot a great president, which is something we can't change. The food in Europe sucks, but if you want to enjoy Europe, you've got to eat.

People who think that Butthole Surfers' lyrics don't make sense are retarded, they're all some of the most blatant lyrics I've ever heard.

He mumbles. That's all.

Try listening harder, every song is really easy to understand if you pay attention.

thomhale is absolutly right and i'm a picky basturd

keep up the good work

@thomhale I agree with the new words you put here, but I disagree with your conclusion (yeah, I know it's 9 years later.)

I view the song as being one of Butthole Surfers' many songs about escapism through drug use. "If you wanna touch the sky you must be prepared to die;" does this band seem like one that falls on the side of believing in a heavenly afterlife? That just seems to me like an acknowledgement that life sucks, and must be escaped in some way that involves throwing your time down one of life's many optional sinkholes.

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@thomhale its fruity myrrh, myrrh being a fragrant gum resin obtained from certain trees and used, especially in the Near East, in perfumery, medicines (like cough syrup), and incense.