This song is about my baby chameleon. Her name is Norman. If you’re a fan of the first record, you might have seen the ‘Mabu’ video, where I drive my family car in a demolition derby. We rented a bunch of reptiles for the video, because, reptiles are cool as shit. We had a snake and some turtles and some goldfish, and we also got a baby chameleon.
That day was really emotional for me. After the derby, we had a funeral for my mangled car (watch the video, you’ll understand). While I was saying goodbye, my heart was breaking, and I was holding this little chameleon. I looked down, and she was just staring up at me with these huge, adorable eyes, and I loved her right away. She was filling the car-sized hole in my heart. I named her Norman and took her home that night.
Norman was the best. She hunted crickets and hung out in this cool terrarium me and my roommates built for her, and she was super friendly. But one day, she got really sick. I took her to a special reptile hospital, where they told me she had a tongue infection, and would need to have it amputated. The procedure was going to cost $1000 (pretty much every dollar in my bank account), but money didn’t matter. I loved Norman and she was my responsibility.
After the surgery, Norman was different. Chameleons rely on their tongues to eat and drink and hunt. For weeks, my roommates and I tried to teach her to do those things without a tongue. She just couldn’t figure it out. She got frustrated. And at a certain point, she stopped trying. She wouldn’t eat. She slept all day. She slowly lost her will to live, and that was the end of it.
I miss Norman a lot. I think about her every day. I really really liked her. I hope she liked me too.
BUT I KNOW I WON'T!
Frontman Stefan Babcock’s explains:
This song is about my baby chameleon. Her name is Norman. If you’re a fan of the first record, you might have seen the ‘Mabu’ video, where I drive my family car in a demolition derby. We rented a bunch of reptiles for the video, because, reptiles are cool as shit. We had a snake and some turtles and some goldfish, and we also got a baby chameleon. That day was really emotional for me. After the derby, we had a funeral for my mangled car (watch the video, you’ll understand). While I was saying goodbye, my heart was breaking, and I was holding this little chameleon. I looked down, and she was just staring up at me with these huge, adorable eyes, and I loved her right away. She was filling the car-sized hole in my heart. I named her Norman and took her home that night. Norman was the best. She hunted crickets and hung out in this cool terrarium me and my roommates built for her, and she was super friendly. But one day, she got really sick. I took her to a special reptile hospital, where they told me she had a tongue infection, and would need to have it amputated. The procedure was going to cost $1000 (pretty much every dollar in my bank account), but money didn’t matter. I loved Norman and she was my responsibility. After the surgery, Norman was different. Chameleons rely on their tongues to eat and drink and hunt. For weeks, my roommates and I tried to teach her to do those things without a tongue. She just couldn’t figure it out. She got frustrated. And at a certain point, she stopped trying. She wouldn’t eat. She slept all day. She slowly lost her will to live, and that was the end of it. I miss Norman a lot. I think about her every day. I really really liked her. I hope she liked me too.
http://fasterlouder.junkee.com/pups-track-by-track-guide-to-their-new-album-the-dream-is-over/863214
@ahlmann This story is so bittersweet, man. Thanks for sharing this. I had no idea.
@ahlmann This story is so bittersweet, man. Thanks for sharing this. I had no idea.
@ahlmann this is a great story behind an epic tune! Pathetic Use of Potential ftw!
@ahlmann this is a great story behind an epic tune! Pathetic Use of Potential ftw!
@ahlmann it's 3 am and I'm crying about a chameleon, fuck.
@ahlmann it's 3 am and I'm crying about a chameleon, fuck.