Songfacts®:

• Lead singer Frank Black wrote the lyrics about the frighteningly violent (crackity), gay roommate he had when he lived in Puerto Rico in 1985. He recalled to Mojo magazine May 2014: "Looking back, he just had some mental health issues. I found him frightening, a little mysterious." >>>

  Suggestion credit:
  Eulbie - New York, NY
• Like he did on several Pixies songs, Frank Black inserted some Spanish words and phrases in the lyric. During the six months he spent in Puerto Rico (on an exchange program when he was a student at the University of Massachusetts), Black learned just a bit of Spanish, so it was always a bit disjointed when he used the language in his songs. Here's the translation of the Spanish in this song:
  
  "paco picopiedra" - Fred Flintstone (should really be "Pedro Picapiedra")
  "la muñeca" - the doll
  "hospedaje" - dorm room
  "goofiar" - goof off
  "automovil" - car
• At Pixies shows, the mosh pits would amp up during this song, as it's a perfect track to release some aggression.