Where In The Hell Did You Go With My Toothbrush

Album: 25 to Life (2012)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The antecedent for The Reverend Horton Heat's sarcastic and humorous song titles is Kinky Friedman, best known for his 1974 track, "They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore." In this song, The Reverend (Jim Heath), sings from the perspective of a man with many faults who can't even find his toothbrush after his woman leaves him. It was recorded live from the trio's 2010 performance at the iconic Fillmore Concert Theater in San Francisco, California, and released on their live album, 25 to Life.
  • In our interview, we asked Reverend Horton if this song was about the end of a relationship. He replied, "No. There are a bunch of truisms in that song, and a lot of stuff that's just kind of embellished. It was meant to be a funny song. It was meant to be tongue-in-cheek, just absurd." Mission accomplished. (Here's the full Jim Heath interview.)
  • With Reverend Horton's first line, "you didn't leave a bar of soap when you left me," you might reflect back to that time when listeners dropped the needle on the vinyl and a legendary voice like Hank Williams Sr. would came through the hi-fi speakers. That influence is heavy in Horton's voice. Yet, the instrumental influence harkens back to the time of 1962 when The Beatles were paying their dues on a nightly basis in Hamburg Germany's Reeperbahn district (John Lennon delivered tongue-in-cheek vocals on a nightly basis to keep himself amused). Yet, it's the simple chord progression of the G, C, and D chords in an almost Skiffle-like style that Lennon himself cut his teeth on, that help tell this song's story and while not getting in the way of Reverend Horton's humor.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

TV Theme Songs

TV Theme SongsFact or Fiction

Was a Beatles song a TV theme? And who came up with those Fresh Prince and Sopranos songs?

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"They're Playing My Song

When Dave recorded the first version of the song with his group the Blasters, producer Nick Lowe gave him some life-changing advice.

dUg Pinnick of King's X

dUg Pinnick of King's XSongwriter Interviews

dUg dIgs into his King's X metal classics and his many side projects, including the one with Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam.

Roger McGuinn of The Byrds

Roger McGuinn of The ByrdsSongwriter Interviews

Roger reveals the songwriting formula Clive Davis told him, and if "Eight Miles High" is really about drugs.

Early Days of MTV

Early Days of MTVFact or Fiction

If you can recall the days when MTV played videos, you know that there are lots of stories to tell. See if you can spot the real ones.

90210 to Buffy to Glee: How Songs Transformed TV

90210 to Buffy to Glee: How Songs Transformed TVSong Writing

Shows like Dawson's Creek, Grey's Anatomy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer changed the way songs were heard on TV, and produced some hits in the process.