Pepper

Album: Electriclarryland (1996)
Charted: 59 26
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  • Marky got with Sharon
    Sharon got Cherese
    She was sharing Sharon's outlook
    On the topic of disease
    Mikey had a facial scar
    And Bobby was a racist
    They were all in love with dyin'
    They were doing it in Texas
    Tommy played piano
    Like a kid out in the rain
    Then he lost his leg in Dallas
    He was dancing with a train
    They were all in love with dyin'
    They were drinking from a fountain
    That was pouring like an avalanche
    Coming down the mountain

    I don't mind the sun sometimes
    The images it shows
    I can taste you on my lips
    And smell you in my clothes
    Cinnamon and sugary
    And softly spoken lies
    You never know just how to look
    Through other people's eyes

    Some will die in hot pursuit
    Fiery auto crashes
    Some will die in hot pursuit
    While sifting through my ashes
    Some will fall in love with life
    And drink it from a fountain
    That is pouring like an avalanche
    Coming down the mountain

    I don't mind the sun sometimes
    The images it shows
    I can taste you on my lips
    And smell you in my clothes
    Cinnamon and sugary
    And softly spoken lies
    You never know just how you look
    Through other people's eyes

    Another Mikey took a knife
    While arguing in traffic
    Flipper died a natural death
    He caught a nasty virus
    Then there was the ever-present
    Football player rapist
    They were all in love with dyin'
    They were doing it in Texas
    Pauly caught a bullet
    But it only hit his leg
    Well it should have been a better shot
    And got him in the head
    They were all in love with dyin'
    They were drinking from a fountain
    That was pouring like an avalanche
    Coming down the mountain

    I don't mind the sun sometimes
    The images it shows
    I can taste you on my lips
    And smell you in my clothes
    Cinnamon and sugary
    And softly spoken lies
    You never know just how you look
    Through other people's eyes Writer/s: Gibson Jerome Haynes, Jeffrey D. Pinkus, Jeffrey Scott Coffey, Paul Leary Walthall
    Publisher: BMG Rights Management
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 6

  • Josh In Champaign from IllinoisI hear some inspiration from 88 Lines About 44 Women by The Nails. Pretty cool.
  • Poopoo Larson from New Jersey, UsaThe nature of these lyrics reminds me of Jim Carroll’s song, People Who Died. Anyone else ever think that?
  • Cpear from So CalPepper isn’t their best song and do not even trip it’s a really great song. It’s the iceberg tip is all. I always thought it was about stds.
  • Steve from CanadaThey totally copied Beck. It’s obvious
  • Rico from ColoradoThis was (if memory serves) released the week of lead singer Gibby Haynes' 20-year high school reunion, in 1996. Several of the characters mentioned in the song are either high school acquaintances (from Lake Highlands High School, Dallas, Texas in the mid-70s) or others in, or on the periphery of, his social orbit in high school. The song talks about what happened to a number of these people, in the years between graduation and 1996. The character referred to as "Flipper"..."Flipper died a natural death, he caught a nasty virus", was Philip Dunevant (who died of AIDS, in I believe, 1986). The "Tommy" who "played piano like a kid out in the rain", is I believe, Tom Dixon.

    It's a story of the things that happen to people by chance, or by their own actions, good and bad (mostly bad, in this case) here on the 3rd rock from the sun.

    That's my take, anyway. I knew most of these people.
  • Ad828321 from SwanseaIt was released as a single in the UK and the US, the fact stating it was ineligible for the Hot 100 is incorrect. It simply didn't sell enough.

    UK commercial release was on 7" (cat# CL 778) and CD single (cat# CDCL 778)
    US commercial release was on cassette (cat# 4KM 7243 8 58578 4 3) and CD single (cat# C2 7243 8 58578 2 9).
    It was also commercially released in Europe, Australia and separately in France.

    https://www.discogs.com/Butthole-Surfers-Pepper/master/38843
    http://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/pepper/
    (editor's note: It appears the song was only issued as a promotional single in the US, so you couldn't buy it.)
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