Pepper

Well, nice to see my brother post something this morning on YouTube.

"Pepper" by the The Butthole Surfers (gotta love that name) was pretty much their one hit but in many ways I guess you only need one to make an impact.

Pepper seems to make little sense on the surface and while many may look to the lines, "You never know just how you look / Through other people's eyes" as being the most significant, I really don't think so. While that's very much a valid point I think the point behind this song is how so many are hell bent on personal destruction. Many references here go out to kids doing silly things in what seem to be sex, drugs and extreme lifestyle.

It's the lines, "Pauly caught a bullet / But it only hit his leg / Well it should have been a better shot / and got him in the head" that really stick with me. While many seem to meet their demise it would seem that Pauly doesn't but the mental scaring of what actually happens is far worse than the actual wound. Perhaps it's really a song about those that manage to survive life's ordeals and how these things shape us.

Marky got with Sharon
And 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 you look
Through other people's eyes

Some will die in hot pursuit
And 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

(In Reverse:
I don't mind the sun sometimes
The images it shows
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

How do we look through other peoples eyes? After we've managed to survive so much, does it really matter?