The Lyrics Strike Back

Egads. I’m starting to wonder whether I have some sort of weird subconscious death-wish thing going on.

After the whole necrophilia debacle, I decided to exercise a bit more care with the lyrical content on my current mix CD. The first song I checked was “Miracle Drug,” a catchy little ditty by A.C. Newman. I anticipated some sort of “Two Thumbs Up For Marijuana” message, but… I don’t think so.

Here are the lyrics:

“He was tied to the bed with a miracle drug in one hand,
In the other, a great lost novel that, I understand, was returned with a stamp
That said ‘thank you for your interest, young man.’

While preparing his soul for a perilous slide into crime,
He had decided that he would err on this side of divine,
Being told this was wise, that there’d be payback with interest in due time
So why all the history now?

He was tied to a job selling miracle drugs from his home,
At his door every morning a trophy arrived with the dawn,
With the following inscribed:
‘we’ve followed you with interest for some time.’
So why all the history now?
He was tied to a bed with a miracle drug in one hand.”

I know that as a political scientist I’m a bit dense with any sort of interpretation not involving statistical analysis, but is this about suicide? Some sort of death? I don’t quite understand it, but I certainly get the sense that this may be another song not appropriate for the Huffalump set.

All I know is that I’m now even more afraid to figure out the actual message of Citizen Cope’s “Bullet and a Target.” Wacky hijinks on the professional skeet shooting circuit, perhaps?

P.S. For those who are interested, I went [successfully] with the trendy tennis shoe this weekend, although the rest of my party had footwear with substantially more shine. And the negroni continued its streak of nauseating all who I foisted it upon.