60ft Dolls were formed in Newport in 1992 by Richard J. Parfitt and Michael… Read Full Bio ↴60ft Dolls were formed in Newport in 1992 by Richard J. Parfitt and Michael Cole, who met through Donna Matthews (later of Elastica) who was at the time, dating Cole. After supports with Oasis, Dinosaur Jr and others, 60 Ft. Dolls released their second single White Knuckle Ride on Rough Trade Records and then Pig Valentine on the RCA imprint Indolent Records. These early singles were championed heavily Steve Lamacq, and as a consequence were picked up by influential American DJ Rodney Bingenheimer. This resulted in the band signing a deal with Geffen Records in the USA. The band broke into the UK Top 40 with their third single Talk to Me (Indolent, 1996). This was followed by their debut album, The Big 3 which was called ‘…as close to soar-away rock perfection as it's possible to imagine’ by the NME and ‘…pure, unadulterated, no nonsense, emotional, tuneful, impassioned, purposeful, hedonistic rock 'n' roll’ by Melody Maker. The album was also included in Mojo’s 2003 retrospective feature ‘Top 12 Britpop albums of the 90s’. The band toured extensively in the UK, Japan and Europe, including several summer festival appearances as well as opening for The Sex Pistols at their 1996 Finsbury Park reunion gig, but they were dogged by alcohol problems, and after an exhaustive three tours of the USA in 1997, never toured again. They released their second album, Joya Magica in late 1998 and split soon after. The band recorded two sessions for John Peels show and appear in the top BBC 125 best Peel sessions of all time.

Pig Valentine
60ft Dolls Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

It's better now, the thorn is out
So climb inside, somewhere to hide
I thought I knew you and I know it's going wrong
The devil on my shoulder buys me drinks

So, I don't care, the angel slipped
He lost his grip
I am headed straight for you know where

Pig valentine make it happen
All the time
And she does it when she does
And I love the way she loves

Down in the basement flat
The girl she waits, anticipates
Athena postcards that are
Blue-tacked to the wall

The hand that shakes the coffee cup
It brings the morning down
She's headed for the kitchen door
The hardest part of all is coming round

Pig valentine make it happen
All the time

And she does it when she does
And I love the way she loves

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Pig Valentine by 60ft Dolls tell a story about a relationship that is going wrong. The singer and the person he thought he knew are having issues, and he seems to be drinking a lot due to the devil on his shoulder. He no longer cares about the angel, who has lost his grip, and he knows he's headed straight to "you know where." Despite all of this, he loves Pig Valentine- a woman who makes things happen all the time, and he loves the way she loves.

The song is mainly about the complexities of relationships and how it's possible to love more than one person at the same time. The person being sung about in the song is a symbol of hope and love despite the issues surrounding the singer. The song also touches upon the idea of being stuck in life and how it can be hard to come back from that. The line "The hardest part of all is coming round" suggests that the singer is trying to move forward, but it's not easy.

Line by Line Meaning

It's better now, the thorn is out
The pain is gone now that the object causing the pain has been removed.

So climb inside, somewhere to hide
Find a safe place to hide so you can recover.

I thought I knew you and I know it's going wrong
I believed I understood you, but now I know that things aren't going as planned.

The devil on my shoulder buys me drinks
My bad tendencies make me indulge in unhealthy behavior.

So, I don't care, the angel slipped
I'm not worried because my better judgments have failed me.

He lost his grip
The good side of me can't keep me in check anymore.

I am headed straight for you know where
I'm moving towards an undesirable situation.

Pig valentine make it happen
Personify the desire to act on hedonistic urges.

All the time
This desire is always present.

And she does it when she does
This desire is acted upon when the time is right.

And I love the way she loves
I have a fondness for the way this desire is carried out.