Duration: 2:27
Release Date: 1979 (first written 1975 with different lyrics and chords)
Lyrics By: Art Barnes & Artie Barnes
Music By: Art Barnes & Artie Barnes
Produced By: Barnes & Barnes
Released By: Lumania
Published By: Music Spazchow (Stavro Arrgolus)
Licensing: ASCAP #360169631
Fish Heads
Barnes & Barnes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Roly-poly fish heads
Fish heads, fish heads
Eat them up, yum
Fish heads, fish heads
Roly-poly fish heads
Fish heads, fish heads
In the morning, laughing, happy fish heads
In the evening, floating in the soup
Ask a fish head anything you want to
They won't answer, they can't talk
I took a fish head out to see a movie
Didn't have to pay to get it in
They can't play baseball, they don't wear sweaters
They're not good dancers, they don't play drums
Roly-poly fish heads are never seen drinking cappuccino
In Italian restaurants with Oriental women
Yeah
Ask a fish head anything you want to
They won't answer, they can't talk
Ask a fish head anything you want to
They won't answer, they can't talk
Barnes and Barnes's song "Fish Heads" is a surreal and absurd piece of music that has managed to be memorable and popular throughout many years. This song consists of simple repetitive lyrics that create a sense of catchiness and absurdity. The song includes the repetition of the phrase "fish heads, fish heads" several times, which refers to the decapitated heads of fish. The song focuses on this image and repeats it throughout to create a sense of ironic humor. The chorus "roly-poly fish heads" is both entertaining and oddly disturbing because it uses the image of cut-off fish heads to make people think about something they might otherwise find grotesque.
The song's verses continue the surreal theme by imagining these fish heads as having personalities and lives. The lyrics suggest that these fish heads are happy in the morning and in the evening they float in soup, which is both amusing and nonsensical. The line "Ask a fish head anything you want to, they won't answer, they can't talk" reinforces their peculiar nature. The song then takes an even more absurd turn as it claims that the singer took a fish head to a movie and didn't have to pay to get it in. Finally, the song concludes with a powerful and entertaining image, "roly-poly fish heads are never seen drinking cappuccino in Italian restaurants with Oriental women." The overall effect is both comic and surreal, and the song is an unusual piece of entertainment.
Line by Line Meaning
Fish heads, fish heads
A chant featuring fish heads as the main subject.
Roly-poly fish heads
Description of the appearance of the fish heads being round and chubby.
Eat them up, yum
An appeal to consume the fish heads.
In the morning, laughing, happy fish heads
The fish heads are portrayed as content and carefree in the morning.
In the evening, floating in the soup
The same fish heads are depicted as ingredients in soup.
Ask a fish head anything you want to
A hypothetical scenario involving asking questions to a fish head.
They won't answer, they can't talk
The fish heads are incapable of speech and communication.
I took a fish head out to see a movie
A humorous reference to an unusual or absurd situation involving a fish head.
Didn't have to pay to get it in
Insinuation that the fish head was not charged to enter the movie theater because it's a head of a fish.
They can't play baseball, they don't wear sweaters
The fish heads are devoid of human abilities and accessories.
They're not good dancers, they don't play drums
More examples of activities that the fish heads cannot do or perform.
Roly-poly fish heads are never seen drinking cappuccino
A satirical comment on the non-existent tastes of fish heads.
In Italian restaurants with Oriental women
A highly unlikely scenario given the unsophisticated nature of fish heads.
Yeah
An expression of enthusiasm or affirmation.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BILL MUMY, ROBERT S. HAIMER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Hovenaut
Should MTV ever decide to play music videos again, let them start with this masterpiece.
@rbairos1
Is there anything Youtube can't deliver? A moment of reflection for this mighty mighty service.
@Bockatadi
without the internet, my little brother would think i was making this stuff up...thank you internet!
@mthivier
First time I saw this was when it aired on SNL around 1980. I was half asleep and convinced myself, next morning that I'd dreamed it all up, so insalely f*cked up, it could't have been real.
@joyusachoobarb
I cannot explain how happy I am to find this at 3.20am.
@KevinDouglas1
This was actually produced by Actor: Bill Paxton in 1980 while he was trying to make it into the acting business. He eventually sold this video to Saturday Night Live.
@candroo
My dad was a Dr.Demento fan and used to listen to this all the time. Now that I've seen this, I can see why!
@XAustria
I'm on that side of the 80's again...
@ratonmagico
this is a masterpiece of all times
@SavMacCauley
Why does this not have 100,000,000 views?