Buckethead is famous for wearing a KFC bucket on his head, emblazoned with an orange bumper sticker reading FUNERAL in capital black block letters, and an expressionless plain white mask, which, according to Buckethead, was inspired by his seeing Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. At one point, he changed to a plain white bucket that no longer bore the KFC logo, but subsequently reverted to his trademark KFC bucket. He also incorporates nunchaku and robot dancing into his stage performances.
As an instrumentalist, Buckethead has received critical acclaim for his electric guitar playing, and is considered one of today's most innovative guitarists. He has been voted number 8 on a list in GuitarOne magazine of the "Top 10 Fastest Guitar Shredders of All Time" as well as being included in Guitar World's lists of the "25 all-time weirdest guitarists" and the "50 fastest guitarists of all time". He performs primarily as a solo artist, though he has collaborated extensively with a wide variety of high-profile artists such as Bill Laswell, Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell, Iggy Pop, Les Claypool, Serj Tankian, Bill Moseley, Mike Patton, Viggo Mortensen, That 1 Guy, Bassnectar, and was a member of Guns N' Roses from 2000 to 2004. Buckethead has also written and performed music for major motion pictures, including: Saw II, Ghosts of Mars, Beverly Hills Ninja, Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Last Action Hero, and contributed lead guitar to the track "Firebird" featured on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie soundtrack.
The Ballad of Buckethead
Buckethead Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On his head a bucket of chicken bones, on his face a plastic mask.
He's the bastard son of a preachin' man, on the town he left a stain.
They made him live in a chicken house to try to and hide the shame.
He was born in a coop, raised in a cage. Children fear him, critics rage.
He's half alive, he's half dead. Folks just call him Buckethead.
They'd hose him down with water, and steal his little friends.
Now late at night he'd sneak off to the graveyard all alone,
And play a soapbox guitar to the faces made of stone.
Buckethead found his freedom at the age of 17,
when he burned the chicked house down with a quart of gasoline.
He did puppet shows on corners and bought a real guitar,
And with the help of Colonel Sanders, he's bound to be a star.
He was born in a coop, raised in a cage. Children fear him, critics rage.
He's half alive, he's half dead. Folks just call him Buckethead
The Ballad of Buckethead is a character study of the guitarist known as Buckethead. The first line of the song, "Who's this guitar-playing sonsa bitch?", is a question that is often asked when people see Buckethead perform. He is known for always wearing a plastic mask and a bucket on his head filled with chicken bones. According to the lyrics, he is the bastard son of a preacher who left a stain on the town he grew up in. His family tried to hide him away in a chicken house in order to hide their shame.
Buckethead's upbringing is described as being very difficult. He was born in a coop and raised in a cage, and was often tormented by the farmers who owned the land where he was kept. He found solace by sneaking off to the graveyard at night to play an old soapbox guitar to the faces carved in stone. The song reveals that he found his freedom when he burned down the chicken house at the age of 17 and started doing puppet shows on street corners. With the help of Colonel Sanders (the founder of KFC), he set out to become a star.
The lyrics of The Ballad of Buckethead paint a picture of a troubled, yet talented musician who has overcome many hardships in his life. Despite the unusual way in which he presents himself, he has managed to earn a dedicated following of fans who appreciate his unique style of guitar playing.
Line by Line Meaning
"Who's this guitar-playing sonsa bitch?", is a question common asked.
People often wonder who this guitar-playing man with a vulgar attitude is.
On his head a bucket of chicken bones, on his face a plastic mask.
He wears a bucket full of chicken bones on his head and a plastic mask on his face.
He's the bastard son of a preachin' man, on the town he left a stain.
His father was a preacher and he left a lasting impression on the town.
They made him live in a chicken house to try to and hide the shame.
To avoid shame, he was made to live in a chicken house.
He was born in a coop, raised in a cage. Children fear him, critics rage.
As a child, he was raised in captivity with chickens and this has led to fear and criticism.
Farmers would torment him as he snuggled with the hens.
The farmers would torment him as he associated with the hens.
They'd hose him down with water, and steal his little friends.
The farmers would use water to spray him and take away his small friends.
Now late at night he'd sneak off to the graveyard all alone,
He would secretly go to the graveyard late at night.
And play a soapbox guitar to the faces made of stone.
He would play a soapbox guitar to the statues in the graveyard.
Buckethead found his freedom at the age of 17,
He achieved his freedom when he was 17 years old.
when he burned the chicked house down with a quart of gasoline.
He burned down the chicken house with gasoline.
He did puppet shows on corners and bought a real guitar,
He performed puppet shows on the streets and purchased a real guitar.
And with the help of Colonel Sanders, he's bound to be a star.
With Colonel Sanders' help, he is destined for stardom.
He's half alive, he's half dead. Folks just call him Buckethead.
He is often referred to as Buckethead and is seen as someone who is not fully alive or fully dead.
Contributed by Connor Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Cody Quinney
I had some Buckethead music on iTunes and one of the genres was "Buckethead" You know a musician is awesome when he has his own genre.
Nathaniel Schwartz
Try the album "In The Hollow Hills". It's an actual Blues Buckethead Album. It's AMAZING!!!!!!! :)
Jay Reviews
I heard Primus + Buckethead play this live at Ozzfest 1999. I was 6 years old, and from then on out I've learned the greatness that is Buckethead.
rhcp4565
its impossible to compare artists, they all just delve into the infinity of music in different ways
L
sends shivers down my spine =O but its still brilliant
Dan Compton
les claypool and buckethead dont look like they should go together but when you do put them together its like gods orgasms pure genius!
Mordekaiser
He's half alive half dead, folks just call him Buckethead....BEST PART
Kenny_M_Olsen Archives
Nice!! i got trhis CD its awesome!!
navebucketdude
@numetla my dad got me in to the chilis when i was about 8. at the time i was really in to funk and jazz(still am). but i found out about thrash and death metal. I can't stop listening to the chilis. they are the my favorite band by far.
Chris Ayler
this song is beasty