"Buster Poindexter" is the pseudonym rock singer David Johansen adopted in … Read Full Bio ↴"Buster Poindexter" is the pseudonym rock singer David Johansen adopted in the mid-'80s for a semi-comic nightclub-singer act he began to perform. His "one hit wonder" song is entitled "Hot,Hot,Hot." Eschewing his hard rock solo career (which followed a stint as lead singer of the New York Dolls), Johansen turned up at the New York club Tramps in a tuxedo, with a band he dubbed The Banshees of Blue, and sang pop standards, jump blues, and various novelty material. Eventually, the act won him a record contract, resulting in a few albums on RCA, but it was basically a live attraction. Since then, Johansen has pursued an acting career, though he maintains The Buster persona, appearing, for example, in the Catskills in the summer of 1992.

Skin & Bones
Buster Poindexter Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Strolling on the Malecón
I stopped at a modo exhibicion
The clothes were so bonito
Escotadura cut very low
I though I saw a manaqui viviente
Who was risueño to me
But when I wear my anteojos
It's much easier to see

¿Quieres que charlemos un rato?
She say mi encanta to me

Skin and bones. Skin and bones. All she was was skin and bones
Skin and bones. Skin and bones. All she was was skin and bones

I escorta her to la calle
Was a lindo exquisito la tarde
But in la luz de dia
She looked flaco espantos a mente
I said, Let's go get a piscolabis
I am muy hambriento
She said, Estoy a dieta
And have been fore vente años
I can't romper my ayuno
Por favor, take me home

Skin and bones. Skin and bones. All she was was skin and bones
Skin and bones. Skin and bones. All she was was skin and bones

When we entrar in her casa
Mi sangre azucar was very low
Comida on my cabeza
But her nevera was a desnudo
Except for dos carezas
And a piece of apio
She put on a camisa chiquito
And said, Bien provecho
If this is my amore agape
I'll have to sabor pausado

Skin and bones. Skin and bones. All she was was skin and bones
Skin and bones. Skin and bones. All she was was skin and bones

Oh, them skin and bones. All she was was skin and bones
Oh, them skin and bones. All she was was skin and bones
All she was was skin and bones
Oh, them bones. All she was was skin and bones
All she was was skin and bones
Oh, them skin and bones. All she was was skin and bones
Oh, them skin and bones. All she was was skin and bones

Oh, them bones. All she was was skin and bones
All she was was skin and bones

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Buster Poindexter's song "Skin & Bones" tell a story of the singer's encounter with a woman who appears attractive at first glance but becomes less enticing as he spends more time with her. The opening verse takes place on the Malecón, a famous boulevard in Havana, Cuba. The singer stops at a mode exhibicion, or fashion exhibition, where he sees clothes that are bonito, or beautiful. He thinks he sees a manaqui viviente, or living mannequin, who is risueño, or smiling, but when he puts on his anteojos, or glasses, he sees more clearly. He asks if she wants to chat for a while, and she responds, "mi encanta," or "I love it."

As the story continues, the singer escorts the woman to the street, where it is "lindo exquisito la tarde," or a lovely afternoon. However, in the "luz de dia," or daylight, she looks "flaco espantos a mente," or frighteningly thin. When the singer suggests getting a snack, the woman reveals that she has been on a diet for vente años, or twenty years, and cannot break her ayuno, or fast. She asks him to take her home.

When they enter her house, the singer's "sangre azucar," or blood sugar, is low, but the woman's fridge is "a desnudo," or bare, except for two "carezas," or carrots, and a piece of "apio," or celery. She puts on a "camisa chiquito," or small shirt, and tells him to enjoy his meal, but he realizes that she is nothing but "skin and bones."

Overall, the lyrics paint a picture of a woman who is obsessed with her weight and appearance to the point of starvation. While her outside may seem attractive at first, her mental and physical health suffer, and the singer is ultimately turned off by her lack of substance.

Line by Line Meaning

Strolling on the Malecón
Walking along the Malecón

I stopped at a modo exhibicion
I stopped at a fashion show

The clothes were so bonito
The clothes were very beautiful

Escotadura cut very low
The neckline was cut very low

I though I saw a manaqui viviente
I thought I saw a living mannequin

Who was risueño to me
Who was smiling at me

But when I wear my anteojos
But when I wear my glasses

It's much easier to see
It's much easier to see

¿Quieres que charlemos un rato?
Do you want to chat for a bit?

She say mi encanta to me
She says she likes me

I escorta her to la calle
I escort her to the street