Les Claypool, bassist of many bands, including Primus, collaborated with vi… Read Full Bio ↴Les Claypool, bassist of many bands, including Primus, collaborated with virtuoso guitarist Buckethead, Parliament/Funkadelic keyboardist Bernie Worrell, and former Primus drummer Brain (Bryan Mantia) under the name Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains (a combination of all the band members' names). They were first formed at the first Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2002. Worrell, Brain and Buckethead were there to perform with Bill Laswell as Praxis. Laswell was not able to play at the concert, so Claypool introduced them to jam with him. From this point, they developed the concept of this supergroup. Their early concerts pushed the improvisational envelope by preparing no material and not rehearsing beforehand.

In 2004 the group recorded their only album "the big eyeball in the sky" and toured nationwide in support of the album.

The band briefly reunited without Brain at the 2006 Wakarusa Festival where, during Les Claypool's Fancy Band set, Bernie and Buckethead came onstage and played "the Big Eyeball in the Sky". Claypool dubbed this incarnation "Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Baldi", Baldi being Paulo Baldi who was a drummer for Cake and The Fancy Band.

Tyranny of the Hunt
Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The tyranny of the hunt
Will take you by surprise
It'll cloud the most unobstructed eye

The unpliable will ply
I tore a chunk from my finger
Red droplets to the floor
Suddenly it hits me I won't be violining anymore

The tyranny of the hunt
So goes the tyranny of the hunt

The tyranny of the hunt
Broke his morals down
Left him standing in the bathroom
With his trousers on the ground

You may be drawn by sight
You may be drawn by smell
You might be led to Xanadu
Or sent off straight to hell

The tyranny of the hunt
So goes the tyranny of the hunt

A Petaluma man
Showed his gal a trick
He took a needle full of cocaine
And he shot it in his prick

They say he got the gangrene
The pain it wouldn't stop
And when he took a hot bath that night
His pecker floated to the top

The tyranny of the hunt
So goes the tyranny of the hunt

Overall Meaning

The song "Tyranny of the Hunt" by Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains speaks about the theme of hunting and its consequences. The first verse describes the unexpected way in which the tyranny of the hunt takes over a person, clouding their sight and thoughts. The hunt becomes an obsession that seems to influence one's every action, even the most unpliable will eventually ply to it. The second verse describes the pain that the hunt can bring, such as tearing a chunk from one's finger or breaking one's morals down.

The chorus repeats the phrase "the tyranny of the hunt" twice, emphasizing the control it has over a person. The third verse tells the story of a man from Petaluma who injected cocaine into his genitals as a party trick, which ultimately led to gangrene and an unfortunate end. The song ends with the final repetition of the chorus, serving as a warning about the dangerous consequences of being drawn into the hunt.

Line by Line Meaning

The tyranny of the hunt
The oppressive nature of the hunt

Will take you by surprise
It will catch you off guard

It'll cloud the most unobstructed eye
Even the most perceptive person can be fooled by it

The unpliable will ply
Those who are stubborn will succumb to it

I tore a chunk from my finger
I hurt myself

Red droplets to the floor
Blood spilled

Suddenly it hits me I won't be violining anymore
I realize that my injury will prevent me from playing the violin

The tyranny of the hunt
The oppressive nature of the hunt

So goes the tyranny of the hunt
It continues to be oppressive

Broke his morals down
It caused him to lose his sense of right and wrong

Left him standing in the bathroom
It led him to a shameful situation