… Read Full Bio ↴The Crash Test Dummies is a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The band is most identifiable through Brad Roberts (vocals, guitar) and his distinctive bass-baritone voice. The band members have fluctuated over the years, but its best known line-up consisted of Roberts, Ellen Reid (co-vocals, keyboards), Brad's brother Dan Roberts (bass guitar, backing vocals), Benjamin Darvill (harmonica, mandolin), and Mitch Dorge (drums, percussion). The band is best known internationally for their 1993 single "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" and best known in Canada for the 1991 single "Superman's Song".
After a multi-year hiatus, the band returned in 2015 with a tour and the new charity single "Promised Land" which was a collaboration with Marc Mysterio[1] following up his remix of "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm".
The origin of the Crash Test Dummies is tied to the history of two Winnipeg nightspots, the Spectrum Cabaret and the Blue Note Cafe, owned by Curtis Riddell.
In the mid-1980s, Riddell joined with Brad Roberts to form the decidedly less-than-serious bar band Bad Brad Roberts and the St. James Rhythm Pigs. Over time, the band evolved into the Crash Test Dummies, a name suggested by a friend of the band who was in medical school. The diagnostic mannequin, known colloquially as a crash test dummy, was known to the public already by this time. Ellen Reid and Benjamin Darvill became permanent additions. George West, the original bass player, quit and was replaced by Dan Roberts, Brad's brother. Riddell was replaced by Vince Lambert, who was fired and replaced by Mitch Dorge just before the release of The Ghosts That Haunt Me.
After signing with BMG Records in 1991, the band signed with manager Jeff Rogers (Swell).
In the summer of 2017, the full band, except Benjamin Darvill, reunited for a show in Winnipeg and Brad Roberts went on a tour of South Africa in early 2018.
In July 2018, a reunited photo of Brad Roberts, Ellen Reid, Dan Roberts, and Mitch Dorge was posted on the official Crash Test Dummies Facebook page, along with the announcement of Canadian Tour Dates for the fall.
Throughout their career, Crash Test Dummies have experimented with many different styles and genres of music. These styles include the acoustic folk rock of The Ghosts That Haunt Me, the electric alternative rock of A Worm's Life, the urban influences of Give Yourself a Hand, and the optigan-based compositions of Oooh La La!.
Crash Test Dummies recorded as a full five piece band from their debut album The Ghosts That Haunt Me until Give Yourself a Hand. At this time, the most notable instrumentation of the band's music included Brad Roberts' lead guitar, Ellen Reid's keyboards, and Benjamin Darvill's harmonica. Another notable element of Crash Test Dummies' music are the contrasting harmonies between Brad Roberts' deep lead vocals and Ellen Reid's backing vocals in the higher register.
Beginning with I Don't Care That You Don't Mind in 2001, the band's albums were recorded primarily by Brad Roberts, Ellen Reid, and a rotating roster of session musicians.
One of the biggest influences for Brad Roberts was the band XTC and Andy Partridge in particular. The band even went on to cover two of XTC's songs: "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" for the soundtrack to the film Dumb and Dumber, and "All You Pretty Girls" for the XTC tribute album A Testimonial Dinner.
Keep A Lid On Things
Crash Test Dummies Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You did, baby - you did
Who put your granny in the granny house?
You did, baby - you did, baby
Who put the bad in the madhouse?
You did, baby - you did
Who put that junk in the junk house?
You did, baby - you did, baby
Keep your eye on things while I'm gone
Keep a lid on things
Don't you try everything while I'm gone
Keep a lid on things
Who put the fun in the fun house?
You did, baby - you did
Who put your dad in the half house?
You did, baby - you did, baby
Who put the boys in the clubhouse?
You did, baby - you did
Who put the cat in the cat house?
You did, baby - you did, baby
Keep your eye on things while I'm gone
Keep a lid on things
Don't you try everything while I'm gone
Keep a lid on things
Keep your eye on things while I'm gone
Keep a lid on things
Who dug the hole in the outhouse?
You did, baby - you did
Who put Whitey in the White House?
You did, baby - you did, baby
Keep your eye on things while I'm gone
Keep a lid on things
Don't you try everything while I'm gone
Keep a lid on things
Keep your eye on things while I'm gone
Keep a lid on things
The Crash Test Dummies' song "Keep A Lid On Things" is a playful and satirical commentary on the ways in which we all have a hand in creating the craziness and chaos of the world around us. The song opens with a series of questions about who is responsible for various kinds of madness - from putting dogs and elderly family members in their respective houses to putting bad things in the madhouse and junk in the junkhouse.
The song then shifts into a call for action - the singer asks the listener to keep a lid on things while they're gone, to refrain from trying everything and keep their eye on things. The implication here is that we all have a tendency to make things worse when we try to fix them or take control, and that sometimes the best thing we can do is simply try to maintain the status quo as best we can.
Line by Line Meaning
Who put the doggy in the doghouse?
Who is responsible for the trouble doggy currently faces? You are, and only you.
You did, baby - you did
You are the one to blame for the trouble in question.
Who put your granny in the granny house?
Who decided to send Grandma to a care home? You did, and no one else.
Who put the bad in the madhouse?
Who's to blame for the madness that goes on in the madhouse? It's all because of you.
Who put that junk in the junk house?
Who brought all that unwanted stuff into this place? It's because of you, baby.
Keep your eye on things while I'm gone
Please make sure everything is in order while I'm away.
Keep a lid on things
Can you please keep everything under control and make sure nothing goes wrong?
Don't you try everything while I'm gone
It's important to be cautious and not do anything reckless in my absence.
Who put the fun in the fun house?
Who is responsible for making the fun house a fun place? You are, of course.
Who put your dad in the half house?
Who put your dad in a rundown house? It was you, baby.
Who put the boys in the clubhouse?
Who allowed the boys to create a clubhouse? That's because of you, baby.
Who put the cat in the cat house?
Who placed the cat in the cat house? It was you, baby.
Who dug the hole in the outhouse?
Who is responsible for the hole in the outhouse? You are, baby.
Who put Whitey in the White House?
Who put Whitey in the seat of power in the White House? It was you, baby, no doubt.
Lyrics Β© Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BRAD ROBERTS, GREG WELLS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Bartonovich52
The fact that they are a Canadian band are the only reason they made it this far in the first place.
Iβll tell you a secret. In relative terms... itβs absolutely nothing to create good art. The difficulty is in convincing people to spend money on it.
This is why royalties are so low. Sure the record companies
makemade tons of money, but they also have to spend lots in promotions, venues, advertising, recording, marketing, distribution, etc.What this does is put the songs and artist into the collective consciousness. People hear it, get used to it, have to have it, and have familiar experiences with other people. Iβm sure everyone in Canada who lived in the 90s has a memory associated with this song or with CTDs in general. Thatβs part of the reason for success.. that you can be part of something that is familiar to lots of people around you. FOMO does the rest.
Having songs play on the radio get people interested is very powerful. So powerful in fact, that in the US.. record companies would pay radio stations to play their artistβs songs. It was called βpayolaβ.
In Canada.. we had a legalized and socialized version of that called CANCON. What it basically said was that because of the absolutely dominant music industry of the United States and Great Britain, that a certain percentage of the songs played on the radio had to be Canadian.
And because of that, there were large grants and programs available to Canadian musicians and plenty of slots available.
Net result being that it is a lot easier to become a #1 hit artist in Canada than it is in the USA.
I donβt think that CTDs were anything that special. Iβm only hear because of the ridiculous video and the hilarious lyrics. I think that lots of other Canadian bands of the era were better and even more underrated.. like The Odds, the Headstones, Junkhouse, Limblifter, Pluto, Treblecharger, I Mother Earth, etc etc.
Nickelback was one of those bands that should have been more famous... but then they were... and we all know how that turned out.
Bottom line.. you could take a cross-section of Nebraska, apply CANCON rules to it, and come up with as many just as good or better artists per-capita.
Or you could think for yourselves... go to a dive bar or free music event, and discover a musician you and only a few people like. Buy their music and appreciate it. Thereβs no FOMO with this.. but the JOMO instead.
Pauperganda
Best band EVER - their diversity of sounds is VAST..each album is 1000% diff from the last...
Jilligain
Pauperganda I love them too. Really unique & talented
C.s. Lewis
I love this remake of who stole the cookie from the cookie jar...you did baby..
Tommie Smith
Best band EVER?
I assume you are hearing impaired
or tone deaf.
craig farthing
Apart from maybe the first two
Track Six
This band is amazing. Very truly, CTD was and is a tremendous added value for music. I commend these musicians and all those who supported them. They found purchase in my heart and helped me see a greater value in myself. To anyone with a spirit for musicianship and song that wanted to be more but didnβt quite get there I just want to say: Do you really think itβs too late? How long is a road? Is there a limit to what you can write a song about? Should there ever be? Donβt let go because you think you missed the chance to be on a stage...because itβs only just beginning and there is an eternity to experience. See you somewhere.
Eric Whitehead
This band is just on of the reasons I love Canadian bands. So offbeat and different.
Maria Teresa Costanzo-Byrne
I found this single by pure chance in my brother-in-lawβs record shop, I was intrigued by the cover. The track is absolutely fabulous and of my all times faves. I wonder why they didnβt get the huge success they deserved.
Taekwondo Time
They're a Canadian band, that's why . Canadian bands hardly get any air play in the United States or abroad and that's deliberate. They are suppressed in the US. Canada puts out more #1 songs and #1 artists by population size than any other country in the world. It's a music factory here. Until someone living in the United States (close to the Canadian border) either comes to Canada for a visit or tunes into a Canadian radio station, these bands don't ever get "discovered" south of the border. That's a fact.
Bartonovich52
The fact that they are a Canadian band are the only reason they made it this far in the first place.
Iβll tell you a secret. In relative terms... itβs absolutely nothing to create good art. The difficulty is in convincing people to spend money on it.
This is why royalties are so low. Sure the record companies
makemade tons of money, but they also have to spend lots in promotions, venues, advertising, recording, marketing, distribution, etc.What this does is put the songs and artist into the collective consciousness. People hear it, get used to it, have to have it, and have familiar experiences with other people. Iβm sure everyone in Canada who lived in the 90s has a memory associated with this song or with CTDs in general. Thatβs part of the reason for success.. that you can be part of something that is familiar to lots of people around you. FOMO does the rest.
Having songs play on the radio get people interested is very powerful. So powerful in fact, that in the US.. record companies would pay radio stations to play their artistβs songs. It was called βpayolaβ.
In Canada.. we had a legalized and socialized version of that called CANCON. What it basically said was that because of the absolutely dominant music industry of the United States and Great Britain, that a certain percentage of the songs played on the radio had to be Canadian.
And because of that, there were large grants and programs available to Canadian musicians and plenty of slots available.
Net result being that it is a lot easier to become a #1 hit artist in Canada than it is in the USA.
I donβt think that CTDs were anything that special. Iβm only hear because of the ridiculous video and the hilarious lyrics. I think that lots of other Canadian bands of the era were better and even more underrated.. like The Odds, the Headstones, Junkhouse, Limblifter, Pluto, Treblecharger, I Mother Earth, etc etc.
Nickelback was one of those bands that should have been more famous... but then they were... and we all know how that turned out.
Bottom line.. you could take a cross-section of Nebraska, apply CANCON rules to it, and come up with as many just as good or better artists per-capita.
Or you could think for yourselves... go to a dive bar or free music event, and discover a musician you and only a few people like. Buy their music and appreciate it. Thereβs no FOMO with this.. but the JOMO instead.