After recording their first album, which featured the single Talking to a Stranger, the band traveled to Germany to record with famed producer Conny Plank. In 1984, the band reorganized, adding a three-piece horn section and losing the second guitarist. By 1986, the band's style was moving away from the sweat-drenched rhythmic jams of their early days to a more song-centered aproach centered on Seymour (whose younger brother Nick was a member of Crowded House). Throw Your Arms Around Me was a successful single in many countries.
The band was never able to match the worldwide attention they reached in 1986, though they continued to record with considerable success in Australia, and maintained a loyal fanbase elsewhere.
They broke up in 1998, but returned to play one concert on 14 March 2009 for "Sound Relief" at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which was a multi-venue rock music concert in support of relief for the Victorian Bushfire Crisis.
42 Wheels
Hunters & Collectors Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I got 42 wheels of pleasure and pain
I got a heavy little number
I'm gonna head it on down upon the Alice again
With a paralytic weapon I can hardly miss
Gotta give the bricks another everlasting kiss
Had to leave a big impression on the paralytic mob
Make it a Jaws of Life job
The opening lines of Hunters & Collectors's song "42 Wheels" tell us of a heavy burden that the singer is carrying, "42 wheels of pleasure and pain". This line may represent the weight of the world that people carry on their shoulders. However, it may also represent the tension between enjoyment and suffering in life. Throughout the song, the singer is resigned to confronting the heavy and the dark in life.
The second line "I'm gonna head it on down upon the Alice again" refers to the town of Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory of Australia, which is a remote destination surrounded by the country's red desert, also known as 'the Alice'. Alice Springs holds spiritual significance, it’s a pilgrimage city for Indigenous Australians and contains several sacred sites. The Alice has since become a symbol of the wild and unspoiled regions of Australia.
The lines "With a paralytic weapon I can hardly miss, Gotta give the bricks another everlasting kiss" suggest that the singer is armed with a powerful and destructive tool that they intend to use to its fullest effect. The use of the word "paralytic" adds a sense of danger to the stanza. This line expresses a desire to destroy the structure, even if the consequence is destruction and dismantlement.
Overall, the song is surely a fusion of thought-provoking lyrics and powerful instrumentation that reflects the intensity and heaviness of life.
Line by Line Meaning
I got a heavy little number
I have a significant object that carries much weight or meaning
I got 42 wheels of pleasure and pain
I have 42 aspects of my life that bring both joy and suffering
I got a heavy little number
My significant object is also burdensome or challenging
I'm gonna head it on down upon the Alice again
I plan to return to Alice Springs, Australia
With a paralytic weapon I can hardly miss
I have a potent tool that immobilizes and incapacitates targets effortlessly
Gotta give the bricks another everlasting kiss
I must once again crash or collide with building structures
Had to spit the dummy, do a Jaws of Life job
I had to lose my temper and use extreme force or effort
Had to leave a big impression on the paralytic mob
I needed to make a significant impact on a group of immobile individuals
Contributed by Adalyn N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.