Though his popularity has fluctuated through the years, many of Pop's songs have become well-known, including "Lust for Life", "The Passenger", "Real Wild Child", "Candy" (a duet with Kate Pierson of The B-52's), "China Girl", "Nightclubbing", "Search and Destroy" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog".
In 2010, The Stooges were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Pop was the lead singer of The Stooges, a late 1960s/early 1970s band that featured brothers Ron and Scott Asheton and Dave Alexander and was highly influential in the development of hard rock. The debut album was produced by the Velvet Underground's John Cale. The band's "I Wanna Be Your Dog" is a garage punk standard.
Raw Power was first released in1973, perhaps the first record that could truly be called punk. It was the confluence of The Stooges ages, hormones, creativity, ability, experience, tastes, lack of supervision, contempt for authority and ambition that has made Raw Power one of the most influential albums of all time.
The Stooges were infamous for performances in which Pop leapt off the stage (hence, the "stage dive"), smeared raw meat or peanut butter over his chest and cut himself with broken bottles. A glimpse of the vibrating intensity of Iggy live can be seen in the Ramones movie "End of the Century." Guitarist James Williamson became a key collaborator, a partnership documented on the 1978 album Kill City.
In 25 years as a solo artist, Pop's best-known songs have included the thumping Lust for Life, to be heard on the soundtrack of the find-a-vein, shoot-it-up movie Trainspotting, I'm Bored and The Passenger (the latter based on a poem written by Jim Morrison). David Bowie played a key role in reinvigorating Pop's post-Stooges career and was a collaborator on the albums Lust for Life and The Idiot. Iggy may be under-rated as a songwriter. Bowie and Tina Turner covered his "Tonight". Bowie also put out his own version of "China Girl," while Grace Jones covered the icey "Nightclubbing".
Dum Dum Boys
Iggy Pop Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Without the dumb dumb boys
I can't seem to speak
The language
I remember how they
Used to stare at the ground
They looked as if they
Put the whole world
The whole world down
The first time I saw
The dumb dumb boys
I was fascinated
They just stood in front
Of the old drug store
I was most impressed
No one else was impressed
Not at all
And we'd sing
Da-da-da-da-da-da
Dumb dumb day
Where are you now my
Dumb dumb boys are you
Alive or dead
Have you left me the last
Of the dumb dumb daze
Then the sun goes down
And the boys broke down
People said we were negative
They said we'd take but
We would never give
But we'd sing da-da-da
Da-da-da dumb dumb day
Da-da-da-da-da dumb
And hope it would pay
Da-da-da-da it's been
A dumdumdum day
A dumb dumb day
Now I'm looking for
The dumb dumb boys
Where are you now
When I need your noise
Now I'm looking for
The dumb dumb boys
The walls close in and
I need some noise
In the song Dum Dum Boys by Iggy Pop, the singer reminisces about a group of friends from his past, called the dumb dumb boys, who used to stare at the ground and put the whole world down. He finds it hard to speak without them around, and describes how they would just stand in front of an old drug store. He acknowledges that people thought they were negative, but they just hoped that their chanting of "da-da-da" would pay off. Now, in the present day, Iggy Pop is looking for the dumb dumb boys, as the walls are closing in and he needs some noise.
The song appears to be a tribute to a group of disaffected youths who didn't fit in with mainstream society. They were seen as negative but perhaps had a deeper understanding of the world around them, and Iggy Pop seems to look back on them with fondness and a sense of loss. The repetition of "da-da-da" creates a sense of monotony and boredom, while also being slightly hypnotic. The use of the phrase "dumb dumb" could suggest that they weren't intelligent, or perhaps that they were just bored and uninterested in the world around them.
Iggy Pop's delivery of the lyrics is sparse and almost monotone, creating a sense of detachment and disaffection. He seems to be searching for something that he cannot find, and the sense of loss is palpable. The song suggests that these dumb dumb boys were a vital part of his life, and without them around, he is struggling to cope.
Line by Line Meaning
Things have been tough
Life has been difficult recently
Without the dumb dumb boys
Without my group of friends who were not taken seriously by others
I can't seem to speak
I'm struggling to express myself
The language
The way of communicating and connecting with others
I remember how they
I recall how my friends
Used to stare at the ground
Would avoid eye contact with others
They looked as if they
It seemed like they
Put the whole world
Had a pessimistic view of everything
Looked as if they put
It might have seemed like they lowered
The whole world down
The general mood of the world negatively affected them
The first time I saw
The initial encounter I had with
The dumb dumb boys
My group of friends who were not taken seriously by others
I was fascinated
I was intrigued and captivated
They just stood in front
They simply positioned themselves in front of
Of the old drug store
An abandoned pharmacy
I was most impressed
I was greatly impressed and awestruck
No one else was impressed
Other people were indifferent and uninterested
Not at all
No one was impressed
And we'd sing
We would all sing together
Da-da-da-da-da-da
A meaningless but catchy tune
Dumb dumb day
A day that seems lacking in intelligence or excitement
Where are you now my
I wonder where my
Dumb dumb boys are you
My group of friends who were not taken seriously by others, are you
Alive or dead
Still alive or have passed away
Have you left me the last
Did you all leave me as the only remaining
Of the dumb dumb daze
Of the time when we were all considered unimportant and foolish
Then the sun goes down
As night falls
And the boys broke down
My group of friends couldn't keep up with the difficulties
People said we were negative
Others would describe us as pessimistic
They said we'd take but
They claimed we would only want to receive
We would never give
We never gave back to others
But we'd sing da-da-da
However, we would continue to sing our meaningless but catchy tune
Da-da-da dumb dumb day
A reminder of a dull and unexciting day
Da-da-da-da-da dumb
More of a meaningless but catchy tune
And hope it would pay
We hoped for some kind of positive outcome from this tune of ours
Da-da-da-da it's been
We've been singing
A dumdumdum day
A day full of foolishness
Now I'm looking for
Currently searching for
The dumb dumb boys
My group of friends who were not taken seriously by others
Where are you now
I'm wondering where you all are now
When I need your noise
At a time when I need your rebellious and unconventional ways to help me cope
The walls close in and
As I feel trapped and hopeless
I need some noise
I require some commotion and disturbance to distract myself from the negative state I'm in
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: David Bowie, James Osterberg
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@6min6ats
This song is made by and for (former)drug addicts.
''The first time I saw
The dumb dumb boys
I was fascinated
They just stood in front
Of the old drug store
I was most impressed
No one else was impressed
Not at all''
Just so striking.
@MICUENTA9000
[Intro]
What happened to Zeke?
He's dead on Jones, man
How about Dave?
O.D'd on alcohol
Oh, what's Rock doing?
Oh, he's living with his mother
What about James?
He's gone straight
[Verse]
Well, things have been tough
Without the Dum Dum Boys
I can't seem to speak the language
I remember how they
Used to stare at the ground
They looked as if they
Put the whole world
Looked as if they put
The whole world down
The first time I met the Dum Dum Boys
I was fascinated
They just stood in front of the old drug store
I was most impressed
No one else was impressed, not at all
And we'd sing
Da, da, da, da, da
Dum, dum day
Well, where are you now my Dum Dum Boys?
Are you alive or dead?
Have you left me the last of the Dum Dum daze?
And then the sun goes down
And then the boys broke down
People said we were negative
They said we would take but we would never give
But we'd sing
Da, da, da, da, da, da
Dum, dum, day
We'd sing
Da, da, da, da, da, da
And hope it would pay
We'd sing
Da, da, da, da, da
Dum, dum, dum, dum, day
Dum, dum day
Well now, I'm looking for the Dum Dum Boys
Hey, where are you now when I need your noise?
Now, I'm looking for the Dum Dum Boys
The walls close in and I need some noise
@thekeywitness
Probably my favorite Iggy Pop song. The brain-frying guitar riff is one for the ages.
@lotharroberts5978
If I could go back in time, I'd want to hang out at these recording sessions. Damn.
@natedawg2400
brain frying is the perfect description!
@michaelspaccarelli2342
Vocals very intense too
@heymrzanzeeba
Ironically was fried off my brain when last I heard this many years ago
@JET7C0
100% - it's also pretty ahead of its time, just like everything else with Iggy and Bowie. It's basically the same use of chorus/tremolo that Kurt Cobain, etc., would start doing again in the early 90s.
@stevanaldape3424
That Intro talking about his boys from the stooges gave me chills.
@leoguerra4516
In fact james got straight
@thetriumphofthethrill2457
Iggy's personality + Bowie's talent = Magic.
@ZeroESG.goopootoob
No talent from Iggy? Ha!.. that voice... my goodness... that voice. Bowie was wonderful, but he could never bring that level of class with rawness in the same breath.