Pin-Up Went Down is a French avant-garde metal band from Rouen which formed… Read Full Bio ↴Pin-Up Went Down is a French avant-garde metal band from Rouen which formed in 2006. The band consists of former Wormfood / Carnival In Coal drummer Alexis Damien, his brother Nicolas, and Asphodel. Alexis plays the majority of the instruments and is the sole composer of the band.

Their music is a metal sound mixed with various styles like pop, funk, symphonic, gospel, progressive and psychedelic. Their two albums have received unanimously good reviews from metal review sites and the specialized press.

Cadavre Exquis
Pin-Up Went Down Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Before becoming that bloodbathing irony
He used to be proud of his own
But wanting to overtake his master
He built the myth of l'arroseur arrosé.
Oh ! L'arroseur arrosé !

" Meow!"
Scalpel!

Compress!
Kill the cat!
Cut and Cut!
Guts away!

Cinderella's mice:
"Straw and straw and sew and sew!
Here's a new cat, here's the new!"

Skin and flesh to sell
Another beautiful way to appreciate life
Cats and dogs, cows and horses, all that can bleed can become a wonderful dead friend!!!

"Take care of animals
And they'll show how they can love
You back…
Love, oh, love it won't be!"
Oh yeah!

Mary had a little lamb
We just put it on our
Rack!
It followed her to school one day,
The butcher took it
Back…

One, two, ten, a thousand more, a funeral Noah's ark!
But why does this lamb drool and grunt, as the others applause?

XL, M or Xs
All become alive!!

Oh, their claps! Oh its rage! Oh my throat and my legs!
Oh this blood, and their eyes all around me!

XL, M, or Xs
All became alive!!

Overall Meaning

The song "Cadavre Exquis" by Pin-Up Went Down is a deeply disturbing and graphic satire that critiques the human tendency towards violence and cruelty towards animals. It begins by referencing the French film L'Arroseur Arrosé, which translates to "the waterer watered." The film tells the story of a man who tries to play a prank on a gardener by making him think his hose is broken, but ends up getting sprayed himself. The lyrics use this story as a metaphor for the way humans often try to dominate others and end up becoming victims of their own schemes. The song then takes a dark turn, as the lyrics describe graphic acts of violence towards cats, dogs, cows, horses, and even a lamb. The message seems to be that humans are capable of both great love and great savagery, and that the latter tendency needs to be overcome if we are to truly appreciate and respect life.

The lyrics are incredibly vivid and disturbing, making it clear that the band is not holding back in their critique of human violence and cruelty towards animals. They reference everything from using scalpels to kill cats to selling animal skin and flesh. The satire is biting and unapologetic, making it clear that the band believes that humans need to reassess their relationship with animals and the natural world. The inclusion of nursery rhymes like "Mary Had a Little Lamb" only serves to underscore the ways in which humans have normalized and even celebrated cruel treatment of animals.

Overall, "Cadavre Exquis" is a powerful and thought-provoking song that forces listeners to confront some uncomfortable truths about human nature. While it is certainly not an easy listen, it is an important one, and a reminder that we all have a responsibility to treat the natural world with respect and kindness.

Line by Line Meaning

Before becoming that bloodbathing irony
Before becoming the violent contradiction that it is now

He used to be proud of his own
He used to feel good about himself

But wanting to overtake his master
But in the pursuit of surpassing his mentor

He built the myth of l'arroseur arrosé.
He created the tale of the ironist being the one who is actually ironically made fun of

Oh ! L'arroseur arrosé !
Oh, the irony!

"Meow!"
Mimicking the sound of a cat

Scalpel!
A surgical tool used for cutting

Compress!
A medical dressing applied to a wound to stop bleeding

Kill the cat!
Murder the feline

Cut and Cut!
Continued slicing

Guts away!
Removing internal organs

Cinderella's mice:
The mice that helped Cinderella

"Straw and straw and sew and sew!
"Needle and thread, let's make something new!

Here's a new cat, here's the new!"
Here's a new victim

Skin and flesh to sell
Selling animal hides and meat

Another beautiful way to appreciate life
Another way to value existence

Cats and dogs, cows and horses, all that can bleed can become a wonderful dead friend!!!
All animals that have blood are valuable to us even if they're dead

"Take care of animals
Show compassion for animals

And they'll show how they can love
And they will return that affection

You back…
To you as well

Love, oh, love it won't be!"
But there won't be any love!

Oh yeah!
Expressing enthusiasm

Mary had a little lamb
A reference to a popular nursery rhyme

We just put it on our
We simply placed it on our

Rack!
A support structure used for hanging meat

It followed her to school one day,
It followed the girl to school one day

The butcher took it
The person who sells meat collected it

Back…
Took it away

One, two, ten, a thousand more, a funeral Noah's ark!
A lot of dead animals