S.W.A.T. - Deep Inside a Cop's Mind: The Soundtrack For The Next Police Sta… Read Full Bio ↴S.W.A.T. - Deep Inside a Cop's Mind: The Soundtrack For The Next Police State

After suffering through an ill-conceived pornography trial centered on his misanthropic zine ANSWER Me!, Jim Goad -- author of The Redneck Manifesto and other counterculture tomes -- moved to Portland, OR, to try and stir up trouble there.
Goad soon hooked up with fellow travelers like Feral House publisher Adam Parfrey, industrial noisemaker Boyd Rice, and Thee Slayer Hippy (aka Steve Hanford) of hardcore heroes Poison Idea. S.W.A.T. is the product of the fertile imaginations of these underground icons, and Deep Inside a Cop's Mind is either the satirical "soundtrack to the new police state," as stated on the front cover, or a left-handed tribute to the boys in blue. Either way, the music, a mix of honky tonk-country and roots rock, is surprisingly good. Deep Inside a Cop's Mind opens with Ennio Morricone's classic "The Good, the Bad & the Ugly" theme, with sampled vocals from the original Dragnet television series thrown in to set the table. With instrumental backing from most of Poison Idea (they had broken up by 1994), Parfrey leads the band through a haunting version of "The Pusher," adding contemporary lyrics to Hoyt Axton's anti-drug song and making more of a statement than Steppenwolf ever did. Truck-driving, road-happy country tunes like Dave Dudley's "Coffee, Coffee, Coffee" and Red Simpson's "Highway Patrol" are played fairly straight, changed slightly to reflect a cop's perspective and delivered with a rockabilly fervor. The Portland crew reinvents Isaac Hayes' "Theme From Shaft" as "Theme From S.W.A.T.," complete with sampled LAPD radio broadcasts from the April 1992 riots. The highlight of Deep Inside a Cop's Mind, however, is a melodramatic reading of "In the Ghetto" featuring Goad's engaging baritone, the Elvis Presley hit now set in Compton with gangbangers, a drug deal gone bad, and, of course, the noble police officer. "We Can See for Miles" builds upon Pete Townshend's original with punkish glee, while Shel Silverstein's "25 Minutes to Go" is a shambling roller-coaster ride toward a date with the executioner. Spoken-word interludes between songs are mini-morality plays with a law enforcement theme delivered by Goad and Parfrey and folks like Boyd Rice and the Church of Satan's Anton LaVey. Deep Inside a Cop's Mind closes with a strange, spooky version of John Barry's "Thunderball" theme, with LaVey's videographer, Nick Bougas, on vocals. A very strange cultural artifact that only the '90s might have produced, Deep Inside a Cop's Mind is unlike any album you've ever heard, but it's well-worth digging up for collectors of the arcane and the unusual.

Rev. Keith A. Gordon (@myspace / his Blog)

Links:

- Jim Goad's Personal Website
- Jim Goad @ wikipedia
- Adam Parfrey @ wikipedia

Coffee Coffee Coffee
S.W.A.T. Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I look at you
You look at me
Think I've been shot by Cupid
Am I stupid? (I've been shot by Cupid)
In this coffee shop
Three chairs apart
I've been fantasising
In my mind boy you told me you'll love me forever

It's your brown eyes
So hypnotising
Your soft lips
Just wanna taste it
Won't you come on over
So we can start this
This love affair
Pull up a chair
I'll give you all you need
Can you say the right things and I'll give you forever
One look is all it takes
To connect with your soulmate
Felt like our stars aligned
The moment we locked eyes
A look is all it takes
To connect with your soulmate
Felt like our stars aligned
The moment we locked eyes
A look
That's all it takes
To connect
With your soulmate
Felt like our stars aligned
The moment we locked eyes
A look is all it takes
To connect with your soulmate

The moment we locked eyes
I felt our stars align

Overall Meaning

The song "Coffee Coffee Coffee" by S.W.A.T. is a romantic ballad that describes the powerful emotions that two strangers can feel when they lock eyes in a coffee shop. The song describes a situation where the singer is sitting in the coffee shop and notices an attractive stranger three chairs away. As she gazes into his eyes, she feels like Cupid has shot her with his arrow and fantasizes about a love affair with him. The singer describes the stranger's soft lips and brown eyes, which are hypnotizing her. She invites him to come over and start a love affair with her, promising to give him all he needs and to love him forever. The chorus emphasizes that a single look is all it takes to connect with your soulmate, and the moment their eyes met, the stars aligned, and the singer felt that they were meant to be together.

Line by Line Meaning

I look at you
I am looking at you

You look at me
You are looking at me

Think I've been shot by Cupid
I think I have fallen in love with you

Am I stupid? (I've been shot by Cupid)
Do you think I am foolish for falling in love with you?

In this coffee shop
We are currently in a coffee shop

Three chairs apart
There are three chairs between us

I've been fantasising
I have been daydreaming

In my mind boy you told me you'll love me forever
In my daydreams, you told me you would love me forever

It's your brown eyes
I am attracted to your brown eyes

So hypnotising
They are very captivating

Your soft lips
I am attracted to your lips