Goodbye Tonsils
Severed Heads Lyrics
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Open your scarf'd chops till I blow grit within you,
Spread your palms and lift the flaps of your pockets,
I am not to be denied...
Mine is no callous shell,
I have instant conductors all over me
[repeat 1]
(2) I merely stir, press, feel with my fingers,
The lyrics to Severed Heads' song "Goodbye Tonsils" are a surreal and disjointed mix of images and phrases. The opening lines, "You there, impotent, loose in the knees," suggest a mix of dominance and vulnerability, as though the singer is addressing someone who is physically weak but still potentially dangerous. The reference to "scarf'd chops" and "grit" adds to this sense of violence and aggression.
The next line, "Spread your palms and lift the flaps of your pockets," is even more enigmatic. This could be a request for the other person to submit to a search, or it could be a metaphorical demand for the other person to reveal their true self or true intentions. The line "I am not to be denied" reinforces the sense of power and control.
The second stanza is more introspective, with the singer describing their own body and sensations. The line "Mine is no callous shell" suggests a vulnerability or openness that contrasts with the aggression and dominance of the first stanza. The image of "instant conductors all over me" could be a reference to nerves or synapses, but it's also possible that the singer is thinking of themselves as a conductor of energy or emotion.
Line by Line Meaning
You there, impotent, loose in the knees,
Hey you, weak and with trembling knees,
Open your scarf'd chops till I blow grit within you,
Open your mouth wide and let me speak some harsh, uncomfortable truths to you,
Spread your palms and lift the flaps of your pockets,
Hold out your hands and reveal what you're hiding in your pockets,
I am not to be denied...
Don't try to resist or deny my message,
Mine is no callous shell,
I am not insensitive or indifferent,
I have instant conductors all over me
I am deeply emotional and receptive to the world around me,
[repeat 1]
Repeating the previous stanza
I merely stir, press, feel with my fingers,
I can only do so much and it's all done with my hands,
...and that's about as much as I can stand.
But even that can be overwhelming and hard to bear.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Gary Bradbury, Tom Ellard
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@IanRobertDouglas
The line, and how it is spoken, "And that's about as much as I can stand," has remained with me for nearly 40 years. It expresses something inherent to my life. I saw this first on Max Headroom, in 1984 or 1985, on Channel 4 of British television. I was 12 or 13, depending on the year. I instantly loved something about it deeply. The off-keys, and the spoken content, which was mysterious and apocalyptic. I didn't know at the time, and didn't know for another 15 years, that it was Walt Whitman, arguably the greatest American poet, if not one of the greatest actual and real poets of all history, of which there are few in reality. I was introduced to music via the Sex Pistols, The Jam, and Blondie. But this was something totally different and just resonated everywhere. I must have recorded the show on repeat on VHS to get the name, and I waited weeks for it on order from my local record shop in the middle of nowhere. The 12 inch finally arrived. I remember the cover until now. I'm not an explorer. I listen to certain songs that happen in my life over and over. I have no idea what else Tom and Garry wrote and created that I have missed out on. I listen only to songs that people direct me to. Every 10 years or so I find myself circling back to this, as I did in 2002, when I was in Sydney, Australia, briefly. Before YouTube, and far from home, I searched for and contacted Tom, who was gracious enough and kind and generous enough to send me a version of the song, which astonished me all over again, just like it had when I was 12 or 13. That's almost 20 years ago. I have Leaves of Grass right beside me now. I listen to music, but in truth I only want to listen to VOMIR, who represents the end of music. This is an exception, and might be for me the last song before harsh noise wall. It is epochal in significance, in my imagination. I could write a novel on the song - a menagerie of lines of connectivity passing back through modern history, and into the future too. My life is nothing and I am nothing, but this song has meant the world to me. It's like a baseline I keep coming back to. It expresses something nothing else has about me. And I found a mirror there that I found nowhere else. Thank you, Tom. With all of my being.
@em23
what episode of max headroom?
@IanRobertDouglas
@em23 god knows
@allanjazzera7630
I love this stuff so much. Garry and Tom were ahead of the game, even at this later stage of their musical / video careers. Wise move on their behalf, to keep a 'four-on-the-floor 'motion, to maintain accessibility to the average pleb like me.
@Greatmesmo
It was the first track I heard of yours on the Max Headroom Show. It left an impact on me,and later on I bought Leaves of Grass .
@ghonet
Ditto!
@theodorecupier5920
Me too! Never knew what it was though. Thank you YouTube for bringing it back to me all these years later.
@GuildfordGhost
Me too - and then a friend loaned me CITY SLAB HORROR (it's OK, Tom - I bought a new copy eventually!) and... woah...
@russelrw
Tom this is one of my favourite songs and it's a massive influence. There is so much complexity going on in the sampling here. It's a lot more complex than it sounds.
@thesmf1210
banging track, all thanks to my childhood memories with max headroom!!