Silverstein's passion for music was clear early on as he studied for a while at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. As a songwriter, Silverstein kept a low profile but cast a long shadow. He tended to shun publicity and even photographers. Nonetheless, his musical output included many songs which were hits for other artists. Most notably, he wrote the music and lyrics for "A Boy Named Sue" that was performed by Johnny Cash (for which he won a Grammy in 1970); "One's on the Way" (which was a hit for Loretta Lynn), and "The Unicorn Song" which, despite having nothing to do with Ireland nor Irish culture, became the signature piece for The Irish Rovers in 1968 and is popular in pubs all over the world to this day. He wrote the lyrics and music for most of the Dr. Hook songs, including "Cover of the Rolling Stone", "Freakin' at the Freakers' Ball", "Sylvia's Mother", and the cautionary song about VD, "Don't Give a Dose to the One You Love Most". He also wrote many of the songs performed by Bobby Bare, including "Marie Laveau", "Rosalie's Good Eats Cafe", "The Mermaid", "The Winner", and "Tequila Sheila". The song "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan",] recorded in 1979 by Marianne Faithfull and later featured in the films Montenegro and Thelma & Louise, was also by Silverstein.
Peanut Butter Sandwich
Shel Silverstein Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Who played with the world at the end of a string
But he only loved one single thing and that was just a peanut butter sandwich)
Now his scepter wand his royal gowns his regal throne and golden crowns
Were brown and sticky from the mounds
And drippings from each peanut butter sandwich
His subjects all were silly fools 'cause he had passed a royal rule
He would not eat his sovereign steak he scorned his soup and his kingly cake
And told his courtly cook to bake
And nothin' nothin' nothin' but an extra-sticky peanut butter sandwich
And then one day he took a bite and started chewing with delight
But found his mouth was stuck quite tight
From that last bite of peanut butter sandwich
His brother pulled his sister pried the wizard pushed his mother cried
Oh my boy's committed suicide from eating his last peanut utter sandwich
The dentist came and the royal doc the royal plumber banged and knocked
But still those jaws stayed tightly locked oh darn that sticky peanut utter sandwich
The carpenter he tried with pliers the telephone man tried with wires
The firemen they tried with fire but couldn't melt that peanut utter sandwich
With ropes and pulleys drills and coil with steam and lubricating oil
For twenty years of tears and toil they fought that awful peanut bbutter sandwich
Then all his royal subjects came they hooked his jaws with grapplin' chains
And pulled both ways with might and main
Against against that peanut butter sandwich
Each man and woman girl and boy put down their ploughs and pots and toys
And pulled until kerack oh joy they broke right through the peanut utter sandwich
A puff of dust a screech a squeak the kin's jaw opened with a creak
And then in voice so faint and weak the first words that they heard him speak
Were how about a peanut butter sandwich
Shel Silverstein's Peanut-Butter Sandwich tells a story of a young, silly king who rules over a kingdom, but is only obsessed with one thing - peanut butter sandwiches. The king's entire kingdom is covered in sticky peanut butter spread and molded by his rule that all subjects learn to make peanut butter sandwiches. Despite the royal cook's attempts to introduce variety in the king's diet, he only wants more peanut butter sandwiches. However, the king meets his demise when he chokes on a peanut butter sandwich and remains stuck in his jaws for years. Finally, the kingdom comes together to break the king free from his affinity for peanut butter sandwiches, which would result in his suicidal end.
In the song, the peanut butter sandwich is not just a form of sustenance; it's a metaphor for how a person's relentless craving for an unrewarding pursuit can lead to their downfall. The king is so obsessed with his love for peanut butter sandwiches that nothing else even comes close to his satisfaction. At one point, the song implies that the king has committed suicide, which speaks to the dangers of obsessively clinging to something that might not be good for us.
The song's lyrics cover themes of power, obsession, and ascendency to glory without much commitment to staying there. It also warns about the importance of having a balanced diet and something more meaningful to live for than our momentary cravings.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll tell you a story of silly young king
This is a story of a foolish king.
Who played with the world at the end of a string
This king had a lot of power and control.
But he only loved one single thing and that was just a peanut butter sandwich
Despite all of his power, the king was only truly happy when he had a peanut butter sandwich.
Now his scepter wand his royal gowns his regal throne and golden crowns
The king's possessions and symbols of his status were all covered in peanut butter and jelly from his sandwiches.
Were brown and sticky from the mounds
The peanut butter sandwiches had made everything in the king's kingdom sticky and dirty.
And drippings from each peanut butter sandwich
The sandwiches were messy and left drippings everywhere.
His subjects all were silly fools 'cause he had passed a royal rule
The king had made a rule that his subjects could only learn how to make peanut butter sandwiches, which made them look foolish.
That all that they could learn in school was how to make a peanut butter sandwich
The king restricted the education of his people to only learning how to make peanut butter sandwiches.
He would not eat his sovereign steak he scorned his soup and his kingly cake
The king refused to eat anything except peanut butter sandwiches.
And told his courtly cook to bake
He commanded his cook to make more peanut butter sandwiches.
And nothin' nothin' nothin' but an extra-sticky peanut butter sandwich
The king wanted his sandwiches to be extra sticky, giving him more pleasure.
And then one day he took a bite and started chewing with delight
The king took a bite of his sandwich and enjoyed it immensely.
But found his mouth was stuck quite tight
Unfortunately, the sandwich was so sticky that it got stuck in his mouth.
From that last bite of peanut butter sandwich
The sandwich was the cause of the king's problems.
His brother pulled his sister pried the wizard pushed his mother cried
The king's family and advisors tried to help him free his mouth from the sandwich.
Oh my boy's committed suicide from eating his last peanut utter sandwich
The king's family and advisors thought he had killed himself by eating the sandwich.
The dentist came and the royal doc the royal plumber banged and knocked
Various professionals tried to help the king, including the dentist, doctor, and plumber.
But still those jaws stayed tightly locked oh darn that sticky peanut utter sandwich
Despite their efforts, the sandwich remained stuck in the king's mouth.
The carpenter he tried with pliers the telephone man tried with wires
Other professionals like the carpenter and telephone man also tried to help.
The firemen they tried with fire but couldn't melt that peanut utter sandwich
Even the firemen tried to help, but the sandwich was too sticky to melt.
With ropes and pulleys drills and coil with steam and lubricating oil
They tried a variety of methods to remove the sandwich including machines and lubricants.
For twenty years of tears and toil they fought that awful peanut bbutter sandwich
They struggled for 20 years to free the king from the sandwich.
Then all his royal subjects came they hooked his jaws with grapplin' chains
Eventually, all the king's subjects came together to help and used chains to try to remove the sandwich from his mouth.
And pulled both ways with might and main
Everyone worked together to free the king from the sandwich.
Against against that peanut butter sandwich
Their enemy was the peanut butter sandwich.
Each man and woman girl and boy put down their ploughs and pots and toys
Everyone stopped what they were doing to help the king, even the children.
And pulled until kerack oh joy they broke right through the peanut utter sandwich
Finally, they were able to break through the sandwich and free the king.
A puff of dust a screech a squeak the kin's jaw opened with a creak
It was a difficult struggle, but they finally freed the king from the sandwich.
And then in voice so faint and weak the first words that they heard him speak
After 20 years, the king was finally able to speak again.
Were how about a peanut butter sandwich
Even after all that, the first words out of the king's mouth were about peanut butter sandwiches.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: SHEL SILVERSTEIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind