1. Rock band from Wilkes… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least 3 bands called The Buoys
1. Rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania that had the top-20 hit "Timothy" in 1971, followed by "Give Up Your Guns." "Timothy," a novelty song about trapped miners who evidently resort to cannibalism to survive, was written by Rupert Holmes and became a left-field hit.
2. Band from Leicester in the UK that makes spacious soundscapes with a touch of folktronica .
3. An all female garage rock band from Sydney, Australia, they released their first EP All This Talking Gets Us Nowhere in 2020
Timothy
The Buoys Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And everyone knows the only ones left
Were Joe and me and Tim
When they broke through to pull us free
The only ones left to tell the tale
Were Joe and me
Timothy, Timothy, where on earth did you go?
Hungry as hell no food to eat
And Joe said that he would sell his soul
For just a piece of meat
Water enough to drink for two
And Joe said to me, "I'll have a swig
And then there's some for you."
Timothy, Timothy, Joe was looking at you
Timothy, Timothy, God what did we do?
I must have blacked out just around then
'Cause the very next thing that I could see
Was the light of the day again
My stomach was full as it could be
And nobody ever got around
To finding Timothy
Timothy
The Buoys's song "Timothy" is a haunting tale about three miners who become trapped in a mine that collapses, leaving them stranded without food or water. The lyrics detail the struggles of the two surviving miners, Joe and the singer, as they try to stay alive while waiting for rescue. The focus of the song, however, is on the mysterious disappearance of Timothy, whose fate remains unknown.
Throughout the song, the singer expresses confusion and anguish over Timothy's disappearance. The lyrics suggest that Joe may have eaten Timothy in order to survive, and the singer seems haunted by the possibility that he may have inadvertently contributed to Timothy's demise. The sense of guilt and unease that pervades the song is reflected in the repetitive refrain of "Timothy, Timothy, where on earth did you go? / Timothy, Timothy, God why don't I know?"
The song's dark subject matter and eerie melody have made it a cult classic, and it has been covered by a number of artists over the years. It's a prime example of how powerful storytelling through music can be, and it continues to captivate listeners to this day.
Line by Line Meaning
Trapped in a mine that had caved in
We were stuck in a mine where a cave-in occurred
And everyone knows the only ones left
Everyone knew that only a few people survived the cave-in
Were Joe and me and Tim
Only three of us were alive - Joe, myself, and a guy named Tim
When they broke through to pull us free
We were saved when they broke through the debris to rescue us
The only ones left to tell the tale
Joe and I were the only survivors and the only ones who could tell the story
Were Joe and me
Only Joe and I survived the catastrophic event
Timothy, Timothy, where on earth did you go?
We were looking for Tim and wondering where he went
Timothy, Timothy, God why don't I know?
We were questioning why we didn't know what happened to Tim
Hungry as hell no food to eat
We were starving and had no food to eat
And Joe said that he would sell his soul
Joe was willing to do anything, even sell his soul, for a piece of meat
For just a piece of meat
Joe was so desperate that he would do anything just to have a small amount of food
Water enough to drink for two
We had enough water to drink for two people
And Joe said to me, "I'll have a swig
Joe offered to share the water with me
And then there's some for you."
He said that there would be some left for me after he drank
Timothy, Timothy, Joe was looking at you
We were suspicious of Joe's intentions towards Tim
Timothy, Timothy, God what did we do?
We were unsure if we did something wrong regarding Tim's disappearance
I must have blacked out just around then
I don't remember what happened after that
'Cause the very next thing that I could see
The next thing I remember was waking up and seeing daylight
Was the light of the day again
I saw the daylight again after being unconscious
My stomach was full as it could be
My stomach was no longer empty; I was full
And nobody ever got around
No one took the time or effort
To finding Timothy
To look for Tim and see if he was okay
Timothy
Tim's name was repeated as if we still wonder where he is or what happened to him
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: UFO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@markweintraub325
I was at Convalescent Hospital for Children, and I was outside the cottage, listening to my new AM/FM portable radio, which was a GE Accent Line portable radio, which had four AA alkaline batteries in it, which also were
Eveready Alkaline Energizer batteries.
I had on WHFM, which was also now
FM 99, instead of 98 point 9.
"WHFM's not 98 point 9 any more.
They're now 99!!"
Kent said.
"BBF is still the same, though, with the echo, all that.
You ever listen to
WCMF??
You ought to, because that's a really good station!!!
Guess what I heard on WCMF the other day, Mark!!!
LED ZEPPELIN!! YOUR FAVORITE BAND!!" Kent said.
"They play what is called, progressive rock, and they do also play a lot of folk music, and they play a lot of jazz, which Bell likes to
listen to!!!
You know who Bell is!! He's that black guy, who works here at the Center!!" Kent said.
"And we don't have Larry Hyde anymore.
Herb Dundas acts as cottage head nowadays, but Ted
Snavlin's taking
Larry Hyde's old spot, but we also have, Bob Whittet!!
He and Adolph took all of you bowling, and I also heard that you acted up,
because there was a photographer, who came to the bowling alley, and he also took some flash pictures of all of you, but you were very afraid of the camera and the flash!!!
Bob Whittet was also very mad at you for the way that you were acting in the bowling alley!! When you had your pictures taken, and you saw the flash go off on the camera that the photographer had, which was a Polaroid 450 Focused Flash camera, and you yelled, screamed, and cried at the very top of your lungs!!!
Bob Whittet was so angry with you, that he couldn't let you watch any TV!!!" Kent said.
"Tomorrow, we're going to be going to Cobbs Hill Park, for a picnic, and guess who's going to be there!!!
Fabiana Medina,
Weintraub!!!
And, so help me, you had also better
NOT GO PSYCHO OVER FABIANA MEDINA TOMORROW, AT ALL, WEINTRAUB!!!" Kent said to me.
-Mark Weintraub.
@JamesJones-gl5hj
I was hearing this song when it came out and loved it before I ever listened to the words. I still love it today at 75 years old and every time I mention it or listen to it with my wife around, she thinks I'm crazy. Go figure, she doesn't understand there's more to it than the story. It's a great song.
@jameskeyes1131
Have her look the song up on Wikipedia. There's a great description of why and how it was written and recorded.
@estellajones6042
Thanks Tim .Have a good day .
@timothygessing3381
At 63 I here you bro!
@robertthacher-ro6bh
It is very well done!
@AlanGottfried
James. I am a music but and it is the most insanely unique and non judgemental song I have ever heard. I have been doing a podcast for 3 years called "hal Joseph presents. I am educated and selective about the details I write about. Good luck with your lady. Don't put anything funky in the oven. Rite?
@chrismaverick9828
Definitely the best song about cannibalism ever made.
@ginarhine8525
:-)
@noahboucher125
In the end, isn't a donkey, though?
@gibblespascack1418
Well, its suggestive, but not proof.