The Dead Milkmen's songs found moderate success on alternative and college radio stations. Videos, notably Punk Rock Girl, even found their way onto MTV in the late 1980s. Topics for their music include satire on the 1980s music scene, toxic waste, jellyfish afterlifes, UFOs, conspiracy theories, and cover bands.
Irreverent absurdity fueled their initial popularity, particularly among college DJs. However, this genre was somewhat abandoned with the 1992 release of Soul Rotation, a much more subtle album.
After the Dead Milkmen went on indefinite hiatus in 1994, Genaro and Sabatino formed a new band, Butterfly Joe. Sabatino was also in the punk rock bands Narthex, Big Mess Orchestra, and Hunger Artists. Genaro was in a band called Touch Me Zoo. Linderman was in a band called Burn Witch Burn. Schulthise left music in the early 1990s after developing tendonitis, preventing him from playing bass, and committed suicide in 2004.
The Dead Milkmen took the stage again for two consecutive nights in November 2004 at the Trocadero Theatre in Philadelphia to play a show in memory of Dave Schulthise. Proceeds were donated to a variety of mental health organizations and to a Serbian monastery that Schulthise supported.
The band reunited in 2008 and released a new album (The King in Yellow) in 2011.
Right Wing Pigeons
The Dead Milkmen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Says if we all got guns then we won't have crooks
Now what could make them think that way?
What could make them act that way?
They're just right-wing pigeons from outer space
Sent here to destroy the human race
They don't give a damn about you or me
The lady in Detroit owns a can of mace
Got pissed at my brother so she sprayed it in his face
Now what could make her think that way?
What could make her act that way?
She's just a right-wing pigeon from outer space
Sent here to destroy the human race
She don't give a damn about you or me
She just buys guns and watches TV
The man in the White House who just don't care
He starves little kids and he dyes his hair
Now what could make him think that way?
What could make him act that way?
He's just a right-wing pigeon from outer space
Sent here to destroy the human race
He don't give a damn about you or me
He just buys guns and watches TV, go!
The Dead Milkmen's song "Right Wing Pigeons" is a satire on the paranoia of the right wing in the United States. The song presents a number of different scenarios in which individuals act in violent and paranoid ways due to their right-wing ideologies. The lyrics suggest that these individuals are like "right-wing pigeons from outer space," implying that their behavior is both absurd and dangerous.
The first scenario presented in the song is a town in Georgia that has passed a law stating that everyone should have guns to prevent crime. The lyrics question why the town thinks this way and why they would act on such a belief. The chorus repeatedly reminds us that these people are not acting in the interest of the human race but are out to destroy it.
The second scenario is about a woman in Detroit who uses mace on the singer's brother. Again, the lyrics ask what could make her think and act this way. The chorus reinforces that this woman is a right-wing pigeon who doesn't care about anyone else and only buys guns and watches TV.
Finally, the song takes aim at the man in the White House who is identified as starving children and dying his hair. The song questions what could make him act this way, and the chorus asserts that he, like the other characters in the song, is a right-wing pigeon who is out to destroy the human race.
In conclusion, "Right Wing Pigeons" is a pointed critique of the paranoid and violent ideologies of the right wing in the United States. The use of the metaphor of right-wing pigeons from outer space is both humorous and chilling, suggesting that these people are not just misguided but actively dangerous.
Line by Line Meaning
The town in Georgia's got a law on the books
Georgia has a law that suggests guns are the solution to crime
Says if we all got guns then we won't have crooks
The law implies that everyone owning guns can prevent crime
Now what could make them think that way?
The song questions the logic behind such a law
What could make them act that way?
The song questions the decision-making behind passing laws
They're just right-wing pigeons from outer space
The people supporting this law are compared to aliens
Sent here to destroy the human race
The law is seen as harmful to society
They don't give a damn about you or me
The law's supporters are accused of lacking concern for individuals
They just buy guns and a-watches TV, let's go!
The song implies that gun ownership leads to a lazy lifestyle
The lady in Detroit owns a can of mace
A woman in Detroit possesses a self-defense spray
Got pissed at my brother so she sprayed it in his face
She used the spray on someone she was angry with
She's just a right-wing pigeon from outer space
The woman's behavior is attributed to a conservative mentality
Sent here to destroy the human race
The song suggests that conservative people are a threat to progress
She don't give a damn about you or me
The woman's actions are seen as lacking concern for others
She just buys guns and watches TV
Conservative values are seen as aligned with weapons and passive entertainment
The man in the White House who just don't care
The US President is accused of lacking sensitivity
He starves little kids and he dyes his hair
The song suggests that the president's policies harm vulnerable populations
He's just a right-wing pigeon from outer space
The President is seen as a conservative alien
Sent here to destroy the human race
The song suggests that the President's policies harm humanity
He don't give a damn about you or me
The President is criticized for not caring about individuals
He just buys guns and watches TV, go!
The President is depicted as a gun-owning couch potato
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: JOSEPH GENARO, DEAN SABATINO, DAVID SCHULTISE, RODNEY LINDERMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
jimibeckert
Excellent social commentary and still relevant today. That is what makes the dead milkmen timeless.
ObiJuanKenobi
@CitizenFoffie LOL kids that grew up in the 80s that are anti government......voted for Trump....let that sink in.
N Merrill
@CitizenFoffieWhy would you be peddling lies for the CCP, unless of course you yourself are pro communism. Less than a 1% poverty rate in China is an outright lie, period. The world bank considers $1.90 per day the extreme poverty threshold and that includes the poorest of all countries. Like Haiti, Ivory Coast and Somalia. Jinping claims those in poverty (mostly western China) are making $1.68 per day or $611 per annum! The CCP are the most egregious liars alive on this planet today. They have widespread extreme poverty and it is quite visible if you had ever stepped foot in China.
CitizenFoffie
@Shannon Nunn China has been a capitalist state since the mid 70s, and has been a economic superpower with a poverty rate of less than 0.7%
Jacqueline Valencia
The Dead Milkmen have a way of making me happy. Every time.
fleedermouse
other no fail cures for frowns are They Might Be Giants and Weird Al it just works
Disco King
This song couldn’t be more relevant to today
Lisa and the Cult Jam
Or today..
Scott Schneider614
This band changed my life when I was 12
Now I'm 39 and still the same
ObiJuanKenobi
I was introduced when I was 11. I'm 41.