The Dead Milkmen are a satirical punk rock band that formed in Philadelphia… Read Full Bio ↴The Dead Milkmen are a satirical punk rock band that formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band's best known lineup consisted of Joe Jack Talcum (Joe Genaro; guitar, vocals), Dave Blood (Dave Schulthise; bass), Dean Clean (Dean Sabatino; drums), and Rodney Anonymous (Rodney Linderman; vocals, synth). The original version of the band formed in 1980 around Genaro's songwriting (a predominantly acoustic and often satirical take on New Wave Punk Rock) when he was seventeen; Genaro produced several home tapes as The Dead Milkmen, sometimes with other members credited (occasionally bootlegs or mp3's of these tapes surface). In 1983, the band was re-formed with Schulthise and Sabatino, and lastly vocals were handed over to their friend Rodney Linderman, forming the classic line-up.

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.

Stuart
The Dead Milkmen Lyrics

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You know what, Stuart, I LIKE YOU. You're not like the other
People, here, in the trailer park.

Oh, don't go get me wrong. They're fine people, they're
Good Americans. But they're content to sit back, maybe
Watch a little Mork and Mindy on channel 57, maybe kick
Back a cool, Coors 16-ouncer. They're good, fine people,
Stuart. But they don't know ... what the queers are doing

To the soil!

You know that Jonny Wurster kid, the kid that delivers papers
In the neighborhood. He's a foreign kid. Some of the neighbors
Say he smokes crack, but I don't believe it.

Anyway, for his tenth birthday, all he wanted was a Burrow Owl.
Kept bugging his old man. "Dad, get me a burrow owl. I'll never
Ask for anything else as long as I live." So the guy
Breaks down and buys him a burrow owl.

Anyway, 10:30, the other night, I go out in my yard, and there's
The Wurster kid, looking up in the tree. I say, "What are
You looking for?" He says "I'm looking for my burrow owl."
I say, "Jumping Jesus on a Pogo Stick. Everybody knows
The burrow owl lives. In a hole. In the ground. Why the hell do you
Think they call it a burrow owl, anyway?" Now Stuart, do you
Think a kid like that is going to know what the queers are
Doing to the soil?

I first became aware of this about ten years ago, the summer
My oldest boy, Bill Jr. died. You know that carnival comes into
Town every year? Well this year they came through with a ride
Called The Mixer. The man said, "Keep your head, and arms, inside
The Mixer at all times." But Bill Jr, he was a DAAAREDEVIL, just
Like his old man. He was leaning out saying "Hey everybody,
Look at me! Look at me!" Pow! He was decapitated! They found
His head over by the snow cone concession.

A few days after that, I open up the mail. And there's a pamphlet
In there. From Pueblo, Colorado, and it's addressed to Bill, Jr.
And it's entitled, "Do you know what the queers are doing to our
Soil?"

Now, Stuart, if you look at the soil around any large US city,
There's a big undeground homosexual population. Des Moines, Iowa,
For an example. Look at the soil around Des Moines, Stuart.
You can't build on it; you can't grow anything in it. The government
Says it's due to poor farming. But I know what's really going on,
Stuart. I know it's the queers. They're in it with the aliens.
They're building landing strips for gay Martians, I swear to
God.

You know what, Stuart, I like you. You're not like the other
People, here in this trailer park.

Overall Meaning

The Dead Milkmen's song "Stuart" is a satirical commentary on ignorance and paranoia prevalent in American society. The song is spoken from the perspective of a middle-aged man named Stuart who looks down on his neighbors for being content with watching TV and drinking beer while completely oblivious to the "queers" (homosexuals) in the city who are supposedly ruining the soil. Stuart's ramblings reveal his misguided beliefs and his inability to discern fact from fiction.

The absurdity of Stuart's statements is highlighted by his anecdote about the Burrow Owl, a bird that he believes lives in a hole in the ground rather than in a burrow, and his assertion that the government's explanation for poor soil quality is due to poor farming instead of the supposed involvement of aliens and gay Martians. The song's darkly comedic tone is further emphasized by Stuart's traumatic experience of losing his son at a carnival, which seems to have contributed to his paranoid state.

Line by Line Meaning

You know what, Stuart, I LIKE YOU. You're not like the other People, here, in the trailer park.
I appreciate you, Stuart, as you stand out from the rest of the trailer park residents.

Oh, don't go get me wrong. They're fine people, they're Good Americans. But they're content to sit back, maybe Watch a little Mork and Mindy on channel 57, maybe kick Back a cool, Coors 16-ouncer. They're good, fine people, Stuart. But they don't know ... what the queers are doing To the soil!
The people here are decent, patriotic Americans, but their lifestyle is not suited for the knowledge of the harmful activities the homosexual community is carrying out on the earth.

You know that Jonny Wurster kid, the kid that delivers papers In the neighborhood. He's a foreign kid. Some of the neighbors Say he smokes crack, but I don't believe it.
There is a kid called Jonny Wurster who delivers papers, and some neighbors believe he smokes crack, but the singer doesn't trust this rumor.

Anyway, for his tenth birthday, all he wanted was a Burrow Owl. Kept bugging his old man. "Dad, get me a burrow owl. I'll never Ask for anything else as long as I live." So the guy Breaks down and buys him a burrow owl.
Jonny constantly requested a burrow owl as a gift for his tenth birthday, and his father eventually got him one.

Anyway, 10:30, the other night, I go out in my yard, and there's The Wurster kid, looking up in the tree. I say, "What are You looking for?" He says "I'm looking for my burrow owl." I say, "Jumping Jesus on a Pogo Stick. Everybody knows The burrow owl lives. In a hole. In the ground. Why the hell do you Think they call it a burrow owl, anyway?" Now Stuart, do you Think a kid like that is going to know what the queers are Doing to the soil?
The artist came out to his backyard at 10:30 PM and saw Jonny looking for his burrow owl in a tree, reminding him that burrow owls live in the ground, and Jonny can't find it there. The artist questions whether Jonny could be aware of the wrongdoing the homosexual community is causing to the earth.

I first became aware of this about ten years ago, the summer My oldest boy, Bill Jr. died. You know that carnival comes into Town every year? Well this year they came through with a ride Called The Mixer. The man said, "Keep your head, and arms, inside The Mixer at all times." But Bill Jr, he was a DAAAREDEVIL, just Like his old man. He was leaning out saying "Hey everybody, Look at me! Look at me!" Pow! He was decapitated! They found His head over by the snow cone concession.
The singer's son, Bill Jr., passed away ten years ago after he ignored the safety instructions on a carnival ride called The Mixer and subsequently lost his life in a gruesome accident.

A few days after that, I open up the mail. And there's a pamphlet In there. From Pueblo, Colorado, and it's addressed to Bill, Jr. And it's entitled, "Do you know what the queers are doing to our Soil?"
Following Bill Jr.'s death, the singer received a pamphlet from Pueblo, Colorado, titled "Do you know what the queers are doing to our soil?" and addressed to Bill Jr.

Now, Stuart, if you look at the soil around any large US city, There's a big undeground homosexual population. Des Moines, Iowa, For an example. Look at the soil around Des Moines, Stuart. You can't build on it; you can't grow anything in it. The government Says it's due to poor farming. But I know what's really going on, Stuart. I know it's the queers. They're in it with the aliens. They're building landing strips for gay Martians, I swear to God.
The soil near significant US cities contains a large secret population of homosexuals underground, as seen from Des Moines, Iowa, where the government claims it is due to substandard farming practices. However, the artist is convinced that the actual cause is the involvement of the homosexual underground in creating landing strips for gay extraterrestrial beings.

You know what, Stuart, I like you. You're not like the other People, here in this trailer park.
The artist reiterates that Stuart is uniquely different from the other people residing in the trailer park.

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DAVID SCHULTHISE, DEAN SABATINO, JOSEPH GENARO, RODNEY LINDERMAN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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