After time in the Army Reserves, Paxton moved to New York City where he frequented the city's Greenwich Village coffeehouse circuit. His early success in Greenwich Village coffeehouses led to an ever-increasing circle of work. He made his professional debut at the Gaslight, the renowned folk haunt that also issued the singer's first album. In 1962 Gaslight Records would press 2,000 copies of his debut album, I'm The Man Who Built The Bridges.
Paxton also auditioned to join the Chad Mitchell Trio, but although he failed, the group enjoyed a 1963 hit with "The Marvelous Toy," one of Paxton's early songs. Paxton performed at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival, a performance that would be recorded-and released-by Vanguard Records. Paxton would go on to record a second album with Vanguard-at the Newport Folk Festival the following year - but his association with that record company lapsed, and it would not be until the year 2000 that Vanguard once again released a Tom Paxton album, Tom Paxton: Best of the Vanguard Years. In 1964 Paxton was signed to Elektra Records for whom he recorded his best-known work. Then in 1965 he made his first tour of the United Kingdom - the beginning of a still-thriving professional relationship that has included at least one tour in each of the succeeding years.
He and his wife Midge have been married since 1963 and have two daughters, Jennifer and Kate. All three women have served as inspiration for many of Paxton's songs. He now has three grandsons, Christopher, Sean, and Peter.
In addition to songwriting, Tom Paxton has written many critically acclaimed children's books, some of which were inspired by his songs for children.
He has performed thousands of concerts around the world in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, Scandinavia, France, Italy, Belgium, Holland, England, Scotland, Ireland and Canada. Paxton enjoys a strong relationship with fans throughout the world. His songs have experienced enduring appeal, including modern standards such as "The Last Thing on My Mind" (perhaps Paxton's best-known song, it has been recorded by dozens of artists, including Judy Collins, Sandy Denny, Dolly Parton, and Porter Wagoner), "Ramblin' Boy", "Bottle of Wine", "Whose Garden Was This", "The Marvelous Toy", and "The Hostage" (which recounts the 1971 uprising at Attica State Prison).
In February 2002, Tom Paxton was honored with the ASCAP Lifetime Achievement Award in Folk Music. A few days later, he received three Wammies (Washington, DC, Area Music Awards); as Best Male Vocalist in the "traditional folk" and "children's music" categories, and for Best Traditional Folk Recording of the Year for Under American Skies (the duo album he made with Anne Hills in 2001). This was the first Paxton album to receive an award of any kind.
Paxton has been nominated four times for Grammy Awards in his career, all since 2002.
In 2004, the Martin Guitar Company introduced the HD-40LSH Tom Paxton Signature Edition acoustic guitar in his honor.
In 2005, Paxton received a Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting at BBC Radio 2's Folk Awards at London's Brewery Arts Centre.
In 2006, Paxton received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance.
On January 22, 2007, Paxton was honored with an official UK Parliamentary tribute at the British House of Commons at the start of his 2007 United Kingdom tour.
On May 3, 2008, Paxton was honored with a special lifetime tribute from the World Folk Music Association, and a concert was held at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center at Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria Campus, in Alexandria, Virginia.
My Dog's Bigger Than Your Dog
Tom Paxton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My dog's bigger than yours,
My dog's bigger
And he chases mailmen,
My dog's bigger than yours.
My dog's better than your dog,
My dog's better than yours,
And he had puppies,
My dog's better than yours.
My dad's tougher than your dad,
My dad's tougher than yours,
My dad's tougher
And he yells louder and
My dad's tougher than yours.
My dad's louder than your dad,
My dad's louder than yours,
Momma buys a new dress,
Daddy makes noises,
My dad's louder than yours.
Our car's faster than your car,
Our car's faster than yours,
It has a louder horn,
It bumps other cars,
Our car's faster than yours.
Our car's older than your car,
Our car's older than yours,
It stops running and
Daddy kicks the fenders,
Our car's older than yours.
My Mom's older than your Mom,
My Mom's older than yours,
She takes smelly baths
She hides the gray hairs
My Mom's older than yours.
My Mom's funnier than your Mom,
My Mom's funnier than yours,
Her hair is pretty and
It changes colors,
My Mom's funnier than yours.
Tom Paxton's song, "My Dog's Bigger Than Your Dog", is a humorous take on playground one-upmanship. The basic premise of the song is that the singer has something better than the person they are addressing. The opening lines, "My dog's bigger than your dog, my dog's bigger than yours", sets the stage for the rest of the song. The singer claims that their dog is better because it is larger and chases mailmen. The second verse, "My dog's better than your dog, my dog's better than yours", continues the theme, but now the dog has a name, King, and has had puppies.
From there, the song spirals into other comparisons, including the singer's dad being tougher and louder, their car being faster and older, and their mom being older and funnier. The comparisons become increasingly absurd and comical, with the singer throwing out hyperbolic claims and eccentric descriptions. The song ultimately serves as a satirical commentary on the human tendency to constantly compare ourselves to others and try to one-up each other.
Overall, "My Dog's Bigger Than Your Dog" is a tongue-in-cheek song that pokes fun at the idea of constantly trying to be better than others. Through humor and absurdity, Tom Paxton highlights the futility of such comparisons, and encourages listeners to embrace their individuality rather than constantly striving to be the "best".
Line by Line Meaning
My dog's bigger than your dog,
I'm trying to show off and prove that my dog is superior to yours because he is physically bigger.
My dog's bigger than yours,
I'm restating the fact that my dog is bigger than yours to make sure you understand the point and hopefully feel inferior.
My dog's bigger
I'm emphasizing the size of my dog as the most important factor in determining his worth and superiority.
And he chases mailmen,
I'm using this as a further example of my dog's size and strength since he has the ability to chase and intimidate mailmen, making him a powerful protector.
My dog's bigger than yours.
I'm repeating the main point of the song and trying to make you feel inferior about your dog's size.
My dad's tougher than your dad,
I'm shifting the focus to my dad and claiming that he is tougher than yours, again trying to show superiority.
My dad's tougher than yours,
I'm restating the fact about my dad's toughness to make sure you understand the point and acknowledge his superiority.
My dad's tougher
I'm emphasizing the toughness of my dad and implying that he is the best and strongest dad out there.
And he yells louder and
I'm giving an example of my dad's toughness by stating that he yells louder than your dad, implying that he can be intimidating and commanding.
My dad's tougher than yours.
I'm repeating the main point of the song and asserting the superiority of my dad.
My dad's louder than your dad,
I'm shifting the focus to my dad's loudness and claiming that he is louder than your dad, yet again trying to show superiority.
My dad's louder than yours,
I'm restating the fact about my dad's loudness to make sure you understand the point and acknowledge his superiority.
Momma buys a new dress,
I'm contrasting the toughness of my dad with the femininity of my mom by saying that she buys new dresses.
Daddy makes noises,
I'm giving an example of my dad's loudness by saying that he makes noises, implying that it can be overwhelming and intimidating.
My dad's louder than yours.
I'm restating the main point of the song and claiming that once again, my dad is superior to your dad.
Our car's faster than your car,
I'm shifting the focus to the car and claiming that our car is faster than yours, adding another factor of superiority.
Our car's faster than yours,
I'm stating the same fact about our car's speed to reemphasize it and make sure you know that we have a superior car.
It has a louder horn,
I'm giving another reason why our car is better by stating that it has a louder horn, implying that it commands more attention and is more powerful.
It bumps other cars,
I'm using this line to show the aggressiveness and power of our car, and to imply that it is not to be messed with.
Our car's faster than yours.
I'm repeating the main point of the song and asserting that our car is superior to yours in every way.
Our car's older than your car,
I'm shifting the focus once again, this time claiming that our car is older than yours, yet another reason why we are superior.
Our car's older than yours,
I'm restating the fact about the age of our car to further prove its superiority to your car.
It stops running and
I'm acknowledging that our car is old and not in perfect condition, but this doesn't stop it from being better than your car.
Daddy kicks the fenders,
I'm giving an example of my dad's toughness by stating that he kicks the fenders of the car, potentially causing further damage.
Our car's older than yours.
I'm repeating the main point of the song and asserting that our old car is still better than your car.
My Mom's older than your Mom,
I'm shifting the focus back to the moms, and claiming that my mom is older than yours, yet another factor of superiority.
My Mom's older than yours,
I'm restating the fact about my mom's age to further prove her superiority to your mom.
She takes smelly baths
I'm using this line to make fun of my own mom, implying that despite her age, she still takes smelly baths, a behavior that is not desirable.
She hides the gray hairs
I'm implying that my mom is insecure about her age and appearance, and therefore tries to hide her gray hairs.
My Mom's older than yours.
I'm repeating the main point of the song and asserting once again that my older mom is still better than your mom.
My Mom's funnier than your Mom,
I'm shifting the focus for the last time, and claiming that my mom is funnier than your mom, yet another aspect of superiority.
My Mom's funnier than yours,
I'm restating the fact about my mom's humor to make sure you understand the point and acknowledge that she is indeed funnier than your mom.
Her hair is pretty and
I'm contrasting the smelly baths from earlier in the song with the fact that my mom's hair is pretty, implying that she still has good qualities despite her age.
It changes colors,
I'm giving an example of something unique about my mom - her hair changes colors - and this makes her even funnier and more special.
My Mom's funnier than yours.
I'm restating the main point of the song one last time to fully assert the superiority of my mom's humor over your mom's.
Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: TOM PAXTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind