Dirty Paws
~~~~ Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My head is an animal
And once there was an animal
It had a son that mowed the lawn
The son was an OK guy
They had a pet dragonfly
The dragonfly it ran away
But it came back with a story to say
Her dirty paws and furry coat
She ran down the forest slope
The forest of talking trees
They used to sing about the birds and the bees
The bees had declared a war
The sky wasn't big enough for them all
The birds, they got help from below
From dirty paws and the creatures of snow
So for a while things were cold
They were scared down in their holes
The forest that once was green
Was colored black by those killing machines
But she and her furry friends
Took down the queen bee and her men
And that's how the story goes
The story of the beast with those four dirty paws
The lyrics of "Dirty Paws" by Of Monsters and Men tell a story of a wild animal and his son, along with the creatures of the forest they inhabit. The storyteller describes jumping up and down the floor with their head feeling like an animal. They then recount the tale of an animal and his son, who had a pet dragonfly that ran away but returned with a story to tell. Then, the focus turns to the singer of the story - a creature with dirty paws and a furry coat - who runs down the forest slope.
The forest of talking trees used to sing about the birds and the bees, but the bees declared a war because the sky wasn't big enough for all of them. The birds got help from the singer and the creatures of snow, and the bees were defeated. The forest became a cold and scary place as a result of the war, but the singer and their furry friends took down the queen bee and her men, and the forest was saved. The story ends with the beast with dirty paws as the hero of the tale.
Overall, "Dirty Paws" is a whimsical and imaginative story that speaks to the power of unity and the strength of even the smallest creatures in nature.
Line by Line Meaning
Jumping up and down the floor
I'm dancing energetically
My head is an animal
I feel an instinctual urge to act wildly
And once there was an animal
There's an age-old tale to be told
It had a son that mowed the lawn
The creature had a progeny that did mundane things
The son was an OK guy
He was an average sort of fellow
They had a pet dragonfly
They kept an insect as a pet
The dragonfly it ran away
The pet escaped them
But it came back with a story to say
The insect returned with an interesting experience to share
Her dirty paws and furry coat
The animal's feet and fur were unclean
She ran down the forest slope
She traveled down a hilly wooded area quickly
The forest of talking trees
The woods had a magical characteristic of speaking
They used to sing about the birds and the bees
The woodland creatures sang about nature
The bees had declared a war
The insects were ready to fight
The sky wasn't big enough for them all
The space available wasn't able to accommodate them
The birds, they got help from below
Other creatures aided the birds from beneath the conflict
From dirty paws and the creatures of snow
The animals with unclean feet and wintry creatures lent a hand
So for a while things were cold
The battle resulted in a cooled-down environment
They were scared down in their holes
The creatures were frightened and hiding
The forest that once was green
The woodland used to be lively
Was colored black by those killing machines
The instruments of death made the area dark
But she and her furry friends
She and her buddies with fur
Took down the queen bee and her men
They defeated the leader of the bees and her allies
And that's how the story goes
That's the end of the tale
The story of the beast with those four dirty paws
This is the account of the creature with that particular unclean body part
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ARNI GUDJONSSON, NANNA BRYNDIS HILMARSDOTTIR, RAGNAR THORHALLSSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@disenartcoltamayo9493
Jumping up and down the floor
My head is an animal
And once there was an animal
It had a son that mowed the lawn
The son was an OK guy
They had a pet dragonfly
The dragonfly it ran away
But it came back with a story to say
Her dirty paws and furry coat
She ran down the forest slope
The forest of talking trees
They used to sing about the birds and the bees
The bees had declared a war
The sky wasn't big enough for them all
The birds, they got help from below
From dirty paws and the creatures of snow
La la la
La la la la
La la la
La la la la
So for a while, things were cold
They were scared down in their holes
The forest that once was green
Was colored black by those killing machines
But she and her furry friends
Took down the queen bee and her men
And that's how the story goes
The story of the beast with those four dirty paws
La la la
La la la la
La la la
La la la la
La la la
La la la la
La la la
La la la la
@skylala
For anyone wondering:
The song is about WW2.
Germany was the bees
France and Britain were the birds
Americans as dirty paws
Russia as creatures of the snow
"The forest" is Europe
"The holes" are the trenches
"The killing machines" are the newly introduced artillery and turrets
The U.S. was called 'dirty paws' because of the presence in most international wars
And "The four dirty paws" are the wars that were 'popularly' fought - Revolutionary, Civil, WW1, and WW2.
Edit: I should have probably mentioned that this was my take on it, also this was like 5 years ago and I was kinda dumb back then. Still kinda am LMAO
@confused_rabbit09
My older brother played this on repeat at night when we were going from Tennessee to Pennsylvania. We went every other day to see my grandpa in the hospital. Now every time I hear it it reminds me of peaceful nights in a crowded car, driving down a quiet highway as the sun either went down or started to come up. Thee only two people awake were me and my brother. He was always driving so he never realized I was awake.
(somehow I had no notifications that I got likes and replies on this and when I looked back at this comment and saw them I got really happy)
@gavinabney4023
Hold onto memories like that
@tmtmbrn
I’ve read many YouTube comments in my life. That being said, I read this comment one week ago and was still thinking about it and came back to reread it. As I said, I’ve read many comments, none ever making me actually tear up, until I read this comment. It wasn’t the part about your grandfather, it was the part about being with your brother and him not realizing it. Thinking that you were alone in a moment, but low and behold, you weren’t, particularly driving down a highway during the two most dramatic moments of the day (sunrise/sunset). I wanted to let you know that a person that you never met and never will found profound beauty in that statement that. I’ve driven many sunrises and sunsets on the freeway alone and had a deep feeling of appreciation for life come over me, but just like your brother thought he was alone and actually wasn’t maybe I wasn’t alone either and that unexplainable sense of appreciation that snuck up on me was something more than can ever be explained with simple words from simple beings.
@rojiroco
@@tmtmbrn Thank you for this comment.
@Julia-sp2kt
tmtmbrn beautiful comment
@confused_rabbit09
tmtmbrn I’ve never had someone reply to one of my comments like that and it makes me so happy you thought that . Whenever your driving down the highway again think of all the other people sitting alone in their cars maybe miles ahead or miles behind , but you’re both on the same highway at the same time so your never truly alone
@xstrawberrykitkatx
I'm obsessed with songs that:
1. tell stories
2. tells that story in a way that has to be interpreted
@jjm8274
Ikr I really like songs that tell stories
@exodusuno6687
same i love them glad im not the only one
@RyoPotter
The Devil Went Down to Georgia...