Peter Pumpkinhead

“Peter Pumpkinhead” was recorded in 1992 by British group XTC, and was a #1 hit in Britain. In 1995, the Crash Test Dummies recorded a new version for the movie “Dumb and Dumber”. These lyrics were excised:

Peter Pumpkinhead pulled them all
Emptied churches and shopping malls
Where he spoke it would raise the roof
Peter Pumpkinhead told the truth

The song uncannily predates “Take Back Wall Street” by 20 years.  But America is not ready, apparently, to empty churches and shopping malls.  Especially, those places where the devout truly worship the things they crave more badly and urgently than anything else in the universe: shopping malls.

But he made too many enemies…

Governments would slur his name
Plots and sex scandals failed outright
Peter merely said
Any kind of love is alright
But he made too many enemies
Of the people who would keep us on our knees
Hooray for Peter Pumpkin…

Do you believe that was written before the Clinton sex scandal?

The writer of the song, Andy Partridge, has stated that he didn’t have any particular individual in mind when he wrote the song.

So there.

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