Yes, yes, yes, I know that "Timothy" is a miner's slang for a mule used
underground for hauling cars full or ore to the surface. But the song
never tells you that, does it?
Yes, yes, yes, I know that "Timothy" is a miner's slang for a mule used
underground for hauling cars full or ore to the surface. But the song
never tells you that, does it?
Some record company executive back in 1970 or so listened to a song about cannibalism and thought, hey, this could be a hit. And so we have "Timothy" by the Buoys, which had pretty well disappeared from the airwaves for thirty years until Napster gave it new life. Yes, people are using the Napster and the internet to share music files and one file that shows up a lot is "Timothy".
Not since Chaplin's "The Gold Rush" have people taken such delight in such a morbid possibility.
"Timothy" gets right down to business. The narrator is trapped in a mine shaft that caved in. "Everyone knows" the only ones left are Joe, and "me", and Tim. When they finally reach the unfortunate trio, the only ones left are Joe and-- long silence here-- me. The chorus:
Timothy!
Timothy!
Where on earth did you go?
Timothy!
Timothy!
God, why don't I know?
Well, we know why he doesn't know. "My stomach was full as it could be/and nobody ever got around to finding.... Timothy."
Uh huh.
Now, let's not get sidetracked by the fact that the song is about cannibalism. And let's not even begin to discuss the question of whether or not this is another one of those pernicious rock songs that promotes anti-social behavior, like eating your co-workers. Let's focus instead on the reliability of the narrator, because he is quite clever. You see, he tries to get you, the listener, to share his sense of shock and outrage that Timothy has been eaten. He thinks that because he shares your presumed shock and outrage, that you won't suspect him of being the instigator of this tragic development. Oh no. He says:
Timothy,
Timothy,
Joe was looking at you....
Ah ha! Yes, I may have eaten my co-worker, but it wasn't my idea. Yes, yes. As your present co-worker, I feel a lot better now.
So where's Joe? Why don't we get his version of the story? Maybe he's the one who really "blacked out just about then" and suddenly woke up with a full stomach.
And let's look at that sequence of lines there. Joe is looking at Timothy after saying that he would sell his soul for just one piece of meat. Joe takes a sip of water and hands the bottle to the narrator saying that there is just enough left for one person. And then:
I must have blacked out just about then
'Cause the very next thing that I recall
Was the light of the day coming through.
My stomach was full as it could be
And nobody ever got around to finding Timothy.
Now think about this. He blacks out but wakes up with a full stomach. Can you eat while you are unconscious? No. Do you suffer trauma to the head while chewing on somebody's forearm? Not necessarily. Is your psyche so traumatized by the experience of dismembering a friend that it represses the memory of the experience? Well, that's what he'd like you to believe. But, in fact, research has shown that .....
Wait a minute. You should never believe any sentence that begins with the phrase "research has shown". Research shows whatever the researcher wants it to show. Which is not to say that research is always wrong. It's just a warning: don't believe somebody just because he says "research" says. Check it out for yourself.
So check it out for yourself: do people repress memories of horrific events? No, they don't. I know-- dozens of Hollywood movies have shown this exact thing and they are all "based" on true stories. They are all lies. Seriously, check it out: they are all lies.
Back to the research, and I'm serious here: some researcher talked to a number of people who had verifiable experiences of traumatic events. Everybody can remember the events. Nobody "repressed" the memories of those terrible events. They are always there, always available to the mind to consider and reconsider.
On the other hand, in almost every case in which people claim to have repressed memories of traumatic events, they have no proof that the events actually happened.
But that's a separate issue.
Anyway, the guy says he can't remember anything from that last swig of water to the rescue. Well, he's a liar. I just thought you should know that. He just doesn't want to remember. He should stop whining. He should rewrite the song. The chorus should be:
Timothy!
Timothy!
I was chewing on you.
Timothy!
Timothy!
God! What did I do?
