Know something about this song or lyrics?
Add it to our wiki.
Where was I? I forgot
The point that I was making
I said if I was smart that I would
Save up for a piece of string
And a rock to wind the string around
Everybody wants a rock
To wind a piece of string around
Everybody wants a rock
To wind a piece of string around
Throw the crib door wide
Let the people crawl inside
Someone in this town
Is trying to burn the playhouse down
They want to stop the ones who want
A rock to wind a string around
But everybody wants a rock
To wind a piece of string around
Throw the crib door wide
Let the people crawl inside
Someone in this town
Is trying to burn the playhouse down
They want to stop the ones who want
A rock to wind a string around
But everybody wants a rock
To wind a piece of string around
If I were a carpenter I'd
Hammer on my piglet, I'd
Collect the seven dollars and I'd
Buy a big prosthetic forehead
And wear it on my real head
Everybody wants prosthetic
Foreheads on their real heads
Everybody wants prosthetic
Foreheads on their real heads
Throw the crib door wide
Let the people crawl inside
Someone in this town
Is trying to burn the playhouse down
They want to stop the ones who want
Prosthetic foreheads on their heads
But everybody wants prosthetic
Foreheads on their real heads
Throw the crib door wide
Let the people crawl inside
Someone in this town
Is trying to burn the foreheads down
They want to stop the ones who want
A rock to wind a string around
But everybody wants a rock
To wind a piece of string around
The point that I was making
I said if I was smart that I would
Save up for a piece of string
And a rock to wind the string around
Everybody wants a rock
To wind a piece of string around
Everybody wants a rock
To wind a piece of string around
Throw the crib door wide
Let the people crawl inside
Someone in this town
Is trying to burn the playhouse down
They want to stop the ones who want
A rock to wind a string around
But everybody wants a rock
To wind a piece of string around
Throw the crib door wide
Let the people crawl inside
Someone in this town
Is trying to burn the playhouse down
They want to stop the ones who want
A rock to wind a string around
But everybody wants a rock
To wind a piece of string around
If I were a carpenter I'd
Hammer on my piglet, I'd
Collect the seven dollars and I'd
Buy a big prosthetic forehead
And wear it on my real head
Everybody wants prosthetic
Foreheads on their real heads
Everybody wants prosthetic
Foreheads on their real heads
Throw the crib door wide
Let the people crawl inside
Someone in this town
Is trying to burn the playhouse down
They want to stop the ones who want
Prosthetic foreheads on their heads
But everybody wants prosthetic
Foreheads on their real heads
Throw the crib door wide
Let the people crawl inside
Someone in this town
Is trying to burn the foreheads down
They want to stop the ones who want
A rock to wind a string around
But everybody wants a rock
To wind a piece of string around
Lyrics submitted by Irrational
Track duration: 02:48
"We Want a Rock" as written by John S./flansburgh Linnell
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
The prosthetic foreheads obviously would be helmets. or forehead protectors. because someone is trying to burn the foreheads down. Think about it, brain wash, kill our brains. possibly a reference to tin foil hat wearers. how someone wants to stop the ones who are protecting themselves. because they don't want you protected they want to kill you/control you.
he comes up with and tells people about a random idea to tie a string around a rock
stanza #2
the fad becomes popular and unpopular as it gains attention, leading to agression through the neihborhood.
stanza #3
the same guy ends up creating a new fad that renews the cycle
There are those who want a piece of string and a rock to wind the string around (X),
those who want prosthetic foreheads on their real heads (Y),
and the unknown group (Z).
Z does not exist, and is a manifestation of a paranoid delusion.
X = Y = Everyone.
Nobody wants to burn down neither the foreheads nor the playhouse.
X and Y are afraid that if the crib doors open, they will allow Z in, who will in turn burn down their playhouse and/or foreheads.
If you re-read the song, you will note that Z can NOT exist, for Z would be included in both X and Y.
To paraphrase, there is nothing to fear but fear itself.
Also, it may be noteworthy that in some cultures, crib = house.
It may be TMBG's take on P-Funk's BURN DOWN THE HOUSE.
The speaker goes from "I want a rock" to "Everybody wants a rock", and eventually uses this to define an enemy of the state who is "trying to burn the playhouse down" and want to stop the good citizens who just want a rock to wind a piece of string around. Radical politicans claim to stand for what people actually want, until it turns into something wholly different, such as "prosthetic foreheads". For example: "Everybody likes democracy. Therefore people who don't like democracy are 'terrorists'. John doesn't like democracy. Therefore John is a terrorist..." etc.
Along the same lines, "Throw the crib door wide/_Let the people_ crawl inside" is a childish version of many a radical's motto.
The lyrics refer to "throwing a crib door wide" and "letting the people crawl inside". I take this to mean that the writer considered people to be like children, in relation to fads.
Then, 'someone tries to burn the playhouse down'. This is a reference to revolutionaries. In a society where most of the population is preoccupied with trivial things, invariably a few of the ones who aren't go to extreme measures to try to wake up society.
The prosthetic forehead is the next fad, as others pointed out. The singer writes this from the perspective of one of the fad-followers. This is why the song starts out as "where was I, I forgot the point that I was making". The singer takes the role of one of these fad-followers who is unable to maintain much consistent thought. Think of the stereotypical ADD and medicated people of today with just enough attention span to find the latest fad to latch on to and distract them from getting anywhere in life.