Lyrics for Queer as interpreted by sawg

Queer Lyrics
Hey boy, take a look at me
Let me dirty up your mind
I'll strip away your hard veneer
And see what I can find

The queerest of the queer
The strangest of the strange
The coldest of the cool
The lamest of the lame
The numbest of the dumb
I hate to see you here
You choke behind a smile
A fake behind the fear
The queerest of the queer

This is what he pays me for
I'll show you how it's done
You learn to love the pain you feel
Like father, like son

The queerest of the queer
Hide inside your head
The blindest of the blind
The deadest of the dead
You're hungry 'cause you starve
While holding back the tears
Choking on your smile
A fake behind the fear
The queerest of the queer

I know what's good for you (You can touch me if you want)
I know you're dying to (You can touch me if you want)
I know what's good for you (You can touch me if you want)
But you can't stop

The queerest of the queer
The strangest of the strange
The coldest of the cool
The lamest of the lame
The numbest of the dumb
I hate to see you here
You choke behind a smile
A fake behind the fear

The queerest of the queer
The strangest of the strange
The coldest of the cool
You're nothing special here
A fake behind the fear
The queerest of the queer

I know what's good for you
I know you're dying to
I know what's good for you
I bet you're dying to

You can touch me if you want
You can touch me if you want
You can touch me
You can touch me
But you can't stop

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  • 37 Comments
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skapunkemo
05-10-2002

Rated +1 
I miss the songs from Garbage (like this one) that had more of a point and deeper meaning. I mean, sure, all their songs have meanings, but this ones was deep somewhat. When this song was first out, it was still very much in to refer to people as queer, gay, fag as insults and reasons to hate others, and I think this had a great message. I'm very sure it's being sarcastic, also, so don't take it literally. This was a bit of a run on sentence, yes? Sorry..

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glimpse
05-13-2002

Rated +2 
I always found this song a great one to have sex to.

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glimpse
05-13-2002

Rated 0 
I always found this song a great one to have sex to.

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I And I
06-18-2002

Rated 0 
I think it is about people with low confidence who try to be different to get attention. People much like myself.

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dead345
06-19-2002

Rated 0 
I love this song about three years already, or since garbage came out, and I think it is definetely about being sarcastic to gays and fags. But, it is also, to get people to understand that anything can happen to them like that, whenever they least expect it..all the horrors, dirt of the human concsciousness ...i think u get the point


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rockstar001
06-19-2002

Rated 0 
i never thought this song was about being gay or about gay people... i actually think they'r using "queer" as it was actually used...you know...ODD! It's about being a conformist...a charleton...debutounte...a big stinky fake!

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JerrySizzler
07-11-2002

Rated 0 
It's not about being gay at all...if you will recall "queer" USED to mean strange or different, before some insensitive hypocrites turned it into a negative term. The song is about prostitution...look at the lyrics and think about it. "This is what he pays me for"

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IndustrialVixen
07-13-2002

Rated 0 
thank God someone got it right. Thanks Jerry. Yeah, the song is about prostitution and oddness. I mean, just look at the lyrics: "the queerest of the queer/the strangest of the strange" and if anyone's seen the video, you'll know that Shirley Manson totally looks like a hooker in it. Good stuff :)

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dead345
07-17-2002

Rated 0 
my dears, industrial and jerry, ok..she doesnt look like a total prostitute in there/do u see makeup on her huh?do u see her wearing tight short skirt and flashy clothes at all? She is all in black..she wears black dark clothes..no makeup..she wants to show how queer people are...maybe its like she's one of them...she wanted probably either make that guy total queer...or laugh at him..remember that buddha thing?its definitely about queers...paalease.../Also..about that whole"pay" thing..maybe its some hint at prostitution...but it doesnt give any big meaning...its just a showing of disgust.

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insectkin
08-11-2002

Rated 0 
i always thought it was a story about a father who won't accept that his son is queer.. he takes him to a prostitute to show him how it's done and stuff. and that this story was used by example. that it really is about people who won't accept other people for who they are.. and try to turn them into something else.. like.. take it a bit literally but not really hehe.. oh well

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IndustrialVixen
08-24-2002

Rated 0 
insectkin- that's a goo point, and an interesting view! I'd never thought of it like that.

I know she's written about prostitution because I bought the little booklet thing that has a cd of them tlaking for about an hour and they bring it up, but it doesn't say specifically which song (mind you it came out before version 2.0 I believe) and of any of the songs on "Garbage" this one would make the most sense:
"I know what's good for you (You can touch me if you want)
I know you're dying to (You can touch me if you want)
I know what's good for you (You can touch me if you want)
But you can't stop "
and BTW, she's wearing some pretty massive makeup in that video, and the whole thing is her bringing someone back to her house and then jumping his bones/ripping off his clothes.

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ladyboygrrl
08-30-2002

Rated 0 
insectkin- i agree with you. "holding back the tears" makes me think of the queer boy who hates his father for actions....and doesn't want 2 sleep with the prostitute...but maybe thinks that his father will think even less of him if he cries.
also i think that the father is denying his own gay feelings- "you learn to love the pain you feel, like father like son" and wants the son to be a repressed closet like him.

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ladyboygrrl
08-30-2002

Rated 0 
insectkin- i agree with you. "holding back the tears" makes me think of the queer boy who hates his father for actions....and doesn't want 2 sleep with the prostitute...but maybe thinks that his father will think even less of him if he cries.
also i think that the father is denying his own gay feelings- "you learn to love the pain you feel, like father like son" and wants the son to be a repressed closet like him.

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broken_wings
09-11-2002

Rated 0 
a big pat on the back for everyone making the gay-boy-goes-to-hooker connection. i agree with this meaning. i also could see how the song would apply to a painfully shy, unexperienced lad.

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tommib
03-04-2003

Rated 0 
JT Leroy´s dedicatde song? Isn´t it?

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ParanoidSupervixen
03-12-2003

Rated 0 
No, the one that's dedicated to J.T. Leroy is "Cherry Lips".

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bopton
04-02-2003

Rated 0 
thisis the song that got me into garbage and it's fucking mad

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kmk_natasha
02-05-2005

Rated 0 
I don't think she means queer as in gay, but queer as in odd. I can see where people get the queer-boy/prostitute thing though.

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starfaery
03-03-2005

Rated 0 
To me it means that men shouldn't think of themselves, as better beings, than feemales, or take themselves so seriously, not showing their feelings, and trying to be cool. We live in a male dominated society. Where it's easier to be a man. I think she confronts that. I think she says that everybody is strange, and has their weaknesses. Regardless of gender.

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Marmalade_Chainsaw
05-25-2005

Rated 0 
This strikes me as a song about a street hustler... Turning tricks and such, but then again I could be wrong. It depends on how you perceive it.

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glossophilia
07-07-2005

Rated 0 
Even being queer myself I always took it to have an S&M tone -
"This is what he pays me for
I'll show you how it's done
You learn to love the pain you feel
Like father, like son"

The whole "You can touch me if you want" bit, etc.

I surely can't be the only one to think that?

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hunter_benedict
12-16-2005

Rated 0 
What does this song mean to me? I don't have a fucking clue. I just read somewhere that Shirley Manson was a Lesbian, so wouldn't she be dissing herself with this song?

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kmk_natasha
12-16-2005

Rated 0 
She means queer as in odd. Not gay.

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Aurore
03-08-2006

Rated 0 
Shirley Manson is not a lesbian, remember she had been married with a man for ten years when she divorced last year. She said that she had had once a lesbian experience but she had not liked it that much.
Anyway the song is awesome.

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Gwirleybee
03-29-2006

Rated 0 
No, she's not a lesbian. Anyways... Quote:

"I totally respect and admire girls who sleep with other girls. It's awesome!"

Or something like that... I don't remember exactly. However: SHIRLEY RULES MY FRIGGIN WORLD!!! *Heart*

Queer is such a terrific song! One of their best, I think. It made me fall in love with Garbage's first CD! I love the darkness of it, if you know what I mean. Also, it's kinda kinky. Me likey...

I agree with you guys. In this song I don't think it's queer like in "gay". It's queer like in "odd/weird/different/strange". Don't know the EXACT meaning of the song, though. Many of your theories are quite convincing, btw!

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