Pixies – Gouge Away

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Gouge away You can gouge away Stay all day If you want to Missy aggravation Some sacred questions You stroke my locks Some marijuana If you got some Gouge away You can gouge away Stay all day If you want to Sleeping on your bed You break my arms You spoon my eyes Been rubbing a bad charm With holy fingers Gouge away You can gouge away Stay all day If you want to Chained to the pillars A three day party I break the walls And kill us all With holy fingers Gouge away You can gouge away Stay all day If you want to

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Lyrics submitted by riffic

Track duration: 02:45

"Gouge Away" as written by Charles Thompson

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Gouge Away song meanings
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  • 0
    General Comment:lying in bed, she's carressing his body "with holy fingers" and he's like "go ahead babe, don't stint yourself". pot involved, maybe, maybe even heroin, maybe crack.
    Flag McKeanon February 11, 2013   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:The bible stuff's a given but i think there's other things in there . Gouge is allso slang for injecting heroin and what do most junkies cook their heroin on ? A: a spoon , allso , people are allways banging on about how marijuana is a gateway drug to other harder drugs like heroin . I think this song is Frank Black talking about a relationship with someone (doesn't have to be a lover ) that allso involved drugs and using the story of sampson as a metaphor for how the situation made him feel and maybe how he dealt with it . Junkies do tend to stay all day once they've had a fix .
    Flag jonwaron November 26, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This is when you lose control. Your mind is gone and even the flesh is bare because the skin is gone
    Flag rowanblueson October 18, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Wow, coming to this page was a pleasant surprise. When I first read the lines 'chained to the pillars/a 3-day party/i break the walls/and kill us all/with holy fingers' I thought of Samson right away, but I thought it was just wishful thinking since Samson's story is my favorite and probably the only story from the Bible that I actually fully remember... But wow, awesome to see it wasn't just me. Really cool.
    Flag AgentFloridaon September 02, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:the sampson angle is obvious, but i think most people dont take that far enough. hes relating his experience with this chick to sampsons experience with delilah. delilah cut sampsons hair off, robbing him of his power (ie his extraordinary masculinity). this chick is doing the same thing to frank, "gouging away" at his independence and masculinity within their relationship. in other words the chick was controlling and manipulative, "gouging away" at his freedom to be a full person outside their relationship.
    Flag waffenoon December 06, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:the whole philistines bet thing was a bit of a stretch.. probably was about them partying at the end..
    but everything else remaids valid :p
    Flag Gritzon January 14, 2010   Link
    • 1 Reply
  • +1
    General Comment:Ok I agree that the songs structure is derived from the Samson story.
    Of course its not about Samson, but himself. I think he may be using the story to describe his relationship between him and his ex girl friend... but it could be more general than that...

    it was Samons weakness for women and not listing to god that would eventually lead to his "warrior suicide"

    He fell in love and gave his heart to what would prove to be an evil manipulating woman and she betrayed him. (been rubbing bad charm with holly fingers.. Great Line)


    Maybe the marijuana reference was what he thought to be the solution? lol or maybe it was something to cope with the pain... marijuana can be an enjoyable distraction from your problems or it can make you think and sort out your problems... so i really don't know what he means by that its too vague.. but it sounds cool.. its a great line lol

    In the story of Samson he told a riddle to the philistines and he bet them 30 pairs of clothes that they couldn't solve it. for 3 days they could not solve it and on the forth day they black mailed his wife to pry the information out of him or they would burn down her fathers house and kill them. (a three day party)

    After being captured, eyes gouge out with swords, imprisoned, enslaved, they degrade him by putting him on display when then he ask god for the strength to get his vengeance for taking his eyes by killing them all. and god being the vengeful "eye for an eye" guy that he is (lol) he grants him his strength.

    i break the walls
    and kill us all
    with holy fingers

    I believe these lines have a double meaning.. the literal interpretation of it is that god granted Samson the power because he was righteous. i belive Francis felt righteous as well since it was the girl who done him wrong. and the walls are the boundary that he broke that killed the relationship.
    Flag Gritzon January 14, 2010   Link
    • 1 Reply
  • 0
    General Comment:nope. this song is about smoking pot all day
    that's ittt
    Flag gogrrrton August 04, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:is it just me or do the pixies have their own style of timing and rythm in thir music like its all collectively weird timed
    Flag OnlyHumanon June 25, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:In the recent pixies documentary, LoudQUIETLoud, there's a part in where Frank's ex-girlfriend visits him backstage...along with Kim's ex-husband. And in that part her ex-husband is telling Kim that "Missy" is meeting Frank right now, and she can't believe it. He further explains to Kim's twin sister that it's indeed one of his ex-girlfriends, who supposedly took his virginity. And he goes on to keep saying..."He references her in Gouge Away. Missy aggravation!"
    Flag ats5on June 17, 2009   Link

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