There she blows, Jacques Cousteau
Hear her sing so sweet and low
Lull me overboard, out cold
Gathered in and swallowed whole

Yeah do I want to, with all that charm?
Do I want to? Twist my arm
Yeah do I want to, with all that charm?
Do I want to? Twist my arm

You just hit me where I live
I guess it looked quite primitive
What was that supposed to prove?
Throw the calf or he'll throw you

Do I want to, with all that charm?
Do I want to? Twist my arm
Yeah do I want to, with all that charm?
Do I want to? Twist my arm

Sucked in by the victim world
Thirsty as a cultured pearl
Culled and wooed, bitten, chewed
It won't hurt if you don't move

Do I want to, with all that charm?
Do I want to? Twist my arm
Yeah do I want to, with all that charm?
Do I want to? Twist my arm

Yeah musical chairs, double dares, memorized stairs
Shootin' off flares, springtime hares, broken-down mares

Yeah coward phones, big soup stones, prideless loans
Grill sick crows, motel moans and big fat Jones, woo woo

Martyrs don't do much for me
Though I enjoy them vicariously
After you, no! After me
No, I insist! Please, after me

Do I want to? With all that charm?
Do I want you? Twist my arm
Ha, do I want to? With all that charm?
Do I want you? Twist my arm, ah do it


Lyrics submitted by black_cow_of_death

Twist My Arm Lyrics as written by Gordon Sinclair Gordon Downie

Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Twist My Arm song meanings
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7 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment

    Could this be a smattering of Bible stories thrown into one song? Jonah and the whale, the calf stanza representing the Prodigal Son...I guess the line big fat Jones can mean only one thing...Still, a great song and I listen to it intently.

    OpinionHeadon April 19, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    =P

    I love this song.... do I want to? Baby, twist my arm.

    Surfpicoon November 17, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Gord Sinclair rips this song to shreds as well...it seems to me that this song uses just one guitar and one bass. There are a couple of spots where the bass line jumps from the background to take you by surprise. It's not a line that steals the overall show, but it tells you that he is there keeping the underbelly of the song safe. Gord Sinclair is a silent master of his craft.

    OpinionHeadon February 08, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    on the live between us album, gord downie introduces this song as being "about the lull of Detroit"... but who knows? it can mean whatever has most meaning to you, as with most songs.

    ...and i melton July 21, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think anyone will tell you this song isn't really about the lull of Detroit, it's just one of the ways Gord personalizes shows to match the cities he's playing in.
    I really like the last stanza: Martyrs don't do much for me Though I enjoy them vicariously After you. No! After me. No, I insist! Please, after me. You can picture two martyrs fighting over who gets to take one for the team. I kind of see this song as a satire of religion in that sense. Doesn't want to twist his arm into conforming with religious traditions? But there also seems to be more the aspect of a woman with "all that charm." I don't know...

    ProudesterMonkeyon April 23, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    on the live version i just listend to on thehip.com, gord says "this is a barenaked ladies song called twist my arm". i thought that a little odd, but gord is quite random .

    denimdemonon December 18, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    That's just it - he's random, and this song just might be too.
    I LOVE the accoustics on this.

    kerrigwenon February 20, 2007   Link

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