What's up with the drummer's dirty shoes? (Some songwriters get laaaazzyyyy...)

November 6, 2006 11:46 PM

Joe Jackson's The Band Wore Blue Shirts - The drummer's shoes are dirty...

In the song, there are the following lines: "Me and the bass guitarist / Have even shined our shoes / The drummer's shoes are dirty...[something something]"

The internet lyric sites say "the drummer's shoes are dirty to confuse," but I don't fully trust them. I can force my ear to hear that, but it doesn't make a lot of sense unless he's just trying to force a quirky rhyme for "shoes." Can someone confirm this?

At first, I heard "the drummer's shoes are dirty with two kinds of fluids." That makes me smile, but after listening more carefully, it can't possibly be right.

posted by hutta to media & arts (6 comments total)

(And yes, I feel like an idiot wasting everyone's time with this question.)
posted by hutta at 11:51 PM on November 6, 2006 [1 favorite]

I always heard it as "to confuse."

I thought the idea was that two of the guys in the band have shiny shoes, but if you think you can categorize the Joe Jackson Band as one of those shiny-shoes-type outfits, au contraire! The drummer's shoes are dirty!

I devote about 65% of my time and brainspace to this sort of thing, so it can't be a waste of time.
posted by ibmcginty at 12:07 AM on November 7, 2006

My feelings on the lyrics are about the same as ibmcginty's. I always heard "the drummer's shoes are dirty to confuse."
posted by jessamyn at 12:32 AM on November 7, 2006

I love Joe Jackson (and especially his I'm the Man LP), and I third this.
posted by terrapin at 6:16 AM on November 7, 2006

From a rather dedicated fan's site:

Me and the bass guitarist
Have even shined our shoes
The drummer's shoes are dirty to confuse

posted by beaucoupkevin at 7:34 AM on November 7, 2006

Okay, thanks everyone. It's unanimous.
posted by hutta at 9:26 AM on November 7, 2006