Swing the pig iron hammer!

April 21, 2008 7:10 PM

Just exactly what does "swing the big-eyed rabbit" (as sung by the Cramps) mean?

I like this song by the Cramps, and I'm guessing it's some kind of sleazy metaphor for something sexual, but nobody I've talked to seems know exactly what. (It just seems a little too "on the nose" to assume they're referring to a, ahem, male unit, but maybe I'm just reading too much into it.) The lyrics are here if anyone cares to attempt to decipher them.

I'm thinking it might be some kind of in-slang like "do the dog" (work hard at something) ala Kim Fowley but I can't seem to find any definition online. I see that it's also the title of a book written in 1953, but I can't find any information on said book.

posted by ostranenie to media & arts (10 comments total)

Pull your pockets inside-out like bunny ears. Now take out your cock. Swing it around.
posted by Mikey-San at 7:33 PM on April 21, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

I'm also a fan of Flamejob but never really thought about that. I'd go with a reference to the book.

Might be solved by a trip to the library to find out, depending on where you live. Chicago and LA both have copies available, but NYC, DC, and SF don't show anything. Or you could contact one of the Amazon vendors and ask for details.
posted by kittyprecious at 7:35 PM on April 21, 2008

Well, as far as the book goes, I did a search on Bookfinder.com and got these results in the description section...

Girlie Cover, Sexy Fiction.

A novel of love and hate in the Virginia Hill country.

First paperback ed. w/buxom gal on the cvr & little cvr on buxom gal. Boger calls it "...sordid story of extracurricular escapade at a southwestern VA mission school..."

cover art picturing a blonde honey washing dishes & looking behind her at a guy wearing overalls with one foot on a chair.

I don't think this really sheds much light, but it was kind of interesting.
posted by KoobieKitten at 8:21 PM on April 21, 2008

Well, to follow up on the book, "Big-Eyed Rabbit" is the title of an Appalachian song about rabbit hunting, and southwest VA is in Appalachia, so I'd guess the title of the book probably has something to do about the song. Given that the Cramps song has a hunting theme to it that seems to tie together.

Of course I still don't know what the phrase means.
posted by phoenixy at 8:49 PM on April 21, 2008

Pull your pockets inside-out like bunny ears

COME ON! Did you just make that up?
posted by ostranenie at 8:51 PM on April 21, 2008

Actually, on reading the lyrics of the Cramps song again, it looks like swinging the big-eyed rabbit means swinging the trapped or gunshot wounded rabbit against a tree to kill it. I guess swinging the pig iron hammer is an alternative means of killing the rabbit.

I would bet that somewhere in the world there is a variation of "Big-Eyed Rabbit" that actually contains the lyric "swing the big-eyed rabbit" but that it hasn't made it to the Internet.
posted by phoenixy at 9:05 PM on April 21, 2008

Pull your pockets inside-out like bunny ears

COME ON! Did you just make that up?

Someone once asked me if I had ever kissed a bunny rabbit in between the ears. When I said no, guess what they did?
posted by kitty teeth at 9:13 PM on April 21, 2008

COME ON! Did you just make that up?

Nope. I heard it as a little kid from a rather raunchy family member.
posted by Mikey-San at 7:54 AM on April 22, 2008

Actually, on reading the lyrics of the Cramps song again, it looks like swinging the big-eyed rabbit means swinging the trapped or gunshot wounded rabbit against a tree to kill it. I guess swinging the pig iron hammer is an alternative means of killing the rabbit.

I kinda like this as an explanation, too. Probably a better one than mine.
posted by Mikey-San at 7:55 AM on April 22, 2008

Pull your pockets inside-out like bunny ears. Now take out your cock. Swing it around.
posted by Mikey-San
Don't be silly. That's an elephant. A rabbit has a little....
Oh. Sorry.
posted by Floydd at 8:19 AM on April 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]