Be like the water, people. 21 Report post Posted September 10, 2009 Bring your own shovel, darlin'. What's the significance of this song, other than adorable-ness and an aweful(ly adorable) Elvis impression? i find the lyrics fairly easy to analyze part-by-part, but... what do you think they mean, all together? What's the message behind BYOS? What the heck does "bring your own shovel" even mean?! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Be like the water, people. 21 Report post Posted September 10, 2009 Bring your own shovel, darlin'. What's the significance of this song, other than adorable-ness and an aweful(ly adorable) Elvis impression? i find the lyrics fairly easy to analyze part-by-part, but... what do you think they mean, all together? What's the message behind BYOS? What the heck does "bring your own shovel" even mean?! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sweetness in my lungs 71 Report post Posted September 10, 2009 I don't know!! gah! I've searched the internet trying to find out what that expression means. thought it was a common saying...? For a while I thought that it was actually short for "bring your own shoes" , cuz i can imagine that being said in an invitation... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Be like the water, people. 21 Report post Posted September 10, 2009 "bring your own shoes" is hillarious! i know BYOB is short for "bring your own beer/bring your own bottle" for, like, collge parties. My parents say that it was common when they were in school, in the 1970's. so it's pretty established. I don't really see how a burial ritual concerning braids and grandmas ties in with college parties, though... For clarity, here are the lyrics: I met Mata Hari she was in no hurry the firing squad had their guns in the air my invitation said bring your own shovel i brought by own shovel BYOS bring your own shovel and shovel up the mess (uh-uh-huh) lately all my friends clip their teeth with nail clippers they want them much straighter much nicer more even well, i thought i'd do something nasty as well i brought my own shovel dug up this here well, then i shuffled my feet and i sniffed at the smells, then i dropped in some horses and dropped in some sheep, then i cuddled up a grandma, put her in there to sleep, then i licked up the envelope, in it i sent all the bones, and the bones and the braids from my hair uh-uh-huh..uh and darlin' i'm all shook up now ... bring your own shovel, bring your own shovel, BYOS BYOS BYOS BYO BYO BYOS so random... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sweetness in my lungs 71 Report post Posted September 13, 2009 but OK if people actually say "bring your own bottle" and stuff it makes sense. A bit. We're always ashamed of ourselves nowadays and afraid that something embarrassing might happen. We want to blend in and have straight teeth like everyone else has. (Or yeah everyone successful I guess). We go to the extreme (nail clippers! Imagine how much that would hurt!) trying to be perfect and not letting anything real show. We DO bring our own shovels and shovel up the mess. Nothing imperfect is allowed to be shown. Keep on shoveling... and then when she says that she wanted to do something nasty as well she uses her shovel to do something you're not supposed to...? or maybe ignored that you're supposed to shovel up the mess and dug a hole instead and had some fun and that... shook her all up. IDK maybe. I don't know who Mata Hari is though. But she's describing a party or that something is about to happen? I don't make much sense, but some maybe... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bartender 10 Report post Posted September 14, 2009 quote: I don't know who Mata Hari is though. A little bit of history here: The Execution of Mata Hari, 1917... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Be like the water, people. 21 Report post Posted September 14, 2009 I see what you're saying, sweetness in my lungs... Bartender, i am now thoroughly confused! but thanks for the info! ... i wonder what Mata Hari and modern vanity have to do with each other? Why exactly is Mata Hari famous? is she known for anything specific? any novels or significant literature written about her? i wonder what Regina's intent was in mentioning her in the song. i think that would provide a little insight into the shovel business... thoughts?! (maybe it's just a totally random song, just a silly excuse to do an impression of Elvis lol) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rspektorfaneire 0 Report post Posted September 26, 2009 is the fact that the line 'my invitation said bring your own shovel' and the line in my favourite things 'brown paper packages tied up with string' being sung to the same tune relevant? or am i reading to deep Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Be like the water, people. 21 Report post Posted September 26, 2009 hmm.. i don't know. i always assumed that the entire mata hari intro thing was to that tune. or at least several lines. That totally didn't answer the question haha sorry.i guess it's pretty much up to you: can you make that line/those lines work in an interpretation? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HFLAbob 0 Report post Posted October 2, 2009 I always thought of this songs as like, she was invited to Mata Hari's funeral and the invitation said bring your own shovel to bury her yourself. it seems to me to be talking about people's obsession with death and tragedy and drama, like everyone gets excited about the execution and then they all want to bury her themselves. and all the strange and cruel things that everyone's doing because it's part of their nature are starting to rub off on regina, and she's starting to want to do something nasty as well. and you can imagine how these feelings would shake one up. that's just how i've always read it, and it just made sense to me, but i doubt i'm making sense to any body else. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
