I woke up with “One Thing Leads to Another” in my brain, and it’s still in there. Another brainworm unwanted, “unbidden,” as the late Dr. Oliver Sacks would say.
The oddest part about this particular brainworm is that I never knew the lyrics, except for the chorus,
Do what they say
Say what they mean
One thing leads to another
Having googled the lyrics, I realize that I didn’t have that part right. It’s actually:
Why don’t they do what they say?
Say what they mean
You tell me something wrong
I know I listen too long but then
One thing leads to another
Yeah, yeah
How mortifying.
In my defense, it is kind of a nonsense song. Here is the opening verse, in case you’re interested:
The deception with tact
Just what are you trying to say?
You’ve got a blank face, which irritates
Communicate, pull out your party piece
Any ideas?
Okay, I get that the person is lying but not in a mean way, and that a blank face (poker face?) can be irritating if you’re trying to understand what someone is thinking or feeling. But what exactly is a “party piece?”
Here’s another:
If this is up and I’m up, but you’re running out of sight
You’ve seen your name on the walls
And when one little bump leads to shock, miss a beat
You run for cover and there’s heat
Line 1: He’s up (literally or figuratively), maybe in a plane or helicopter, and the person he was with is running away, falling out of the plane or no longer in view?
Line 2: “Name on the walls” could be that the person is a dictator or a celebrity or someone famous, yeah.
Line 3: “One little bump leads to shock,” could mean a hit on the head renders the person unconscious or brings about amnesia and a beat in the song is missed?
Line 4: The person runs for cover because he/she is afraid and he/she runs into a hot furnace or lake of lava, or he/she’s on a beach, or he/she is a fugitive from the law and/or the cops are chasing him/her. Hmm.
The song seems to be about miscommunication. Yes, that’s it.
If you have any interpretations or insights (profound or not), please feel free to chime in.
Suburban Hobo 
Nice to know that I’m not the only one who misquotes the lyrics to songs! I hate it when I do it in church…..talk about embarrassing!!! 🙂
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Ha ha. How loudly do you sing in church, Lucie?
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Just “loud enough” for only God and “my seat neighbor” to hear!!!! I’m never too good with getting the lyrics! 🙂
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I’m sure that neither of them mind.
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A shy guy afraid to confess his true feelings to a certain lady? And she’s about had enuf of his dilly dallying?
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Hahaha! I always get the words wrong to songs. When I was younger I loved the song “Red Rubber Ball” and I mis-sung the line “Yeah, the worst is over now” with “Get your horses organized”. My mom made fun of me for weeks about that one!
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I don’t know “Red Rubber Ball.” Will have to look that one up.
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If they would only enunciate… (sigh) and after all these years, I finally learned the lyrics to Blinded by the Light.
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I still don’t know them.
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Here you go:
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner (fade out) in the night
Madman drummers bummers,
Indians in the summer
with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps
as the adolescent pumps
his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder,
feelin’ kinda older,
I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasin’,
sneezin’ and wheezin,
the calliope crashed to the ground
The calliope crashed to the ground
Well she was…
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Some silicone sister
with a manager mister
told me I got what it takes
She said
“I’ll turn you on sonny to something strong,
play the song with the funky break”
And go-cart Mozart
was checkin’ out the weather chart
see if it was safe outside
And little Early-Pearly
came by in his curly-wurly
and asked me if I needed a ride
Asked me if I needed a ride
Well she was…
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tight
She’s gonna make it through the night
She’s gonna make it through the night
—— guitar solo ——
But mama, that’s where the fun is
But mama, that’s where the fun is
Mama always told me not to look into the eyes of the sun
But mama, that’s where the fun is
Some brimstone baritone
anticyclone
rolling stone
preacher from the east
Says, “Dethrone the dictaphone,
hit it in its funny bone,
and that’s where they expect it least”
And some new-mown chaperone
was standin’ in the corner,
watching the young girls dance
And some fresh-sown moonstone
was messin’ with his frozen zone,
reminding him of romance
The calliope crashed to the ground
But she was…
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
1)
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
2) Madman drummers bummers,
Indians in the summer
with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps
as the adolescent pumps
his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder,
feelin’ kinda older,
I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasin’,
sneezin’ and wheezin,
the calliope crashed to the ground
Now Scott with a slingshot
finally found a tender spot
and throws his lover in the sand
And some bloodshot forget-me-not
said daddy’s within earshot
save the buckshot, turn up the band
runner in the night
Some silicone sister
with a manager mister
told me I go what it takes
She said “I’ll turn you on sonny to something strong”
She got down but She Never Got Touched
It’s gonna make it through the night
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Wow, thank you, Matt! I still don’t understand what “revved up like a deuce” means.
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We are going to solve this mystery here and now, Erica! https://www.quora.com/What-does-revved-up-like-a-deuce-mean
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I had no idea that a “deuce” referred to a car.
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Brain worms….I woke to “We need a little Christmas” from Mame. I took my daughter in law to see “Mame” at the Heights Players, a community theatre here in Brooklyn on Saturday night, and that song will not go away! Here’s my 2 cents on the song’s 3rd line One little bump leads to shock. Having lived thru the 80’s, a bump, is a hit of coke….and yes, a good bump will shock the shit out of you. Yes, I do think it’s about miscommunication…oh and there’s so much more of it now more than ever.
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Oh, thanks for clearing that one up, Nancy. I should have known that reference.
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Love the word “unbidden” – have to put that one in my satchel.
Overall, I think one needs to go back to the title of the song: one things leads to another. One act of deception, one lie leads to a responding action, and so on and so on. We get caught in the downward spiral whether in relationships of a personal nature or between countries – “But when one little cross leads to shots,…” can mean everything to two people in devoliving into conflict or countries into war. Every act has a consequence.
Thanks for the puzzle.
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Thank you for stopping by and for the interpretation.
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Loved it 😊 Happy to connect! ❤
Do check out my writings too, will appreciate your reviews 😄
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Thank you!
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