Contributors:

Jonathan Chaffer

Pat

Yet another of TMBG's relationship/lack thereof songs, this tune does not appear to have a meaning that is especially deep. The meaning seems to be mostly in the chorus, as the individual verses are mostly a string of irrelevant wordplay.

In the first verse, note "wake up and smell the cat food" as punning on "wake up and smell the coffee." Also, there is a warping of the phrase "the tail wagging the dog." The second verse contains a strange reference to Deputy Dog, as well as paradoxical statements about bad things being good. This last point combines woth the "I don't want to live" sentiment of the bridge to create a gloomy mood. Add to this the intro to the bridge, where DON'T is spelled out explicitly, complete with punctuation, along with words that start with each letter (not to mention the punning "over and overture"), and you have a song that manages to be extremely peppy and comic while it explores sad concepts.

Now to the chorus of the song, where the meat of the meaning lies. Two seemingly equal valid readings are that the singer has just broken up with his girl, and that the singer is reasoning why he cannot start a relationship with a girl. In both cases, he "could believe for all the world" that she belonged to him, but this could not be. She apparently either is a cheat or at least has had many relationships, judging from the "get around" line. The first reading would say that "don't let's start" refers to starting to talk again about the situation. The singer wants to let it lie and get on with his life. The second interp is that he doesn't want the relationship to start, because he knows it will end badly. She's flirtatious, but he is being cautious. Both seem to fit well with the mood of the song.

Of course, according to John Linnell, "This is a song about not let's starting."