"Tattoo" lyrics

[Golden AWe]

(Tattoo, tattoo)

I got Elvis on my elbow
and when I flex Elvis talks
I got hula girls on the back of my leg
and she hula's when I walk

Speak in cherry red
Screaming lectric green
Purple mountain's majesty really talk to me
Talk to me babe

Swapmeet Sally
Trampstamp Cat
Mousewife to Momshell in the time it took to get that new tattoo
tattoo-tattoo

(Tattoo, tattoo)
Show me your dragon magic
(Tattoo, tattoo)
So autobiographic!

Best believe that need will work you
Best deceive these true colours that follow one of your false virtues

Here's a secret to make you think
Why is the crazy stuff we never said poetry in ink
Speak in day-glow red
Explodo paint
Purple mountain's majesty tell me you, I'll show you me

Swap meet Sally
Trampstamp Cat
Mousewife to Momshell in the time it took to get that new tattoo, tattoo-tattoo

Woo!
(Tattoo, tattoo)
Sexy dragon magic
(Tattoo, tattoo)
So very autobiographic!
(Tattoo, tattoo)
Got a hold on me
(Tattoo, tattoo)
You put a spell on meeeee!

(Dave scat solo)
overlapping into
(major old school guitar bad-assary)

Uncle Danny had a gold tattoo
He fought for the unions
(Some of us still do)
On my shoulder is a number of the Chapter he was in
That number is forever like the struggle here to win

Everybody!
Swap meet Sally
Trampstamp Cat
Mousewife to Momshell in the time it took to get that new tattoo, tattoo-tattoo
Tattoo
ta..too!

(Tattoo, tattoo)
Sexy dragon magic
(Tattoo, tattoo)
So very autobiographic!
(Tattoo, tattoo)
You got a hold on me
(Tattoo, tattoo)
You put a spell on me
(Tattoo, tattoo)
I'm in love with you
(Tattoo, tattoo)
Show me, show me your
(Tattoo, tattoo)
Look at me, look at you!
(Tattoo, tattoo)
Whoa!

Like the whole song...I was a little surprised and astonished first..."what is happening here"...

Now I think I've got it. He's singing about the his new chance with Van Halen...

"show me your dragon magic" and "You put a spell on meeeee!", it sounds a bit gay at first, but if you think of it as a spell to breathe life into Van Halen again, to summon the devil and the good out of all that is magical and grate in the classic Van Halen, it's about to become true again!

PLUS all these impressions about "mousewife to momshell" or bombshell, they are about the past years of him solo...and Van Hagar...that it's returing into a life...where TATTOO is the symbol of the new Van Halen...

FOOKIN' ACE!!!

[Full Bug]

I love how you can tell Dave lyrics a mile away, cannot wait to hear the whole song....

[JJtheVagPounder]

I think it's "Best believe that needle hurt you"

[VAiN]

I think it's "Best believe that needle hurt you"

You sir, are correct.

[kwame k]

When I first read your analysis I thought you were stoned but after thinking aboot it.....I got stoned and it makes perfect sense

[lesfunk]

Are you sure it isn't "Housewife to Bombshell"?

[diamondsgirl]

Are you sure it isn't "Housewife to Bombshell"?

pretty sure it is...makes sense.

[Golden AWe]

Are you sure it isn't "Housewife to Bombshell"?

Nope, I think it's "Mousewif to momshell", it seems like a used expression: http://blogs.babble.com/famecrawler/...ing-a-thinner/

[kwame k]

Nope, I think it's "Mousewif to momshell", it seems like a used expression: http://blogs.babble.com/famecrawler/...ing-a-thinner/

Wow....first bit of trivia right there, bro!

[lesfunk]

One more lyric that sammy could never have understood let alone written

[Matt White]

One more lyric that sammy could never have understood let alone written

You hit the nail on the head Les...............

I drove MILWAUKEE all day listening to TATTOO...and thinking just that......1st new ROTH/VAN HALEN song since 1984........and its better than ANY/EVERYTHING spam has ever attempted.......no "shinning stars thru your diamond ring"....no "Dreams", "Up-chuck for breakfast"......"Aboot Time"....TIME FOR WHAT???

Time for DAVE to erase all that BULLSHIT!

[diamondsgirl]

well, cool then. Dave grabs his lyrics from everywhere. And he says that he reads everything he can get his hands on. Clearly. LOL. Thanks AW.

[vanshipman]

Dave lyrics are always interesting and clever. I cant wait to hear what he has for us on the new album...I love Tattoo and cant wait for the tour and the record. What a great year for us VH fans!!! From famine to feast I say!!!

[Marx1000]

Vanshipman.... You said it bro... Clever indeed!

[Golden AWe]

Hahah...you know what...to find the lyrics, I paid my first visit to the Links, in four to five years or so...but I don't care!!! I'm so happy, I have new Van Halen in my stereo!!! FUCK OFF ROTH HATERS!!!

[diamondsgirl]

Very Rothen lyrics.

[lesfunk]

Wow, You and Dave are fucking Brilliant!
never heard that phrase in my life

[kwame k]

Ha! Preach the Gospel!!!!!!!!

If hating the Red Cocker is wrong.....I don't wanna be right!

[hain23x]

Great lyrics. I swear I was crying like the little bitch that I am the first time I got to crank it in the car the first time! LOL

Mousewife to Momshell in the time it took to get that new tattoo, tattoo-tattoo

[Antman]

Mousewife makes sense. She is a timid housewife/mom w potential. She gets a tat and now you see and think of her differently. Now you notice she's hot cause she got some ink. And she's a mom. Hence momshell. Only dave.

[VOODOO_King]

Mousewife makes sense. She is a timid housewife/mom w potential. She gets a tat and now you see and think of her differently. Now you notice she's hot cause she got some ink. And she's a mom. Hence momshell. Only dave.

Isn't "mousewife" a term for a stay at home mom who spends her time surfing the net, Facebooking, Farmvilling, Tweeting, etc...? "Momshell" is equal to a MILF (mom bombshell). Maybe I'm off here?

[FORD]

Isn't "mousewife" a term for a stay at home mom who spends her time surfing the net, Facebooking, Farmvilling, Tweeting, etc...? "Momshell" is equal to a MILF (mom bombshell). Maybe I'm off here?

This was pretty much my interpretation. Everybody knows what a MILF is, but it's not a very lyrical term, so Dave made up one that works better.

mom+bombshell= momshell. If it ain't in the Urban Dictionary already, it will be by the end of the week.

[Sensible Shoes]

Isn't "mousewife" a term for a stay at home mom who spends her time surfing the net, Facebooking, Farmvilling, Tweeting, etc...? "Momshell" is equal to a MILF (mom bombshell). Maybe I'm off here?

Oh SHIT I'm a mousewife who's single!!!!!! Even a BIGGER LOSER

[Yount]

Mousewife makes sense. She is a timid housewife/mom w potential. She gets a tat and now you see and think of her differently. Now you notice she's hot cause she got some ink. And she's a mom. Hence momshell. Only dave.

Any moon or mouse is a friend of hers and this one will doooo just fine...

[academic punk]

Nailed it. Classic Dave wordplay. "Momshell" is terrific: it's basically a synonym for "MILF".

Btw, when I first heard the lyrics, I thought "Swapmeet Sally, Trampstamp Cat" was "Swampmeat salad, Crab Stab Can't". Which makes no fucking sense. So I was relieved to read this. Very cool, very Dave lyrics.

(Btw, the first time, as a teenager, I heard Bananarama's version of "Venus" I misheard the chorus as "I'm your fetus/I'm on fire" and thought it was an anti-abortion song.)

[DRD]

Awesome Lyrics!!

[fifth element]

Lovin' the new song and feel that it is a promise of what is to come!

[binnie]

An excellent interpretation.

I think there's an element of truth in that GA.

[fryingdutchman]

I'm gonna get in trouble at work....I can't stop playing it while sitting at my desk.

[clarathecarrot]

[houseofpain]

its about perceptions, real and false also. Best to see these true colors that follow whatever your false virtue...she perceives she's going from a housewife to bombshell with new ink, but reality is she's only going from a mousewife to a momshell...she's not a bombshell and the ink didn't change that, even though she perceived it would.

[Fairwrning]

Hated it first time through..grows on ya tho..only real complaint( its NEW..DONT BITCH)....need more Wolf and less synth fill..

[Terry]

Hated it first time through..grows on ya tho..only real complaint( its NEW..DONT BITCH)....need more Wolf and less synth fill..

Perhaps a bit more of Wolf in the mix would've been good...from what I've heard, the synth backing wasn't really all that much up front...'course I've only heard it at youtube. The real deal will be getting the cd and cranking the fucker in the car; THEN we'll see what it be.

[negative]

Those lines about the union in the lyrics really warmed my heart. I'm a firm believer and supporter of worker's unions and rights, and hearing Dave sing about them on a positive manner really connected with me. This is the kind of lyrical content you wouldn't get with that asshole Hagar penning the lyrics. With Hagar you got this kind of shit:


Yeah! Feelin', no I don't like what I been told
I'm feelin'
And I'm bleedin', like no one else will ever know
I'm bleedin'
Whoa! Dealin', I'm dealin' with these things
I'm feelin'
Oh, I'm dreamin', I'm dreamin', I'm dreamin' things that show me
What I'm seein'
Yeah! Seein', I'm seein' things that don't know
What I'm feelin', yeah
Lord, I've been feelin', I'm feelin', I'm feelin' things that
I don't, I don't know, I don't know!
Lord, what I'm seein'

Yeah!
Yeah, yeah yeah

Hey, I don't understand

Now, I'm a stupid norwegian but even I write better lyrics than that!!

[fourthcoming]

"Tattoo" has been all over the radio here on Long Island today. Dj's are asking for listener feedback and everyone is diggin' it. Even better, it's two for Tuesday so every station that's playing Tattoo is following it up with CVH. This may be the best random Tuesday in January in my 38 years on the planet.

[ELVIS]

Correction:

Swap meet Sally
Tramp stamp Cat
Mousewife to Momshell in the time it took to get that new tattoo, that new tattoo

[Marx1000]

I'm going with:

Swapmeet Sally
Tramp Stamp Tat


Either way... I love it! Dave comes up with the best lyrics.

[twonabomber]

I'm going with:

Swapmeet Sally
Tramp Stamp Tat.

yeah, i think that's it. as in, Swap Meet Sally (got) a tramp stamp tat (and) went from mousewife to momshell... i think he's only talking about one chick, tramp stamp Kat (or Cat) sounds like two.

[Little Texan]

Those lines about the union in the lyrics really warmed my heart. I'm a firm believer and supporter of worker's unions and rights, and hearing Dave sing about them on a positive manner really connected with me. This is the kind of lyrical content you wouldn't get with that asshole Hagar penning the lyrics. With Hagar you got this kind of shit:


Yeah! Feelin', no I don't like what I been told
I'm feelin'
And I'm bleedin', like no one else will ever know
I'm bleedin'
Whoa! Dealin', I'm dealin' with these things
I'm feelin'
Oh, I'm dreamin', I'm dreamin', I'm dreamin' things that show me
What I'm seein'
Yeah! Seein', I'm seein' things that don't know
What I'm feelin', yeah
Lord, I've been feelin', I'm feelin', I'm feelin' things that
I don't, I don't know, I don't know!
Lord, what I'm seein'

Yeah!
Yeah, yeah yeah

Hey, I don't understand

Now, I'm a stupid norwegian but even I write better lyrics than that!!

Or this lyrical gem:

I need a job
I need a job
I'm willing to work
But I need a job

I stand in the street
With a sign in my hand
I'm willing to work
But I need a job

Got nothin' left
Lost it all
Can I get back to zero
Zero, zero, zero, zero, zero
I need a job

Yeah, I need a job
I need a job

[Carmine]

Those lines about the union in the lyrics really warmed my heart. I'm a firm believer and supporter of worker's unions and rights, and hearing Dave sing about them on a positive manner really connected with me.

Same here..."Union" and "Workers Rights" is what I believe in and... do for a living