Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head – A Tongue-Twisting TMBG Classic

Why I’ve written "do the dumb things I gotta do" on office memos for decades

Have you ever tried to sing along to this song? I have. And let me tell you—John Flansburgh somehow manages to make the verses of "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" sound like the syllables are folding over into each other, creating this oddly satisfying, flowing rhythm. It’s almost like the words are on a conveyor belt that just keeps moving, and no matter how hard I try, I cannot sing the chorus at Flansy's speed in any articulate way.

"Put your hand inside the puppet head," becomes, in my case, something like, "put your han side puppet head." Every. Single. Time. Is this interesting? Probably not. But I keep trying.

Memo to Myself: Do the Dumb Things I Gotta Do

There’s a lyric in this song that I think about almost every day, especially during those endless to-do lists at work or when I’m knee-deep in chores at home:

"Memo to myself: do the dumb things I gotta do."

This line has been my internal monologue for years. I’ve written "do the dumb things I gotta do" on memo pads in offices, at home, on grocery lists, and wherever else I can for over 30 years. It never stops amusing me.

A fun little fact I picked up from the TMBG Wiki: Weird Al Yankovic revealed in a 2022 interview that "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" is his favorite They Might Be Giants song. I love that, because funnily enough, "Puppet Head”’s favorite Weird Al song is "Everything You Know Is Wrong," which is an homage to "Everything Right Is Wrong Again." Which, if you missed it, I wrote about last week.

Snark, Factories, and Burn Smells

The first time I heard this song, I was back in that camper trailer with my best friend, just like when I first heard "Everything Right Is Wrong Again." The song starts with that iconic drum machine kicking off and then hits you with this opening line:

"As your body floats down Third Street, with the burn smell factory closing up."

It’s such a wonderfully snarky lyric. What kind of factory is that? What do they make? Burn smells? I absolutely love the absurdity of it. They Might Be Giants have a way of delivering these offbeat, sarcastic lines that somehow make total sense in the context of their quirky universe.

Capitalism, Theories, and Puppet Heads (Or Not)

Honestly, I’ve never spent much time trying to decipher the deeper meaning behind "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head." It’s a great song on its own without needing to dig for hidden messages. But, for the sake of this post, I did a little research into what people think the song is about. A lot of fans seem to agree that the "puppet head" represents capitalism or a soul-crushing job, and that "putting your hand inside" is like admitting you have to control this fake version of yourself just to get by.

Look, I’m not going to be diving into fan theories for every song (you can breathe easy), but I’d love to hear your thoughts if you have them—drop them in the comments below.

Not Quite a No-Skip, But Still Fantastic

When "Puppet Head" comes up in a shuffle playlist, I usually stick around for it. I mean, it’s a classic. But I’ll admit that there have been times I’ve skipped it, just because I’ve heard it so many times over the years. It’s not quite a no-skip track for me, but it’s definitely a fantastic one.

In conclusion—if any of you brave souls out there can actually sing the chorus at Flansy-speed without mangling the words, please post a video or audio recording. I need to know it can be done, and maybe I won’t feel so alone in my failures.

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