Story Behind The Song

Heavily influenced by the likes of The Residents, Da Yoopers, and They Might Be Giants.

Song Description

"The Gelatin Skeleton" opens with a man coming into a dive bar looking sad and not talking to anyone. Turns out, as the narrator illustrates, that the man was once a well-known circus act called "The Gelatin Skeleton". Named for his ability to shape himself like gelatin into all kinds of shapes and figures, he was a huge draw at the circus until people eventually grew tired of his act and his tent was closed down. The bar patrons befriend him and pass a cup around as a donation pot to encourage Gelatin to do a show for them. It's a great drinking song about male companionship.

Lyrics

From this waterfront dive off of 895
Hatched a legend most folks don't know
But if you wipe off your feet and you pull up a seat
I'll tell you how the story goes

He was New York born and he played the french horn
But he played in an unlikely band
He was a sideshow freak every day of the week
In a traveling circus caravan

For twenty-five cents you could enter his tent
You could watch him do his tricks
He was quite a big draw, though most folks who saw
Left his show feeling sick

Despite all of that his fame didn't last
And he did what most broken men do
He entered the door that you came through before
To drown his sorrows in a barley brew

Well he didn't say much for the first couple months
He mostly just kept to himself
But once he settle in, day out and day in
He told us of the days of his wealth

He said, "I was doing real well before it all went to hell
I was living the highest of lives
But what goes up must come down and I too hit the ground
And I guess something inside of me died."

He talked about his show that lost fame and closed
He talked about his life on the street
Until the tears filled his eyes and he started to cry
And he just stared down at his feet...

Well Joe the bartender tried to make him feel better
Said, "well, you got a payin' crowd here!"
And someone passed a cup and by God it filled up
And he said, "everybody stand clear..."

So he stood up real slow and gave his french horn a blow
Then he tossed it back over his head
It came down with a crash and he dropped flat on his ass
And everyone thought he was dead

He laid there awhile just a motionless pile
Then all at once he started to squirm
Our eyes opened wide and we watched in surprise
As he took on the shape of a worm

He made a cylindrical tube, tied himself in a loop
Made an "S" and a big figure 8
Then he shaped into a cane and he spelled out his name
And everyone thought it was great

Then came the part that just about stopped my heart
And I nearly threw up my lunch
He let out a fart and his limbs blew apart
And now there wasn't one worm but a bunch!

Well up rose a cheer like you never did hear
And Joe helped him up to his feet
We all clapped him on the back and said, "what a great act!"
As he sat back down in his seat

He said, "thanks a lot boys," throught the din and the noise,
"you're the best crowd I ever did have."
Then he slammed down his beer and he pulled off his ear
And he shaped it into a top-hat

Well word spread fast and not long after that
Folks poured into the bar by the ton
They all wanted to see the down-and-out freak
Who called himself the Gelatin Skeleton

He called himself the Gelatin Skeleton...