"Hey Sandy" is a song by the American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band

Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...

which serves as the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

for the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

television show ''

The Adventures of Pete & Pete ''The Adventures of Pete & Pete'' is an American comedy television series created by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi for Nickelodeon. It centers around two brothers, both named Pete Wrigley, and their humorous and surreal adventures in suburbia a ...

''. It's well-known by fans of the show and the band alike that the song's lyrics, nearly indecipherable, have generated considerable debate as to their meaning.

Missing lyric

The full lyrics were a subject of speculation for several years until they were revealed to fans by band members and cast members of the show. One line, the third and the most difficult one to understand, was purposefully left a mystery by head songwriter

Mark Mulcahy Mark Mulcahy is an American musician and front-man for the New Haven, Connecticut-based band Miracle Legion. The band earned modest renown, especially in their native New England region, but disbanded after a sad turn of events with their recor ...

. The most common assumptions are "Can you settle to shoot me?" and "Can you settle a sure bet?", with actor

Danny Tamberelli Daniel Joseph Tamberelli (born February 8, 1982) is an American actor, comedian and musician. He is known for his portrayal of Little Pete in ''The Adventures of Pete & Pete'' from 1989 to 1995, as the voice and actor of Jimmy De Santa in the 2013 ...

backing up the second one. Another theory indicates that it could be a reference to the

Kent State shootings The Kent State shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre and the Kent State massacre,"These would be the first of many probes into what soon became known as the Kent State Massacre. Like the Boston Massacre almost exactly two hundred years bef ...

and Sandra Lee Scheuer (being the diminutive "Sandy" of the song), although the actual meaning of the song is in debate. In regards to this, Mulcahy said in 2015: "No one is right. Nothing that anyone has guessed is right (...) But, you know, eventually no one's going to care so. I don't know if I want to take it to my grave. Maybe I do." Incorrect translations of this lyric, however, can still be found on the closed captioning of Pete and Pete DVD sets.

Additions

The full album version of "Hey Sandy" contains an introduction with a man, Sorrell Booke, speaking the following words: :"Jupiter, or Thor, is perfect. We need Atlas for our long-distance stuff. The Titan will be even better. They shouldn't have canceled Navaho. Wait 'til you see our submarines with Polaris." Besides a reference to the band's name, this sound bite is in fact discussing United States

ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...

s designed during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

: * the intermediate-range

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...

and Thor IRBM * the

Atlas ICBM The SM-65 Atlas was the first operational intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by the United States and the first member of the Atlas rocket family. It was built for the U.S. Air Force by the Convair Division of General Dyna ...

, the first successful US intercontinental ballistic missile (for "long-distance stuff") * the Titan family of ICBMs, successors of Atlas * the cancelled

SM-64 Navaho The North American SM-64 Navaho was a supersonic intercontinental cruise missile project built by North American Aviation (NAA). The final design was capable of delivering a nuclear weapon to the USSR from bases within the US, while cruising at ...

, an experimental cruise missile developed by the

U. S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

* the

UGM-27 Polaris The UGM-27 Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fueled nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). As the United States Navy's first SLBM, it served from 1961 to 1980. In the mid-1950s the Navy was involved in the Jupiter missile ...

, a submarine-launched ballistic missile The initial sample is abruptly cut off and followed by another sample of a radio transmission from the pre-launch testing of

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, an ...

: :"Attention all personnel, this is CVTS. Base vehicle pre-count operations will start on my mark in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1..." Both samples are taken from "To The Moon: A Time-Life Records Presentation". There is a cover version of "Hey Sandy" by the

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

band Mister Behavior, as well as by

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

math rock Math rock is a style of progressive and indie rock with roots in bands such as King Crimson and Rush as well as 20th-century minimal music composers such as Steve Reich. It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (includi ...

band

Tera Melos Tera Melos is an American math rock band from Sacramento, California, formed in 2004. They incorporate many styles of rock, ambient electronics and unconventional song structures. They are currently a three-piece, consisting of guitarist/keyboard ...

on their covers EP Idioms, Vol. I

References

External links

Lyrics as revealed by a Polaris band memberOfficial audio of "Hey Sandy" on Youtube"Hey Sandy" live from KEXP radio
{{authority control 1993 songs Children's television theme songs Songs based on actual events