"Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers" is a song by the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Primus. It was released as the third single from their 1991 album ''

Sailing the Seas of Cheese ''Sailing the Seas of Cheese'' is the second studio album and major-label debut by the American rock music, rock band Primus (band), Primus, released on May 14, 1991. It spawned three singles: "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver", "Tommy the Cat", and "T ...

''. Unlike its preceding singles " Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" and "

Tommy the Cat "Tommy the Cat" is a song by the American funk metal band Primus, released on their second album, ''Sailing the Seas of Cheese''. Recording The song contains spoken word portions (as the voice of Tommy the Cat) interspersed with the singing of ...

", "Tweekers" did not feature an accompanying video. The song opens with

Larry LaLonde Reid Laurence "Larry" LaLonde (born September 12, 1968), also known as Ler LaLonde, is an American musician best known as the guitarist for Primus, a position that he has served since 1989, where he is known for his experimental accompaniment t ...

on guitar and a reserved bassline from Les Claypool, from there alternating between his trademark slap bass and a quiet section for the vocals. The song's narrative describes several different trades that the town's blue collar tweekers engage in, but, like many of the other story-telling songs in Primus's catalogue, lacks any clear, single meaning and leaves plenty of ambiguity in its lyrics. The song is about truck drivers and "

blue-collar worker A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...

s" using

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...

Live

When performing live, Claypool changed a particular word in the lyrics. In the third verse, instead of "my eyes are growing weary as I finalize this song," it is now ""my eyes are growing weary as I sodomize this song..." The band's

Woodstock 1994 Woodstock '94 was an American music festival held in 1994 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original Woodstock festival of 1969. It was promoted as "2 More Days of Peace and Music". The poster used to promote the first concert was r ...

performance of the song was particularly notable, with Claypool beginning a bass rendition of the

Star Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bo ...

in homage to

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

's guitar performance of the national anthem decades before, but eventually apologizing to the crowd by saying "Sorry, I had to do it" and returning to the song. As of 2015, it is Primus's second most-performed song live. A live version of the song (performed at Primus' show at the Brixton Academy,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on July 13, 2011) also appears as an iTunes exclusive bonus track on the band's 2011 album,

Green Naugahyde ''Green Naugahyde'' is the seventh studio album by rock group Primus, released by ATO Records and Prawn Song on September 12, 2011 in Europe, and on September 13, 2011 in the United States. It is the band's first album since 1999's ''Antipop'', ...

. Primus often use animated clips from the online animated series ''

Salad Fingers ''Salad Fingers'' is a British animated web series created by David Firth in 2004. It revolves around the eponymous Salad Fingers, a thin, green, mentally troubled man who inhabits a desolate world. As of March 2022, there have been twelve ep ...

''.

References

{{Primus Primus (band) songs 1991 singles 1991 songs Songs written by Les Claypool Songs written by Larry LaLonde Songs written by Tim Alexander Interscope Records singles Songs about drugs