"I blew red white and blue into a tissue" - The Swish

[franknagaijr]

Can anybody enlighten me on what this one might mean?  Especially the blue? 

Prior line: But people call me ro-bo

following line: I jumped over the counter just to kiss you

Thanks

[doctoracula]

Something to do with America.

For years, I thought the other line was "I came out over the counter just to kiss you", which I thought was such a cool drug reference

[franknagaijr]

So Ro-bo is so patriotic that the bodily discharges come out red, white and blue? I'll have to consider that one a little. Robbie Robertson is Canadian, fwiw.

The red presumably is blood, and the white presumably is snot. That leaves us with blue. Is there a blue tinted drug that goes up one's nose? Poor aim with a blue popsicle? Or is it only a play on words with blew/blue? Sounds like the old black and white and red all over jokes.

[buddymo]

Interesting question. A related question (I think): can anyone confirm where the quotation marks are actually supposed to be in the song? The THS wiki has it as

She said, "My name is Robbie Robertson but people call me 'Robo.' I blew red, white and blue right into a tissue. I came right over the counter just to kiss you."

So that's the "she" saying the whole line. I had always assumed the "I blew red, white and blue right into a tissue. I came right over the counter just to kiss you." part was the Narrator telling us what he did in response to the girl saying "My name is Robbie Robertson but people call me 'Robo.'"

[franknagaijr]

I think CF habitually sets up 'he said/she saids' so that anything that follows is quoted dialogue until there is a clear indication that it no longer is, and that we are generally not returning to the narrator of the song quoting themself. If you consider the rest of the song, or our friend Hard-Cory, this pattern seems pretty consistent.

[franknagaijr]

Hey wait a second. Could Ro-bo be a 'smurf'? That would work with the 'over-the-counter' reference and account for the blue in the tissue!

edit: somechicksblog.com/meth-awareness/meth-smurfing

[doctoracula]

I'm pretty sure it's not, but I always hoped the Robo line was a reference to the Black Flag/Misfits drummer

[bloodystereos]

Robbie Robertson. The Band. "They changed the face of American music", to quote Eric Clapton.

[nowah]

Secobarbital is a drug that was popular in the 60s and 70s. The street name for Seconal, which is brand name secobarbital, is red. Judy Garland overdosed on it and died. Blue refers to both Xanax and oxycodone but for what it's worth there is an overlap in chicness between Xanax and Seconal. White is cocaine, though you obviously can't buy cocaine at the store.

Robbie Robertson was from the Band but the kids called her Robo because of Black Flag. That's what I always figured.

[franknagaijr]

I thought he just liked the rhyme scheme, but there are clearly many dichotomies between Journey and the Band, very few of which put Journey in a positive light, and he actually only rhymes Schon.

So all of those drugs go up the nose? Over the counter might refer to things on both sides of the counter, for the sake of argument.

[nowah]

Oct 3, 2014 17:56:04 GMT -5 franknagaijr said:

I thought he just liked the rhyme scheme, but there are clearly many dichotomies between Journey and the Band, very few of which put Journey in a positive light, and he actually only rhymes Schon.

So all of those drugs go up the nose? Over the counter might refer to things on both sides of the counter, for the sake of argument.

Yes. Red and blue are sold in pill form but they can be crushed up and taken nasally.

[bloodystereos]

Oct 3, 2014 16:56:03 GMT -5 bloodystereos said:

Robbie Robertson. The Band. "They changed the face course of American music", to quote Eric Clapton.

Edited: The song w/ Clapton intro came up on a random disc shuffle, and I realized my error.

Anyhow, yeah. Journey vs. The Band.

[orzelc]

In one of the early Teeth Dreams promo interviews, Craig mentions sitting down and watching The Last Waltz with Tad as a significant event shortly before they formed the band. Might've been in that Grantland podcast they did. Assuming I'm not wholly fabricating that memory, that would tend to suggest that The Band was on his mind.

[buddymo]

I suppose she could have been snorting 10mg Adderalls as well.

[franknagaijr]

Oct 4, 2014 10:07:54 GMT -5 buddymo said:

I suppose she could have been snorting 10mg Adderalls as well.

Those were over-the-counter and white? Ding ding ding!

[stephano]

Red pill, Blue pill, Snot. Blowing Red White and Blue into a Tissue means you're high is messing with itself.

[lukeindetroit]

Meth is often blueish. Pretty sure that's the reference.

Related: Don't ever do meth.

[bigontheinside]

Oct 5, 2014 8:33:38 GMT -5 lukeindetroit said:

Meth is often bluish

Walt?

[franknagaijr]

Oct 5, 2014 10:19:03 GMT -5 bigontheinside said:

Oct 5, 2014 8:33:38 GMT -5 lukeindetroit said:

Meth is often bluish

Walt?

Yeah, and this song predates Breaking Bad, doesn't it?



www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/albuquerque-drug-dealers-sell-blue-crystal-meth-9059442.html



I also looked up 'snorting meth' to confirm that wasn't something I learned from television, and that took me to tweakers.org. Nice of them to look out for one another.

Edit: Also Robertson is Canadian and Robo was born and raised in Colombia before coming to the USA -FWIW  Thanks Wikipedia. 

[hoodrat]

I always assumed blue margarita mix? but perhaps not.

[franknagaijr]

Follow up question - I'm thinking that this song is actually sung from the perspective of Holly. I suspect I'm a little slow on the uptake and this is probably well-documented in the THS Cosmology.

Exhibit A
It was a bloodsucking summer.
I spent half the time trying to get paid from our savior. - The Swish

She spent half last winter just trying to get paid
From some guy she originally thought to be her savior - How a resurrection really feels

Exhibit B
Massive drug consumption referenced throughout the swish

Edit: Could Holly be voicing the nicknames (robo, Nina Simone, etc) ? Further consideration merited. 

[thunderbirdcarpet]

Honestly, I'd never really given it much thought--kind of just figured he liked the blew/blue wordplay. But more likely it has to do with smaller-sized adderall pills commonly crushed up and snorted being blue. College!

[franknagaijr]

Oct 6, 2014 8:38:16 GMT -5 hoodrat said:

I always assumed blue margarita mix? but perhaps not.

Actually that ties together quite nicely.  Holly and Mary kiss in Barfruit Blues, and Holly is the narrator on the Swish (getting paid by my saviour) who is kissed by robo, and the counter could also be a fast food joint, per barfruit blues.

[Eric]

I don't think even Craig would have given it THIS much thought.
It's a good song, it rhymes, we like it. Oh wait there are deep messages about drug abuse. Now my head is spinning.

[dabook]

People call me Robo is a reference to Robutussin.