Bob

Album: Pork Soda (1993)
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Songfacts®:

  • In this song, Primus frontman Les Claypool describes a friend who hangs himself, leaving his little brother and girlfriend to find his lifeless body when they return from the grocery store. In an interview with Addicted to Noise, he said it's "about a friend of mine that hung himself in his apartment and it was basically a true story. I told the story. Nothing over-dramatized or anything about it. That was just the story."
  • Pork Soda is one of the strangest albums to ever go Platinum. Fans certainly knew what they were getting - the pig artwork on the cover is a tipoff. The band was building quite a following at this time, reeling in fans from various genres. They did stints opening for U2, Public Enemy, and Rush, and in 1993 headlined Lollapalooza.
  • Claypool's lyrics function as a cautionary tale, a quiet plea for awareness and connection. Primus are often pigeonholed as offbeat, technical eccentrics, but "Bob" is a reminder that they can create music that deals with mental health, loss, and human vulnerability - no masks, no irony. It's a rare moment where the band's storytelling is meant to save someone, not just entertain.

Comments: 1

  • Rusty from Argyle, NyThe irony is he did it in the apartment where he lived. idk but it sorta sounds like he is saying that during his ramblings near the end.
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