"Big Cat Tattoos" holds the power to build an emotional fervor within the listener, who
likely isn’t sure where to channel that emotion. The first-person lyrics clearly
show that the protagonist is intelligent. How many of us replay Middle Age wars
in our head? And clever – “You with all thе modesty of big tech in bloom.”
With the assuredness is the vocals and the determined march of the melody, it
is easy to jump into the sentiment of “Big Cat Tattoos” with both feet, but where
is the landing spot? The lyrics are not intended to gently guide the listener along
a familiar path. But Hamish Hawk provides some explanation:
“I tried to avoid cleaning things up at the time of writing, I cornered myself into a warts-and-all approach. But don't be fooled, ‘Big Cat Tattoos’ is all talk. Our hero gets a few barbs in nice and early, and lands a couple of clumsy jabs, but in the end we're witness to nothing more than a petty diatribe. It's embittered, unbecoming, and wholly embarrassing. It does have a certain get-up-and-go, though."
The
song is a single from an upcoming album, which is scheduled for release on August
16, 2024, via SO Recordings & Fierce Panda. The album, “A Firmer Hand,”
can be preordered at https://hamishhawk.tmstor.es/. Again quoting Hamish
Hawk:
“Big
Cat Tattoos” has a feel of Talking Heads at their best. The track features a strong
bass line and unexpected instrumental bursts. It's melodic, but includes
off-kilter, adventuresome interjections. Both Hamish Hawk and Talking Heads’
David Byrne were born in Scotland. But while Byrne was relocated to Canada at
the age of two, Hawk still calls Scotland home. He is based in Edinburgh.
“Big
Cat Tattoos” by Hamish Hawk
“I tried to avoid cleaning things up at the time of writing, I cornered myself into a warts-and-all approach. But don't be fooled, ‘Big Cat Tattoos’ is all talk. Our hero gets a few barbs in nice and early, and lands a couple of clumsy jabs, but in the end we're witness to nothing more than a petty diatribe. It's embittered, unbecoming, and wholly embarrassing. It does have a certain get-up-and-go, though."
Lyrics of “Big Cat Tattoos” by Hamish Hawk (with some guesses)
A billion dollars in your eyes
Beside a hospital bed
Hot wars of the Middle Ages replaying in my
head
You wore your Colonel Tom Parker signet ring
With the unmistakable air of get up there and
sing
I watched you and time itself, sharing a fat
cigar
The Puritans were pulling with their paws on my
jugular
You get used to fighting talk, doing what you
love
Turns out the soft boy gets hard, when push
comes to shove
I think you'd prefer a firmer hand
With big cat tattoos
And a wedding band
You could laugh at his jokes
You could bury your nose in his shoes
Is this a bad time?
Don't push me
With your safe pair of hands
Don't shush mе
With that playground jazz
I'll find me a man
I'll find me a man, who understands
You with all thе modesty of big tech in bloom
I tire of you honestly when you sworn around
the room
How I used to like to watch you fixing me a
drink
'Till manhandling the crystal ware, became your
kink
You told everyone of my miserabilist movie
You bored my friends from out of town with the
virtues of shoegaze
With all the upright strength of an infant's
neck
And yet
And yet
And yet
And yet
Will you record the sound I make when I die?
What the devil would it take for you to look me
in the eye?
Am I your number one?
Or just some other guy?
If I asked you for real, would you wise up and
die?
Don't push me
With your safe pair of hands
Don't shush me
With that playground jazz
I'll find me a man
I'll find me a man, who understands
How I like to play with my hands
I think you'd prefer a firmer hand
With big cat tattoos
You could laugh at his jokes
You could bury your nose in his shoes
You'd like that wouldn't you?
Don't push me
With your safe pair of hands
Don't shush me
With that playground jazz
I'll find me a man
I'll find me a man, who understands
How I like to sit on my hands
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