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The Buoys – Timothy 1971
Posted by LOTGK on December 7, 2007
God Why Don’t I know
I played this song for about 50 people the past several days. I asked this simple question. What is this song about? Without the use of the Internet not one person knew. So, I pose the same challenge to you. Without the aid of Google to search the meaning, read the lyrics below and tell the Grassy Knoll Institute what the song is about. Sidenote: The following lyrics are the exact lyrics from the original single release. They have been altered and misunderstood many times over. Even the original recording was altered to change the meaning of the song along with the lyrics but the Institute has the original so there is no conspiracy going on here.
Timothy – Buoys – 1971
Trapped in a mine that had caved in
And everyone knows the only ones left
Was Joe and me and Tim
When they broke through to pull us free
The only ones left to tell the tale
Was Joe and me
Timothy, Timothy, where on earth did you go
Timothy, Timothy, God why don’t I know
Hungry as hell no food to eat
And Joe said that he would sell his soul
For just…a piece…of meat
Water enough to drink for two
And Joe said to me, I’ll take a swig
And then…there’s some…for you
Timothy, Timothy, Joe was looking at you
Timothy, Timothy, God what did we do
I must have blacked out just about then
Cause the very next thing that I could see
Was the light of the day again
My stomach was full as it could be
And nobody ever got around
To finding…Timothy
Timothy, Timothy, where on earth did you go
Timothy, Timothy, God why don’t I know
Timothy………yea….
OK, before you read any further, add your answer in the comments section at the bottom of this page. OK, you can read on to find the meaning.
That’s right kids! This song is about cannibalism. Trapped in a mine that caved in, three men survived. Two of the men apparently struck a deal to kill Timothy and eat him to survive. The Grassy Knoll Institute is not kidding. The song really is about cannibalism.
In 1971, Rupert Holmes, (Famous for his Pina Calada Song, Escape) formed a band in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. After a lengthy negotiation, Scepter Records caved in and allowed the band to record a single song. They were informed that the song would not be promoted and they were on their own with it.
Rupert and the band got together and decided to cut a record that would be so controversial that it would get banned. After all, if the record wasn’t going to get promoted, they thought that perhaps if their song was banned, another record label would take notice and sign them to a real deal. And so Timothy was conceived and written.
The song got limited play time but soon the kids would call the radio stations and request the song to be played again and again. The station DJ finally listened to the record and realized the meaning of the lyrics and pulled the record from it’s slotted airtime. But it was to late.
Timothy had become a hit and after several major radio stations began playing it, it quickly rose to a top 20 hit. The listeners were eating it up. (Pun intended) Unbelievable that a song about cannibalism had become so popular.
Today, parents are up in arms about suggestive lyrics in Britney Spears, Pink, and Beyonce songs plus the sometimes violent storytelling of some rap artists. To put this in perspective, not one of these artists songs tells the tale of three men trapped in a mine where two of them plot against the weaker, kill him, and eat him to survive celebrating cannibalism.
I’m hungry, who wants pizza?!
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LURKING, AND ROCKING, ON THE GRASSY KNOLL
LOTGK said
Anon – Posted 12/16/2006
I never heard of the song before. I googled it because the words didn’t add up to eating people. But you are right, the song is about cannibalism and a tragic mining accident.
LOTGK – Posted 12/16/2006
Timothy actually has a snappy beat to it. Almost bubble gum sweet.
And if you listen carefully to the Kinks hit single, Lola, well, it’s a bout a…..
Daman – Posted 12/17/2006
is that rupert holmes singing Timothy? It doesn’t sound like him at all. maybe because he isn’t drunk on pina caladas.
StEvEo – Posted 12/17/2006
I thought the lyrics were, where on earth did you go, down my throat I know.
X. Dell – Posted 12/17/2006
Sounds like Timothy might not have had good taste, but at least he tasted good.
LOTGK – Posted 12/18/2006
Daman, I don’t know if it’s Rupert Holmes singing, but he did write the song and was in the band. I do believe he was the singer but I am not sure.
Steveo, yes, it does sort of sound like “Down my throat I know.”
XDell, exactly.
GLO – Posted 12/20/2006
the lyrics don’t say they ate timothy. Just hungry as hell, and plenty of water, but no eating. no cannibals. I think it’s a hoax, just made it.
LOTGK – Posted 12/22/2006
GLO, no, the song does not say “Eat or Ate” but it is implied and Rupert Holmes, who penned the song, revealed in several interviews, both print and audio, that Timothy was created to cause such a disturbance that the record would get banned from the airwaves in hopes that another record company would take note of the Buoys and sign them.
frances – Posted 12/31/2006
of course its about eating the poor dude!!!!!! how could anyone NOT get that i was 12 when it came out and i got it them…..i totally creeped me out when i was young…and for some reason i just thought of it. so…..GOOGLE!!! any time anywhere!! google!
LOTGK – Posted 1/3/2007
Frances, the controversy surrounding the song was when the record company made a false statement about the song. They actually tried to say that Timothy was a mule and they ate the dead mule to survive. The lyrics were also changed as well the song itself on later releases. But no one can deny that the song Timothy by the Buoys is not about cannibalism.
ragdoll11 – Posted 1/22/2007
I’m from the Wilkes Barre area, and I use to go to the dances that The Buoys played at all the time. Timothy was very popular. I still love that song. A few years ago “the Buoys came back and play at the tomato festival. Brings back great memories.
LOTGK – Posted 1/22/2007
I never saw them live, but I listened to the radio all the time. I don’t believe the station really knew what they were playing. The channel was W.H.O.T. 1330 am radio. Boots Bell as the DJ. Thanks for commenting.
richard – Posted 2/1/2007
I am 47 years old. When I was in elementary school in the early 70′s, “Timothy” was played in music class several times. I had no idea of the song’s meaning until recently, after doing online research.
Tim – Posted 2/16/2007
Ummm, They ate him?
LOTGK – Posted 2/21/2007
Good call Timmy.
MadameZora – Posted 3/14/2007
Sorry folks, but it’s not about cannibalism. Timothy was a canary, they used to take canaries into coalmines to check for air passage. When the song came out and people assumed it was about cannibalism, they sold a lot of records, so the Buoys never corrected the mistake. Only much later did they tell their ditry little secret on an interview.
LOTGK – Posted 3/15/2007
Madame, Rupert Holmes, who wrote the song, said he wanted to shock the radio stations, and so he wrote Timothy, and that it was about cannibalism. That’s straight from the author’s mouth.
rick – Posted 5/17/2007
stupid song, very lame in the true rock era. i am also 47 and it was stupid then and it’s stupid now, too. i mean, who cares?
get some old stones or allman bro. instead
Gumby – Posted 5/17/2007
Rick, you must lead one hell of a lousy life. Are you a telemarketer?
LOTGK – Posted 5/17/2007
Rick, you find the song lame, and yet, you were searching Yahoo for the song. Lame is as Lame does.
Twinks – Posted 5/25/2007
I’m from Philly and I never, ever heard this song until today! We were discussing dark songs from the 70s and someone youtubed this to me. It was creepy, LOL. I am amazed at the controversy and even moreso over the fact that Holmes was more offended that they said it was a mule.
LOTGK – Posted 5/25/2007
Either way, it was good eating….!
Elyse – Posted 5/27/2007
I just heard the song this evening after not hearing it for years. I never listened to the words, but looked it up as it was playing. I loved it then and still enjoyed listening to it tonight. Great song, but I love all 70′s music anyway.
marsha brand – Posted 6/5/2007
I was curious, does anyone know off hand, where this mining accident happened.??
the town or the date???
Mike Mayewski – Posted 7/4/2007
The song makes reference to an actual mining accident that occured in Sheppton (near Hazleton), PA during the summer of ’63. There were three men trapped and two eventually were rescued. More information regarding the accident could probably be obtained by going to the Hazleton “Standard Speaker” online.
Regarding the Buoys, they were Bill Kelly lead guitar/vocals (He sings Timothy) Jerry Huldzik, Fran Brozena and Chris Hanlon (all NE Pennsylvanians like me). R Holmes wrote the song, but was never a member of the band. Back in the 70s (in High School) I never missed a Buoys performance when they were local. Later about ’78 Bill and Jerry formed the Jerry/Kelly band which evolved into Dakota. Jerry and Bill still get together and do accoustic sets including renditions of “Timothy.”
kat – Posted 7/18/2007
Okay–I confess I remember this song from 1971-(my junior year)–we knew it was about cannibalism–got a kick out of playing it on the jukeboxes–cause the “adults” thought it was about some lost kid–searching for himself. When stations actually listened to the lyrics it would get banned–but it did gradually make its way up to #17 on the charts. As stated R Holmes wasn’t part of the band–but did write the song. I don’t recall hearing it was based on a real event–I always heard Spector Records wasn’t giving the group any promotional time–so they thought if they came out with a song that was controversial it would create its own buzz.
sally – Posted 9/14/2007
I remember this song from my childhood. It was one of my favorites, and I could never understand why no one in my generation remembered it. I thought maybe it only played in Indiana!
Molly said
Oh yeah, I DO remember this song when I was 15 and lived in Va Beach. They used to play it on the radio- and maybe, can’t remember I could have had a 45 of it. Someone my age introduced the song to me, and just said…”they ate this guy.” I liked the beat at that time, but I could NOT believe someone wrote a song about 2 men eating another guy, getting away with it, and oh well…he was dead, and so what? So i just kept playing it over and over again trying to make sure I really understood all the lyrics. I had them all right- as I see posted above. I knew after that it was exactly what the song was about; an undeniable, extreme inference. Then everytime I heard it, the hair on my arms used to raise. It was very creepy, but strangely alluring in some way. As if that wasn’t creepy enough, I think I used to still listen to it very occasionally when I was very angry, or feeling rebellious. And those were quite rebellious days for me- and angry ones. If I did have a 45, which I think I did, I finally got rid of it, because I thought it was creepy of me to listen to it & ever think it was ok, or be able to relate in any way, at anytime. Ridiculously, I also played it for and explained it to my 12 year old brother!!!! We would listen to it together sometimes, discussing it, but were both weirded out by it. Every once in a while- great once in a while, I think of it- like today. And I still get creeped out. But then, I never liked cartoons as a kid in the 60′s. I mean I NEVER watched cartoons, because I thought they were so “mean,”: & violent. I never thought it was funny to see someone’s neck stretched till their head popped off, or being thrown off the moon to land splatted flat on the earh- whether it was a person, a bird or a ladybug. Those were kind of mind- boggling times I think, when society and people in general were kind of trying to define their own personal boundaries for what was acceptable even in “fun, ” and what was not. I wasn’t much “fun” then, but I sure thought alot about that kind of thing, and still do.
LOTGK said
Just be glad that the song doesn’t make you hungry.
Molly said
LOL!! There IS humor in that statement! No-I MUST be OK after all. Never thought about EATING ANYTHING whatsoever while listening to “Timothy!”
I don’t believe this “bull” about a “mule” one bit. If a 15 yr old in utter disbelief could figure it out by distinctly listening to the lyrics to prove that they WEREN’T talking about cannibilism, and definetly concluded that they WERE……. well, no one will EVER convince me they were’nt.
Lots of songs I loved back then- heard there were “deeper meanings,” usually drug related, but since I wasn’t a big druggie- I never really knew. Like Hey Jude? Get her under or into your skin?…… Is that really about shooting heroin, or someone’s wild imagination? And White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane…. still love that one & still play it……Does sound like an acid trip. But then, some people have said for years that Puff the Magic Dragon is about an acid trip. Geeze- I just thought it was a very imaginative kids song! I still say that was the BEST music. The Zombies- “She’s Not There.” Anybody know what that’s really about? I still listen to it every now & then & don’t get the whole scenerio there in that song. Gonna refer little brother Larry to this site. He WILL remember “Timothy!”
LOTGK said
Hey Jude – McCartney declared the song was written about John Lennon’s son, Julian.
White Rabbit – Just remember what the door mouse said….
Puff The Magic Dragon – It was written as a children’s song.
She’s Not There – Some believe it was about a mentally challenged woman, although alive, she could not communicate with the world. However, I believe the song was about Marilyn Monroe and the messy relationship she had with the president and also Bobby Kennedy.
Sue said
Listened to it all the time on CKLW. I knew, even back then, that it was about cannabalism, but just didn’t want to go there. Was a catchy tune, so I bought it on 45. Yeah, I’m with some of the rest of you. Nobody believes me, or wants to remember the song. (or is it just CRS kicking in???)
LOTGK said
At first I did not, until my older brother clued me in.
Gumby said
Send the men in the white suits and the big nets. And hurry!
Dan said
Two original members, Bill Kelly & Jerry Hludzik are still making great music..as DAKOTA ,the story of these guys is on their website.. great music, but they always got screwed by the record labels. Check out their website ….www.dakotajerrykelly.com. They have a live 25th reunion concert on dvd & cd, that is awesome…includes “Timothy”…IF YOU WANT TO HEAR REAL MUSIC AND TALENT, CHECK THEM OUT…YOU WILL BE HOOKED.
tom said
The song never said Tim was a “man”, so you immediately assumed the wrong thing. Tim was a MULE. Eating a mule is NOT cannibalism. Rupert Holmes himself and Jerry Kelly have both stated that it really was about a mule.
LOTGK said
Tom, you are dead wrong. Holmes stated in an interview that he wrote the song for sensationalism, to get the buzz the band needed.
He stated that it was about cannibalism.
Dawn said
Bill is my neighbor. Awesome singer and great musician. WoW what a voice
LOTGK said
Just don’t accept dinner invitations from him….
TEAM DAKOTA / FLORIDA said
New C.D’S will be coming out at years end. Dakota’s greatest hits vol’s 1 & 2 plus The Buoys anthology…also a Brand new Dakota and Jerry Hludzik’s solo album.. all at the same time…..for all AOR music fans..these are the ones for you…don’t hesitate to get for your collection…You will never be disappointed with this group…Guaranteed you will be singing along with their catchy lyrics and melodies from the very first listen !!!
One of the great bands that most never heard of…shame on the record companies that failed to promote these talented musicians and songwriters
Check out their website and read all about their journey and the struggles they encountered along the way @….www.dakotajerrykelly.com
Eng8te said
I bet your #1 song title is SPAM!
Seymour Czowznofskei said
The difference in music is that it once upon a time conveyed “emotions.” You know, emotional responses, such as love, lust, excitment, envy, sentimentality, longing, suspense, warmth, cold, attention, forboding, attraction, etc. One could feel the responses without understanding the words, and often, with only instrumental music. Today, much of that is gone; Aurel communication now has to be enhanced with video display. So many radio listeners are not really listening to the point of paying attention, unless it’s outrage, shock or ‘yahoos’ of the left or right doing what loosely passes for ‘talk.’ It was better when listeners actually listened!
LOTGK said
I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening, I was watching the new Britney Spears comeback video.
Tom L said
The Buoys played my college around ’71. Bill Kelly offstage said Timothy was a mule, but reading this article also makes sense – maybe the mule was a cover story. The lyrics sound like cannibalism to me.
I loved to play it on the college station – the rhythm and instrumentation were GREAT, lyrics notwithstanding.
Chris said
Timothy, quite simply put, is about cannibalism. I too have heard the story that Timothy was a mule but the song’s composer, Rupert Holmes, denies that. He has stated in the past he wanted to write a song which would be banned as that would give it publicity it would not have received otherwise. When Timothy started climbing the charts, the record label tried to avert controversy by dismissing Timothy as a mule or donkey. Holmes never went along with this claim so I can only deduce it is exactly what people think it is. Now, having reached that conclusion, my question is, why Timothy? Sounds like he was the unfortunate victim of two others who were stronger and maybe a little faster than him.
LOTGK said
Perhaps he was already dead from the cave in. Or mortally wounded.
dcr999 said
wow, i’ve known this song all my life but had no idea rupert holmes was part of the band!
dion said
I remember calling AM kiix in Tucson and the local pop station refusing to play this song!
LOTGK said
Yeah, around here in Youngstown, Ohio, the stations played it until the news circulated the theme of the song.
spammy said
I remember this song frighteningly well from my youth!
It never struck
us that wierd that the song was about cannibalism in the
same era and genre as songs like “ben” about a killer rat, also poular around that time.
Wierd enuff!
LOTGK said
And kids today think Marilyn Manson is hardcore….
rick said
Hell,all the best music was from that era, bubble gum ,acid rock
and the buoys, new it then, and we love the look our parents gave us when we played it. what a great time to be young, thanks bouys.
rick
LOTGK said
Agreed, the music back then was fantastic. Although my parents said the same thing. The music back then was better.
Joe McGavin said
Holmes did not form The Buoys in 1971, as you state. The Buoys had been together for many years and had even recorded a few local hits in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pa. area, in the late 1960s. (In fact, they recorded “Timothy” in 1969 or 1970, not 1971, but it wasn’t released nationally until 1971.)
I’m a Wilkes-Barre native and saw The Buoys perform live many times before and after they recorded Timothy, and Ruppert Holmes was never a member of the band.
Holmes wrote Timothy, as you say, to see whether he could get a song about cannibalism on the radio, and he hand-selected The Buoys to record the song. The song was inspired by the Sheppton, Pa., mine disaster of 1963, although none of the rescued miners was ever accused of eating any of their dead comrades.
The song climbed the charts very slowly, although it became an instant hit in Wilkes-Barre and Scranton. Once people started to realize what the song was about, it began to draw national interest … and to sell. An embarrassed Scepter Records — who put out the song without realizing what it was about — scrambled to deny that it was about cannibalism and invented the story about Timothy being a mule. Holmes was forced to flog that story (he was a young, unproven songwriter in those days and couldn’t afford to piss off the record company), but he later recanted and admitted that “Joe and me” ate “Tim” — a fellow miner.
LOTGK said
I think Holmes discovered the Buoys and Timothy was their only hit single. They were a one hit wonder. the only information i found on the Buoys had them forming in 1970, and Timothy aired in 1971. The rest of your information has been stated on many “Wiki” and blogs on the net. I’m not disputing your info, just questioning it.
Joe McGavin said
The Buoys formed in the Wilkes-Barre, Pa., area around 1964 (http://www.dakotajerrykelly.com/buoyslinks.htm).
I used to see them at local dances in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., as a sophomore and junior in high school, circa 1967 and 1968. By the way, the story on the above link contains a few errors about who played what in the band: Chris Hanlon was the drummer, not Carl Siracuse. Carl played guitar, keyboards and bass, as did Fran Brozena. Bill Kelly sang lead and played lead guitar.
Holmes “discovered” the Buoys in that he produced their 45s and album for Scepter Records and gave them their first four singles: “These Days” (a regional hit), “Timothy,” “Give Up Your Guns” (another regional hit and, interestingly, a big hit in Europe, but one that didn’t do well nationally in the States) and “Bloodknot,” which never charted nationally.
Holmes produced all four singles, as well as The Buoys’ only LP for Scepter, released in March 1971. Scepter folded in 1972, and The Buoys then signed a deal with Polydor and recorded an album of all Buoys originals — including singles called “Don’t Try to Run” and “Liza’s Last Ride” — which did nothing nationally. (I saw them perform these singles in 1972.)
Polydor never released the album, and it remained unreleased for almost 30 years, until “Collectibles” Records released the “Timothy” CD, which included all songs from the Scepter and Polydor albums, plus “These Days,” which was not on the original Scepter album.
The band’s lead singer (Bill Kelly) and bass player (Jerry Hludzik) — who wrote most of The Buoys’ original songs — left the band in the mid- to late-70s to form a band called Jerry Kelly, which recorded one LP on Epic Records, I think. (I have it at home, not here at work.) That band then morphed into Dakota, which recorded several LPs for Columbia in the ’80s produced by Chicago drummer Danny Seraphine.
LOTGK said
You sir know your Buoys. Your knowledge of the local phenomenon is impressive. Very impressive.
Ted said
I am 62 years old and I bought the album back in the day and the cover photo was of two guys and a donkey. That pretty much settled it for me…Timothy was a donkey.
LOTGK said
I do not recall an album cover like that. I thought th album had the band members in front of a building or something like that.
Joe McGavin said
Here’s the cover of the LP:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51R8REX9T1L._SL500_AA300_.jpg
No donkey in sight.
Ruth said
When we were kids and the song came on, our friends told us that Timothy was a mule that they had taken into the mine with them – not a man.
LOTGK said
Yes, that was the propaganda the record label put out to save face. Alas, the genie was already out of the bottle.
kbw said
So Joe and me were sitting around eating Timothy the clown, Joe turned to me and asked “Does this taste funny to you?”
LOTGK said
And you said, Nah, just needs salt.
Anonymous said
Timothy WAS a mule!
LOTGK said
After the fact. Before, when the song originally came out, it was about cannibalism. Only after the secret was revealed that the story switched to a mule.
gymus said
Wow! No responses since 2007. I’m a 50-yr-old who loves this song. I checked in just to “remember” the lyrics, (and I picked a site at the bottom of the search page), and I’m happy I did. What a great story, huh? If only to imagine yourself in a similar situation (the colleague who is injured beyond repair), whaddya do? Read the wikipedia page, it’s good. Then go listen to the Pina Colada Song.
LOTGK said
Tough call. I know most would say they would never do that, however, in dire needs, instincts kick in.
Anonymous said
The song actually came out in the late 68-69 period! The earlier comment was wright about cannibalism> Everyone thinks a miner was eaten to survive how ever Timothy was actually a donkey! I watched this band at Tucker Road Center Oxen Hill Md. many times. Great band! They were Pa. based band and many other songs were very Crosby Stills and Nash sounding. Cheers! 71 Grad.
LOTGK said
I don’t think so Anon. Holmes discovered the buoys and penned the song in 71 and it was pressed and released to the radio airwaves. Not in 68, or 69, nor in 70, but in 71.
And the song is about cannibalism.
Do a google search.
old guy said
57 year old guy who was riding his bike and this song popped into my head. Remember it well played on WMMR (or was it YSP?) back in the 70s. Remembered it was about cannibalism, and how that wasn’t really too strange for the time…. There was a lot of weirdness back then…. Had to go search the interwebs to see if my memory was correct and came upon this site. Thought it was a sequel to the BeeGee’s NY State mining disaster song.
LOTGK said
Good call on the Bee’ Gee’s tune. And yes, Marilyn Manson has nothing on the 70′s rockers.
Philip said
Yes, the song is about eating their fellow miner, Timothy. The mule was a cover story after the fact. Just today I updated chart position info on the Wikipedia site.
carlos said
you guys are all sick no one would ever eat a fellow human being I heard that timothy was a lucky stuffed animal guess it wasn’t so lucky after all
LOTGK said
You would be amazed at what lengths a human would go to survive.
Dawn Brown said
Well, Carlos, you must have asked a class of 50 1st graders. There was NO internet and NO Google in 1971 when I was 15, and my brother was 12. We listened to it over and over again to make sure we UNDERSTOOD every word, and me thinks we did dude.
LOTGK said
Correct. In 1971 the Internet was merely a twinkle in Al Gore’s eye.
Shane Truax said
“According to his own account Holmes and a colleague had discovered the Buoys and convinced Scepter Records to sign them to a one-single contract. Since the deal did not call for the label to promote the single, the band would have to find some other way to get themselves and their song noticed. Holmes suggested a novel solution to this problem: to purposefully record a song likely to be banned.” Wik. It’s about making money gang….
Shane Truax said
Donnor Pass was about more than low supplies, many stories survive especially from the early sailing days about having to consume the dead or dying to live. The stranded team only ate one person, someones dead mom. It’s not like it’s running rampant among the peasants ya know!