Little Nemo

Winsor McCay's "Little Nemo in Slumberland", a 1905 American Newspaper comic strip, is the inspiriration here (and perhaps to a greater extent Brian Bolland's "Little Nympho in Slumberland", as it's the same thing but with tits in it). The chorus, which appears to be nonsense, is actually a fairly literal transliteration of events in the comic strip: Nemo has a Lampwick-like pal named Flip who is constantly trying to wake Nemo up, to the extent that he wears a top hat with "Wake-up!" written on it.

There's a reference to "The Wizard of Oz" in there too. For some reason.

This is a Red Atlas song and the blistering opening salvo to the live set. It always sounded great.


Little Nemo

The tightly coiled bed-sheets,
I'm lost in my fever dream,
Counting leaping black sheep,
My thoughts as dirty as my sheets are clean,

Flip comes in his "wake-up" hat,
Flip comes in his "wake-up" hat,
Flip comes in his "wake-up" hat,
Get out of bed,

I'm hip to the hipnogogic,
Shapes and colours dance like dazzled rain,
I'm turned on with no off switch,
Will I ever feel this switched on again,

Flip comes in his "wake-up" hat,
Flip comes in his "wake-up" hat,
Flip comes in his "wake-up" hat,
Get out of bed,

Here comes the false memory,
Miss you, miss you, but I miss you most,
If it's water biscuits in heaven,
I'll take my chances with hot buttered toast,

Flip comes in his "wake-up" hat,
Flip comes in his "wake-up" hat,
Flip comes in his "wake-up" hat,
GET OUT OF BED!