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Doctor Worm

From This Might Be A Wiki
Music video for Doctor Worm
He's not a real doctor, but he is a real worm.
Choreography!
song nameDoctor Worm
artistThey Might Be Giants
releasesSevere Tire Damage, Doctor Worm (Single), Direct From Brooklyn, Dial-A-Song: 20 Years Of They Might Be Giants, TMBG Clock Radio, A User's Guide To They Might Be Giants: Melody, Fidelity, Quantity
year1998
first playedSep. 9, 1997 (615 known performances)
run time3:01
sung byJohn Linnell

Trivia/Info

  • "There's certain songs we have to do for contractual reasons that we'd rather not do; this next song, for the people who are really into the band, we'd like to apologize, the only reason we're doing it is because we have to do it. It's actually a non-specific part of the contract, it doesn't say that we have to do this song, we can do any song in our repertoire involving doctors and worms." - John Flansburgh (The Garage, 09/06/2004)
  • In an interview with 'Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child, Linnell said that this song's origins can be traced back to the KISS song "Dr. Love", when the two Johns would make up alternate lyrics to it.
  • "Somebody said, 'That song doesn't make any sense. Typical of They Might Be Giants songs, the lyrics don't make any sense, how do you know, who knows what that's about.' And I thought about it for a second and I thought well you know, really, I mean--I mean, I feel defensive immediately hearing somebody describe it that way. But to me, the song makes perfect sense. It's about somebody who has an idea of their identity that, you know, other people don't agree with. And specifically, it's about the kind of person who has a fantasy about, you know, having --wants people to call them a nickname that nobody will agree to call them, and has an idea of their status that nobody else agrees on, and it's a pretty common problem, you know. I mean I grew up with people like that, who lived in their mothers' basements and, you know, had an idea that they were on TV and--and stuff like that, and y'know that's all the song is really about, it's about somebody who has a fantasy and nobody else will buy into it." - John Linnell (The Wireless, 3/21/1997)
  • According to the Direct From Brooklyn DVD's commentary, nobody who appeared in the video actually participated in the recording of the song except for the Johns themselves.
  • A video which did not feature John and John was created for the Nickelodeon show, "Kablam!", by the design studio Asterisk.
  • The music video for this was played on Comedy Central a lot in the year 2005.
  • Has been a staple of the Cornell University Big Red Marching Band's concert repertoire since its introduction in 1998.
  • Like in James K. Polk, confetti is often fired out of cannons during this song. Right after the guitar solo finishes, the colorful pieces of paper fly into the audience.

Song Themes

Animals, Doors, Drums, Friendship, I Am, Kingdom Of Loathing Reference, Me, Medical, Music, People (Imaginary), Religion, Supernatural, Titles And Honorifics

Videos

 
Current Rating

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Doctor Worm is currently ranked #5 out of 846. (1175 wikians have given it an average rating of 9.08)
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