Hey Sandy

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"Hey Sandy" is a song by the indie rock band Polaris which serves as the theme song for the Nickelodeon television show The Adventures of Pete & Pete. It's well-known by fans of the show and the band alike for its lyrics, which are not only nearly indecipherable in the first place, but also have generated considerable debate as to their meaning.

Among the most plausible theories is that it is loosely based on English folk singer Harvey Andrews's song of the same name[citation needed]. The titular "Sandy" is Sandra Scheuer, one of four students fatally shot by National Guard troops in the Kent State shootings in 1970. In particular, the line "but guiltily I thought you had it coming" may refer to the sentiment that the action was partially justified because of the provocation offered by student protesters. However, Harvey Andrews' "Hey Sandy" is explicitly about the shootings; Polaris' "Hey Sandy" remains decidedly unclear.

The full lyrics were a subject of speculation for several years until they were (mostly) revealed to fans by band members. One line, the third one and the most difficult one to understand, was purposefully left a mystery by head songwriter Mark Mulcahy, and still generates debate. Though some speculate "Can you settle to shoot me?" is the most likely missing lyric, other guesses abound[citation needed].

Contents

[edit] Lyrics

Hey Smilin' strange
You lookin' happily deranged
Can you settle to shoot me? [citation needed]
Or have you picked your target yet?
Hey Sandy (ai ai ai ai)
Don't you talk back (ai ai ai)
Hey Sandy
Four feet away
End of speech it's the end of the day
We was only funnin
But guiltily I thought you had it coming
Hey Sandy (ai ai ai ai)
Don't you talk back (ai ai ai)
Hey Sandy (Ai ai ai ai) Hey Sandy
Don't you talk back (ai ai ai)
(Ai ai ai ai) Hey Sandy
Don't you talk back (ai ai ai)
Hey Sandy, yeah

[edit] Missing Lyric Theory and Speculation

There appears to be no plausible reason, besides an attempt for publicity, to release the lyrics to the song but continue to withhold just one line. Since Mark Mulcahy continued to refuse to reveal the lyric long after the show had gone into reruns and was no longer being publicized, it does not seem likely that it was a publicity stunt. Another postulated possibility is that the original lyric contained a reference to drugs, and so could not be revealed at the time the show aired or was still airing as a children's program on television. The fact that the song is thought to refer to Vietnam protest student Sandra Scheuer makes this theory even more likely. Those who espouse this theory believe the missing lyric to be, "Can you sell me a shroom, babe?" It is speculated that Nickelodeon, aware of the potential fight with the censors, encouraged Mulcahy not to release the lyrics so the series could continue to be rated TV-Y, should it ever air in reruns again.

On the DVD set, the subtitles render the line as "Can you settle to shoot me?", which makes sense considering the next line, "Or have you picked your target yet?" On the other hand, people who caption movies and television series, especially obscure or forgotten ones, often have no access to the original script or lyrics, and are simply writing down what they think they hear. For example, on the official DVD containing the BBC show Ballykissangel, caption errors are common, and are a result of the captioner not understanding Irish slang or hearing a different word due to the heavy Irish accents.

On the DVD commentary for season 2 of The Adventures of Pete and Pete, one of the show's creators, Chris Viscardi, mentions the missing lyric and says, "I've actually become very passionate about keeping that line a secret." He does not mention why.

[edit] Additions

The full album version of "Hey Sandy" contains a bewildering introduction with a man speaking the following words:

Jupiter, or Thor, is perfect. We need Atlas for our long-distance stuff. The Titan will be even better. They shouldn't have cancelled Navajo. Wait 'til you see our submarines with Polaris.

Besides an obvious reference to the band's name, this sound bite is in fact discussing United States ballistic missiles designed during the Cold War:

The initial sample is abruptly cut off and followed by another sample of a radio transmission, ostensibly from a military base:

Attention all personnel, this is CVTS. Base vehicle pre-count operations will start on my mark in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

[edit] External links

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