Five Foot One is one of those truly iconic songs in many ways, a song about the frustrations of being different, moreso than just of being short. The singer complains of working in an amusement park as a freak as the only thing he can do, and wishes life could be “Swedish Magazines” (for a long time, I wasn’t sure if he was saying “Swedish Magazines” or “Sweetest Majesty”), presumably for the perks of being a small person in certain types of pornographic entertainment. However, what really comes out is the sense of frustration at simply lying outside the norms of society.
Oh, and it rocks too. Great song.
And of course, the lyrics:
Yeah, I like it
Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!
I’m only five foot one
I got a pain in my neck
I’m looking up in the city
What the hell what the heck
I stare at the concrete
The girders eye high
The steel’s above me
There’s love in my eyes
And I’m doing the things
A five foot one man can do
I’m only five foot one
I got a pain in my heart
All the night I’m working
In the amusement park
With a bottle of aspirin
A sack full of jokes
I wish I could go home
With all the big folks
And I wish life could be
Swedish magazines
I wish life could be
Swedish magazines
I wish life could be
Anything
Ugh! Aie! Aie! Aie!
Ugh!
I’m only five foot one
Unless the time has come
I won’t grow anymore
Anymore, anymore, anymore
‘Till I’m losing my head
I’m checkin’ it twice
I’m gonna find out who’s naughty and nice
And I’m doing the things a five foot one man can do
I wish life could be Swedish magazines (x3)
I wish life could be
Yeah, I wish life could be
Oooooooooohhh
I wish life could be
I wish life could be Swedish magazines
I wish life could be Swedish magazines
I wish life could be
I won’t grow anymore (x3)
Anymore, anymore, anymore, anymore, anymore
I’m only five foot one (x3)
I’m five foot one
