[Verse 1]
I had visions, I was in them, I was looking into the mirror
To see a little bit clearer
The rottenness and evil in me
Fingertips have memories, mine can’t forget the curves of your body
And when I feel a bit naughty
I run it up the flagpole and see
Who salutes, but no one ever does
[Chorus]
I’m not sick but I’m not well
And I’m so hot ’cause I’m in hell
[Verse 2]
Been around the world and found that only stupid people are breeding
The cretins cloning and feeding
And I don’t even own a TV
Put me in the hospital for nerves and then they had to commit me
You told them all I was crazy
They cut off my legs, now I’m an amputee, goddamn you
[Chorus]
I’m not sick but I’m not well
And I’m so hot ’cause I’m in hell
I’m not sick but I’m not well
And it’s a sin to live so well
[Bridge]
I wanna publish ‘zines
And rage against machines
I wanna pierce my tongue, it doesn’t hurt, it feels fine
The trivial sublime
I’d like to turn off time
And kill my mind
You kill my mind
Mind
[Verse 3]
Paranoia, paranoia, everybody’s comin’ to get me
Just say you never met me
I’m runnin’ underground with the moles, diggin’ holes
Hear the voices in my head, I swear to God it sounds like they’re snoring
But if you’re bored then you’re boring
The agony and the irony, they’re killin’ me, woah
[Chorus]
I’m not sick but I’m not well
And I’m so hot ’cause I’m in hell
I’m not sick but I’m not well
And it’s a sin to live this well
[Outro]
One, two, three, four!
AV Club describes “Flagpole Sitta” as “exploring the tension between being both a cultural observer and a participant—when you’re self-aware enough to notice how the underground is being co-opted, but yet simultaneously caught up in (and horrified by) this commodification.”
The song was used as the theme song for all but the first season of the long running British sitcom “Peep Show” (2003-2015).