THE BUOYS "Timothy" HQ

Timothy was their pack mule

In the coal regions of Pennsylvania this song is right up there with Thirty Thousand Pounds of Bananas, about a truck driver losing his brakes outside of Scranton. Us miners used to keep a safety razor blade under a big bandaid on our left wrist in case of cave ins, so we could kill ourselves and not have to eat our friends. True.

I played this song over and over again while in high school and at the time, did not realize what the song was about.

I always thought Timothy was their mule. My ancestors were miners and I grew up on mining stories. I could always see them killing and eating the mule (with much sadness and regret) but not the other miner. I don't know; I didn't write it. Could this be a viable, and maybe a little more likely meaning? Were Timothy a miner, I don't think they would say, "nobody ever get around to finding Timothy".

Love this song

😢poor Timothy

Another song I’ve never heard before!!!

Was not 3 yrs old when this came out in Spring 1971. I like this song and the violins (which I can play but need the string sheet music for) I probably heard it on the radio in 71. We had a Blue Chevy Caprice 1971 which was so roomy inside. I remember seeing hot pants that were worn because my 60 year old neighbor wore them with boots. Mom wore vests then that she knitted that were maxi length. I could go on about those days.

The last verse kills the cannibalism narrative...
"...My stomach was full as it could be", and one would assume Joe's was as well, yet no one wondered why?
"...And nobody ever got around to finding Timothy." .There was no real need to recover Timothy, because Timothy was a mule.

this song is makin me hungry!

This version sucks, played at a sped up turntable speed. NOT the version played on A.M. radio in the day in L.A. Robert at 68.

Horrible, all 'round. Dhamer's favorite I'm sure.

dude my grandpa used to sing me the chorus to this when I was little

This song is so much more than the sum of its parts (including all of the mundane motivations and ambitions behind its writing). It evokes such profound, varied emotion - something which none but the rarest of artists can intentionally effect - if it were a scientific discovery, it would be considered serendipity.

The guy singing the song IS Joe. There was only 2 men trapped. Tim & Joe.

I always have some fava beans and a little chianti when I listen to this tune!

Pretty good song, until you pay attention to the lyrics!

they ate the bones, organs and all. lmao. as if
Still silly 50 years later but that LP title intrigues me to read more of their lyrics. wtef were they on about 'give up your guns'.
Ahh was about woman ofc and he robbed a bank gfl w that.

Let's all assume that ole Tim was their mule.

So, messed up story, this kid I was forced to be friends with his name was Timothy (our dad's were friends) well, for years his dad never would say much about him, and then I heard this song, and I would laugh Timothy where on earth did you go... well turned out in 2007 he murdered his wife and now is in prison :/

I used to sneek in my big bro's room+play his 45's+this song's always been way back in my mind👍

this came out when i was 10 and i love the song still do. it was a song that really made think about being that hungry that you would eat your friend, i couldnt fathom it being 10.

Back when making a controversial song and making a big deal about said controversial song being controversial is what made this song put on music charts without allocated budget for marketing is peak genius move.

I remember WIXY-1260 in Cleveland playing a "sanitized" version of the song, in which the line "Our stomachs as full as it can be" was changed to "both of us fine as we could be"

They hit it outta the park when they came out with this one,even if this was a one hit wonder.John Guinto

Catchy song but even on the brink of death I couldn’t bring myself to eat the flash of a co-worker let alone a friend. I’d rather cannibalizes myself.

I can think of a lot of the messed up music I listened to as a kid in the 90's like Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson and others like even Pearl Jam,... and I still find this song more disturbing. At least with NIN and Marilyn, you know what you are getting. This starts off with a simple , "happy" pop riff and then in the end is like - SURPRISE! This is about cannibalism!"

Based off the Sheppton mine accident in 1963.I remember the local radio stations banning it after thwy found out it was about cannibalism.Great song.

A really bizarre song that could only have been a hit in the late 60's, early 70's. That being said in its own way it is a good tune both musically and lyrically.

You don't know where Timothy went?
Out your butt in the toilet 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Forgot about that one!

This got a lot of radio airplay when it first came out with few realizing what it actually meant 😳

We used to watch these guys in local bars here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They were exceptional. Jerry and Kelly left after eight years cuz they wanted to keep going but the other guys were tired of the trials and tribulations of trying to make it to the top. They formed the band Dakota. Check out Dakotas album and their song If It Takes All Night. Another excellent band. They were friends with guys in the band Chicago and toured with them. Great singers. Jerry died two years ago.

Great song 🎵

I always saw this as a story about desperation and survival. His mind couldn't handle what they did. We have a lot of mines here in Colorado, and i thought this was a kind of examination of an occupational hazzard for miners. It's tragic. A warning and a trubute to all the "Timothy's" that dis.dn't make it home.

That’s when the cannibalism started

This song haunted my pre teens. It was played, but not much. Listened for hours to hear and understand the lyrics.

a great song good music

just came from professor of rock interview with Rupert Holmes,man this song is creepy as hell,and amazing!

Who would have thought Rupert Holmes would write a song about cannibalism. You know the Pina Colada guy

Trapped in a mine that had caved in
And everyone knows the only ones left
Were Joe and me and Tim
When they broke through to pull us free
The only ones left to tell the tale
Were Joe and me
Timothy, Timothy, where on earth did you go?
Timothy, Timothy, God why don't I know?
Hungry as hell no food to eat
And Joe said that he would sell his soul
For just a piece of meat
Water enough to drink for two
And Joe said to me, "I'll have a swig
And then there's some for you."
Timothy, Timothy, Joe was looking at you
Timothy, Timothy, God what did we do?
I must have blacked out just around then
'Cause the very next thing that I could see
Was the light of the day again
My stomach was full as it could be
And nobody ever got around
To finding Timothy
Timothy

"...and then I heard this song on the radio and everything just became so clear." Jeffrey Dahmer

This gives me the chills.

My name is Timothy and I approve this message.

@Robert Brittenham
If you like piña coladas and getting caught in a mine . . . Hey, I just bet you it was... HIM LOL

Was number 19 on the charts on the bright and sunny May 19th of 1971. It was controversial and banned on some radio stations. None the less, it was very well done!

This song was very controversial when it came out.

Rupert Holmes wrote this?? The man who wrote "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)??

I woulda never thought to eat ya Tim, it was all Joe's idea!

I was 7 when this song hit the AM airwaves. I miss the 70s