"Rock Lobster" Quotes
Shmoop will make you a better lover...of quotes
ALL QUOTES POPULAR BROWSE BY AUTHOR BROWSE BY SOURCE BROWSE BY TOPIC BROWSE BY SUBJECT
Source: "Rock Lobster"
Speaker: The B-52's
It wasn't a rock. It was a rock lobster.
Context
This line is from the song "Rock Lobster" by The B-52's, from the album The B-52's (1979).
This surf-y, punk-y, psychedelic-y song was The B-52's' first single to make the charts. It's sorta hard to tell what it's about, but our best guess is it's about a trippy beach party where a rock lobster was spotted. Love shacks, lobsters… yeah, the B-52's aren't necessarily known for deep thoughts. In America, this song reached number 56 on the Billboard charts, but went to number one in Canada—which somehow doesn't surprise us at all.
Fun fact: this song inspired John Lennon to start recording again after a five-year hiatus. Score one for the B-52's. Watch the video for your daily dose of weird.
Where you've heard it
You might've heard this line on not one, but two episodes of Family Guy, including "The Cleveland-Loretta Quagmire," in which Peter plays it on guitar (oh, and Cleveland's wife Loretta sleeps with Quagmire). We also won't tell anybody if you remember this song from the Veggie Tales movie Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. Hey, there's no shame in loving Veggie Tales.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
It's either the most pretentious line ever written, or the least. Considering it's the B-52's, we'll give them the benefit of the doubt here.