Frontal Lobotomy

[Brett g Porter]

At 01:51 PM 24-10-96 EST, you wrote:
>
>
>>Also, by the bye -- I'd always heard the "bottle in front of me" line
>>attributed to the one and only Tom Waits;  not sure if he originated it,
>>or just took it for his own.
>
>I've heard a song -- either country or mock-country -- featuring this line. 
> I don't know who sings it, but I'm pretty sure it's not Tom Waits (which 
>isn't to say the line didn't originate with him anyway).
>     Skip

A quick search on HotBot ("lobotomy and demento") indicates that the song was:

 "I'd Rather Have a Bottle in Front of Me (Than a Frontal Lobotomy)," by
Randy Hanzlick, M.D. (Dr. Demento says Hanzlick is--or was, as of 1980--a
real internist in Atlanta, who writes songs for a hobby).

The phrase also occurs in Dr Demento-land in a song called "Existential
Blues", by  Tom "T-Bone" Stankus, but not as the chorus, so it's probably
not the one you're thinking of. 

A search on "Lobotomy and Tom Waits" is left as an exercise for the reader.

BgP

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