Playground Twist

"Playground Twist" is the third single released by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. Issued in the UK by Polydor Records in 1979, the track was produced by the band's manager Nils Stevenson and Mike Stavrou, a recording engineer on Marc Bolan's last album Dandy in the Underworld. It was released as the only single from the Banshees' second album Join Hands.

"Playground Twist" has a 3/4 time signature which is unusual for rock and roll music. The pacing of the song gives a childlike (i.e. "playground") feel (along with references to childhood nursery rhymes), although the lyrics provide a much more sinister picture. The single became Siouxsie & the Banshees' third top forty hit, peaking at number twenty-eight in the UK singles chart.

Playground Twist Lyrics
Hanging...

Hanging from your daisy chains

Swinging in the trees

Running from your enemies

And falling on your knees

On your knees

Get down on your knees

Throw the dice

You three blind mice

Did you ever see

Such a thing in your life

You swallow the trail

But still arrive

Inside your entrails

Hanging...

Hanging out at party games

Dancing in the shadows

Up and down on the see-saw

Balancing the scales

You're drunk

Yet you're balancing the scales

Someone to blame

Someone to shame

Someone who you can claim

Go back to pass the parcel

And follow the leader

Hanging...

Hanging from your climbing frames

Swinging in the gallows

Laughing with your buddies

But you can drown when you're shallow

You can drown...