"Pepper" is a song by American alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band Butthole Surfers

Butthole Surfers

Butthole Surfers is an American alternative rock band formed by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been consistent since 1983. Teresa Nervosa served as second...

. It appeared on their 1996 album Electriclarryland

Electriclarryland

Electriclarryland is the seventh studio album by the American alternative rock band Butthole Surfers, released in April 1996 . This album brought the Butthole Surfers their first Top 40 hit with "Pepper". The album was certified gold by the RIAA on August 20, 1996.The title of this album is a...

, and reached number one on Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

's Modern Rock Tracks

Modern Rock Tracks

Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...

 chart. It attained number 4 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of 1996

Triple J Hottest 100, 1996

The 1996 Triple J Hottest 100, counted down in January 1997, was a countdown of the most popular songs of the year, according to listeners of the Australian radio station Triple J. A CD featuring 31 of the songs was released. A countdown of the videos of most of the songs was also shown on the ABC...

.

Composition and lyrics

"Pepper" opens with The Chorus Guitar riff, (slowed down to half speed).

The song shifts from rap

Rapping

Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...

-like verses to sung choruses.

The lyrics of the verses list ten characters and describes how each either dies or escapes a brush with death. Each incident, whether brought about by idiotic recklessness or meaningless bad luck, finds the victim romanced or invigorated by facing death.

The relationship between the lyrics and title is not made clear, nor is the exact connection between the different types of piqued awareness presented in the different sections.

The song also contains the bridge played in reverse

Backmasking

Backmasking is a recording technique in which a sound or message is recorded backward on to a track that is meant to be played forward...

. The reversed words are the first and last lines of the chorus: "I don't mind the sun sometimes; the images it shows; you never know just how you look through other people's eyes."

Formats and track listing

Compact Disc Single (US) / US Cassette Single

1. "Pepper" (Edit) - 4:36
2. "Pepper" (Album Version) - 4:56
3. "Let's Talk About Cars" - 4:34

Remix Maxi Single (US)

1. "Pepper (Comin' Down The Mountain Mix - Edit)" - 4:09
2. "Pepper (Short Shot Mix)" - 2:56
3. "Pepper (Hallucinations' Funky Salt-Lick Mix)" - 6:46
4. "Jingle Of A Dog's Collar" - 3:09

Compact Disc Single (Holland)

1. "Pepper" – 4:56
2. "Hybrid" – 6:39
3. "Pepper" (Butcha' Bros. Remix) – 4:44
4. "The Lord is a Monkey" (Demo) – 4:44

7" Vinyl Single (UK)

1. "Pepper" (Single Edit) - 4:36
2. "Pepper" (Butcha' Bros. Remix) - 4:44

7" Vinyl Single (UK)

1. "Pepper" - 4:57
2. "Birds" - 3:10

Cover version

On September 2, 2010, Hesta Prynn

Hesta Prynn

Julie Potash also known as Hesta Prynn , is an American musician, singer/rapper from Long Island, New York. She began her career in music as one-third of the all-female hip-hop group Northern State. After the band broke up she started focusing on solo material and, in July 2010, released an EP,...

 and Shawn Crahan of Slipknot

Slipknot (band)

Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...

 released a cover of "Pepper" that was released as a 7" vinyl single. The B-side of the single is the unreleased track "Seven Sisters".

Parodies

The Christian parody band ApologetiX

ApologetiX

ApologetiX is a Christian parody band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. The band was founded in 1992, and since then, has played in 44 states, released 17 studio albums, and built up a fan club that includes 45,000 people. The band is currently composed of J...

 parodied "Pepper" into "People", a song about the disciples of Jesus Christ. The song is labeled on the CD as "People (A parody of "Pepper" by The Butthole Surfers)."