Bobo Tempo

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a picture of a laid-back, almost surreal surf culture, centered around a place called Bobo Tempo. The opening line, "over the hills away," immediately establishes a sense of distance and escape, further clarified by the parenthetical note about Mt. Tamalpais, suggesting a specific, almost mythical location. The dominant feeling is one of carefree indulgence and altered perception. Phrases like "noses they are peeling" and "minds they are reeling" evoke the physical and mental effects of intense sun and perhaps something more. The narrator explicitly states, "the best shit they are smoking," directly linking the experience to a heightened, possibly drug-induced, state of being. The imagery takes a bizarre, psychedelic turn with "strange cosmic forces, naked girls on horses." This juxtaposition of the mundane surf scene with the fantastical suggests a mind unmoored, experiencing reality through a warped lens. The repeated call of "Hey, Bobo Tempo" acts as an incantation, a rallying cry for this unique state of existence, grounding the surrealism in a specific, albeit abstract, place. Ultimately, the lyrics capture a specific kind of escapism, where the pursuit of pleasure and sensory experience leads to a detachment from ordinary reality. "Living life so highly" and "hanging out at Smiley's" points to a lifestyle centered on immediate gratification and communal indulgence, a world away from conventional concerns.