Why the heck is Michael Jackson calling me a vegetable?

Cafe Society
1

And other bizarre lyrics.

So this morning, I was listening to the radio when “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” began to play. I haven’t heard it in a long time, so I listened for a while, and wondered, not for the first time, what the hell he means when he keeps repeating, “You’re a vegetable.” I figured I was mishearing, so I just looked it up, and sure enough, the lines read:

You’re A Vegetable, You’re A Vegetable
Still They Hate You, You’re A Vegetable
You’re Just A Buffet, You’re A Vegetable
They Eat Off Of You, You’re A Vegetable

This is even more bizarre than I thought. What the heck does it mean? Should I be really insulted? I like vegetables and everything, but do I want to be one?

Answers? More bizarre lyrics?

2

Maybe it’s a reference to Frank Zappa’s Call Any Vegetable.

“Standing there shiny and proud by your side,
Holding your joint while the neighbors decide,
Why is a vegetable something to hide?
To hiiiide, to hiiiiiiiiiiiide?” :stuck_out_tongue: