This photo is actually from a Nutrient Systems Co. ad for a potassium silicate product used in hydroponics, but it also serves nicely as a visual aide for the 1999 Tom Petty & Heartbreakers’ song of that same name.
“Rhino Skin” is a song about the need to have “thick skin” in navigating through a tough, judgmental, and sometimes unforgiving world. And the tough old Rhinoceros of the African steppe is exquisitely equipped with the kind of body armor — here, in an emotional/ psychological sense — that Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers suggest surviving souls may need. That is, you need the emotional equivalent of rhino skin to get through the unforgiving terrain of daily living.
Petty is also referring, generally, to the same “slings-and-arrows” territory that a bard named William Shakespeare raised centuries earlier, though in a somewhat different context.
Petty and the Heartbreakers do a fine job in their musical conveyance of this need for daily fortitude and more. They offer just enough attitude, empathy, and a touch of defiance in their performance and prescription. The male choral backing running with the instrumental ending adds a moving finish as well. The full song with lyrics is offered below (best with headphones).
Tom Petty & Co. offer survival skills with “Rhino Skin.”
Life’s journey can be pretty treacherous, Petty seems to suggest at the outset, stating that you need to have Rhino skin at the start. You need to don this protection even to “begin to walk though this world.”
|
“Rhino Skin” You need rhino skin You need elephant balls Oh my love if I reveal You need eagles wings You need rhino skin If you listen long enough You need rhino skin You need rhino skin |
And after that, you need variations of thick skin and fortitudinous-persevering courage to keep going. For the most part, it’s unfriendly territory out there – whether adolescence, workplace, or love. He suggests “elephant balls” as required equipment – or as a Mexican might counsel, “large cojones.” That is, you need a certain amount of gumption and “stand-upedness,” as all kinds of stuff is gonna` come your way – good, bad, ugly, crazy, indifferent, depressing, and all the rest.
Music Player
“Rhino Skin”-1999
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Love and trust – and their fraying and betrayal – are part of the territory Petty is talking about as well. They are consistent Petty themes throughout much of his music. In “Rhino Skin,” Petty allows that there is a certain interpersonal calculation that goes on in all relationships. Secrets abound. Doubt, fear, anger and other concoctions are all there. But sometimes it’s better that the loved one not know them, and that the bearer consider not revealing them. But should you choose to reveal, that’s when some rhino skin might come in handy.
Adding to the trove of wildlife powers one may need to survive the modern world are “eagles wings” – ideal for flight, avoidance, surmounting barriers, and generally getting away from things unkind or unpleasant – especially when confronting things that make no sense, of which too often there is a fair amount.
So generally, there’s really no avoiding the need for developing this dermatological-like psychological skill set. But you have to work at growing it – i.e., the rhino skin – especially for self defense in love relationships. Petty warns: “Love is [or can be] painful to the touch” so you have to be prepared – “must be made of stronger stuff.”
At the close, Petty reiterates the need for thick skin in dealing with the nonsense and getting through life’s maze – dealing with “the arrows of sin / the evils of men” — you name it. Whatever they throw at you, “you need rhino skin.”
“Echo,” the 10th album by Tom Petty and The Heart-breakers, released in April 1999, hit No. 10 on Billboard.
Tom Petty was going through some tough times as this song and the Echo album were being crafted. His first marriage of 20 years was then ending and headed for divorce. And earlier, his adolescence wasn’t the best of times either. So there may be some personal history seeping through this tune’s suggested toughening up.
But “Rhino Skin” also suggests a kind of re-armament; a refortification for going forward. Tom Petty doesn’t give up. Throughout his musical ouvre there is a consistent theme of getting up off the mat for another day; of not being defeated.
Yes, the slings and arrows along life’s path can be pretty hurtful and humiliating. But they are bearable and instructive, especially with a little “rhino skin” growing tough for next steps and another day.
Rock `n Roll artist, Tom Petty, performing.
Among the Heartbreakers assisting Petty on Echo are: Mike Campbell, lead guitars, bass, lead vocals on “I Don’t Wanna Fight”; Benmont Tench, pianos, organ, chamberlin, clavinet; Howie Epstein, bass, harmony/ background vocals; Scott Thurston, acoustic and electric guitars, background vocals; Steve Ferrone, drums; and Lenny Castro, percussion.
USA Today’s review of Echo noted: “…Tom Petty continues his unwavering sanction of rock ‘n’ roll purity and simplicity, refusing to sully his smartly crafted songs with arty window dressing, hip-hop flourishes or electronic noodling. By rejecting such trends and remaining loyal to classic guitar rock, Petty emerges as one of the few real rebels in the ’90s…” Echo was nominated for 1999 year Grammy Award for Best Rock Album, while “Room At The Top” was nominated for Best Rock Song. Santana took the 1999 album prize with Supernatural, while the Red Hot Chili Peppers won the Best Song prize with “Scar Tissue.”
See also at this website, “I Won’t Back Down,” a story about the use of Tom Petty’s music in political campaigns, and visit the “Annals of Music” page for other story choices in that category. Thanks for visiting – and if you like what you find here, please make a donation to help support the research and writing at this website. Thank you – Jack Doyle
|
Please Support Thank You |
____________________________________
Date Posted: 28 April 2016
Last Update: 28 April 2016
Comments to: jdoyle@pophistorydig.com
Article Citation:
Jack Doyle, “Rhino Skin: Tom Petty, 1999,”
PopHistoryDig.com, June 25, 2014.
____________________________________
Sources, Links & Additional Information
 Tom Petty and his 2nd wife Dana York Epperson at the world premiere of the documentary film “'Runnin' Down a Dream,” Warner Bros. Studio, Burbank, CA 10-02-07. |
Album Notes, Echo, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
“Echo (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album),” Wikipedia.org.
“Rebellious Ring to Petty’s ‘Echo’,” USA Today, April 13, 1999, p. D-4.
“Tom Petty,” Wikipedia.org.
Rajesh Kottamasu, “Album Review: Echo by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers,” Harvard Crimson, April 23, 1999.
Greg Kot, “Echo / Tom Petty / Warner Bros.,” Rolling Stone, April 29, 1999.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, “Album Review, Tom Petty / Echo,” AllMusic.com.
Jim Beviglia, “Songs 85-71: Tom Petty Explores Mischievous Preachers, Loose Women & Pain of Divorce as the Countdown Continues,” Houston.CultureMap.com, Au- gust 22, 2010.
Dennis Brault, “Freedom of Speech Trumps Concerns over Cyberbullying,” LaCrosse Tribune, November 14, 2012.
“Q Exclusive: Tom Petty Brings the Snarl Back on Hypnotic Eye,” CBC.ca, July 17, 2014.
_________________________________