Tiger King/Trivium
[Photo by: Matt Heafy/Biha/Wikimedia Commons, Joe Exotic/ YouTube]

Watch Trivium's Matt Heafy cover Tiger King Joe Exotic's "I Saw A Tiger"

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem And Madness took off like a rocket and now the cultural zeitgeist is barreling into every facet of daily life. So much, in fact, that Trivium singer Matt Heafy has now covered “I Saw A Tiger” by Joe Exotic, well not really by Joe Exotic

The acoustic cover is stirringly powerful for what it is, and pretty much blows the doors off of Exotic’s original. The only saving grace of the Tiger King’s is the outstanding music video accompaniment. 

Read More: The truth about the Tiger King Joe Exotic’s music is finally revealed

This isn’t the first time Heafy, best known as the guitarist and singer of Orlando-based Trivium, has covered something outside of their usual metal realm. In the past, Heafy has covered Killswitch Engage, Justin Bieber and Avril Lavigne, Slipknot and Tom Petty

But, we think this new “I Saw A Tiger” acoustic cover might just take the cake. 

It’s a simple setup, no elaborate visual effects or props here. Heafy is in front of his computer with video inlays of him playing the guitar parts for the song. “I want to make this really, really good,” Heafy begins. Check out the video below. We will include the lyrics so that you can fully grasp the ideas of the song. 

“I Saw A Tiger” Lyrics

Tell all the hunters to lay down their guns
Tell ’em that the tiger needs a little bit of love
Let ’em run the jungle, let ’em roam their land
Then stand back and marvel, what a beautiful cat

‘Cause I saw tiger
Now I understand
I saw tiger, and the tiger saw man

Read More: Marilyn Manson had the best reaction to Joe Exotic’s endorsement request

I can give them a home, safe and warm
But the law wants to ban me, can you tell me who’s wrong?
Every time they move, every time they breathe
I can feel their power, I can feel their beast

‘Cause I saw tiger
Now I understand
I saw tiger, and the tiger saw man

Well, I saw a tiger, now I understand
I saw a tiger, and the tiger saw a man

Time is a-tickin’, will soon be gone
So you better take a picture
What a sad, sad song
All that armageddon, such a painful loss
When they kill all the tigers in the holocaust

‘Cause I saw tiger
Now I understand
I saw tiger, and the tiger saw man

I saw a tiger, and the tiger saw a man
Well, I saw a tiger, now I understand
Well, I saw a tiger, now I understand
I saw a tiger, and the tiger saw a man
Ooh, I saw a tiger, do you understand
I saw a tiger, and the tiger saw a man

Read More: Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus are debating who is more like Joe Exotic

We’ll also going to include the original music video by Joe Exotic so that you can appreciate that visual masterpiece as well.

More Tiger King

It seems as if Netflix‘s Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness is here to stay in terms of popular culture. From faking his own music to inspiring blink-182 memes, Joe Exotic is an electrifying figure. Now, Marilyn Manson just got in on the action

Manson posted a picture on a message from Exotic back in 2018 during his run for office. The message shows Exotic asking for Manson’s endorsement. Marilyn Manson didn’t reply but his caption is incredible.

In case you haven’t seen the show, Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage (Joe Exotic) is an incarcerated former zoo operator and self-professed most prolific tiger breeder in the U.S.

He ran an exotic animal park in Oklahoma and twice unsuccessfully ran for public office in 2016 and 2018. The documentary series focuses on the feud between Joe and animal rights activist Carole Baskin. It also involves a lot of issues relating to a murder for hire plot as well as the disappearance of Baskin’s husband who went missing in 1997. 

The series is positively thrilling, with twists and turns that have you saying “what the fuck” approximately every nine minutes. 

Read More: The Trapt saga gets even wilder with Chris Brown threatening legal action

Well now, Marilyn Manson provided a fun little detail regarding Joe Exotic’s second public official run. 

Manson shared a direct message he allegedly received from the Tiger King back in the early months of 2018. 

Joe Exotic’s message asks Manson for his support and briefly lays out a platform of helping those with addiction. 

Hey. Thanks for the follow. I’m running for governor of Oklahoma and trying to speak for the real people for a change and get some people help with addiction in this State that no one cares about. Would you endorse me? Not asking for money. Just to use your name as an endorsement. 

Manson didn’t appear to reply but his caption on the post is as good as gold. “Nope. Don’t Fuck With Cats.”

Manson must really have his fingers on the pulse of what is tom come because Joe Exotic does thank him for the follow. That means that Marilyn Manson did follow him back in 2018, two years before the release of Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. 

Regardless, this is now a cool little fun fact to spit out when talking to your friends about the Tiger King or about Marilyn Manson. We never thought these two would cross paths. 

What do you think of Matt Heafy of Trivium’s “I Saw A Tiger” cover? Was it better than the Tiger King, Joe Exotic himself? Tell us in the comments below!

See more: 10 surprising artists you won’t believe appeared on AP’s cover

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