Pulling Teeth

This song is a tongue-in-cheek look at an abusive relationship. Billie Joe wrote it around an inside joke the band had with bassist Mike Dirnt after he was sent to the emergency room for injuries resulting from a pillow fight with his girlfriend at the time. Around the time of Kerplunk! they were at a friends house having a pillow fight when Mike ran around a corner and hit his head on a low ceiling beam. He fell backwards and broke both of his elbows.

The title itself is a further play on that inside joke. Metallica had a song on their Kill 'Em All album titled "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth." Mike's girlfriend who the song is loosely based on was named Anastasia, so they kept the "Pulling Teeth" from the Metallica track for the title. Mike eventually married her in 1996 and had 1 child with her; they have since divorced.