Foster the People 'Pumped Up Kicks Lyrics...

[M.D. Holloway]

Catchy tune, but if you hear the lyrics its pretty dark. Pretty obvious what its about. troubling - you think all is fine until you look just a little deeper. Bang!

Robert's got a quick hand
He'll look around the room
He won't tell you his plan
He's got a rolled cigarette hanging out his mouth
He's a cowboy kid
Yeah, he found a six-shooter gun
In his dad's closet hidden in a box of fun things
And I don't even know what
But he's coming for you, yeah, he's coming for you

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, outrun my gun
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, faster than my bullet
x1

Daddy works a long day
He be coming home late, yeah, he's coming home late
And he's bringing me a surprise
Because dinner's in the kitchen and it's packed in ice
I've waited for a long time
Yeah, the slight of my hand is now a quick pull trigger
I reason with my cigarette
And say your hair's on fire
You must have lost your wits, yeah

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, outrun my gun
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, faster than my bullet
x1

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, outrun my gun
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, faster than my bullet

[ZOO]

I really like the song, dark or not.

Reminds me of the Boomtown Rats "I don't like Mondays" -- another really dark one.

[Paul_Heery]

The song has a hook. But, most people don't pay attention to the lyrics.

We were at Citi Field to catch the Phillies play the Mets back in July when they played this song during one of the TV commercial breaks. I turned to my wife and remarked that I was surprised that they were playing it in the stadium. My wife had no idea what the lyrics were about and was shocked when I told her. The mother of the family sitting behind us tapped me on the shoulder after overhearing my explanation. She thanked me and said that she would have a talk with her kids that had been dancing to the tune.

[redstrosekNic]

I love the song, but it's pretty sad that one has to worry about it giving high school students ideas. School shootings are so much more common now after they started receiving a lot of media attention. Seems like many kids just want the attention from it.

[AFC-911]

HATE this song...And I'm in their target demographic.

I can't change the channel fast enough when I hear it.

Maroon 5/Christina Aguillera's "Moves Like Jagger," now there's a song with hooks.

[attamz]

I like the song alot...

Kind of ironic I was listening to the song when I saw this thread.

[vash]

it's just lyrics..just like some movie showing shooting, sex and death..just a script.

i like the beat of the song. that singer has a pretty wide range with his voice. their other single, he sounds like a woman singing.

music is wild these days. just when i think i hear another GAGA song and want to vomit..she comes up with a great song. "you and i" is pretty good, and her voice is very soulful.

j-lo and spears, are the two that make me dive for the channel changer..

[nostatic]

People think "Born in the USA" is a patriotic song. And that "We Love LA" is is a pro-LA tune.

WIth most catchy tunes, only the hook is memorable and people don't know the rest of the lyrics.

A great site: Funniest Misheard Lyrics from The Archive of Misheard Lyrics

[M.D. Holloway]

Our kids like this song as well. I like it too. They like the beat and the sound as do I. when I found out the lyrics I didn't stop liking it - a song is a story. There are happy ones, sexy ones and sad ones.

The lyrics did provide some food for discussion with the kiddos though. What makes a kid grab Daddys gun and kill others than himself? Our kiddos at first though he was nuts but I pressed them. What drove him there if anything? Interesting discussion.

[89911]

This has been going on for years. I use to listen to this song quite a while ago and never occured to me what it was about. Had a good hook for a seventies song:

"Timothy" the Buoys - YouTube

If you get lyrics like these played by some satanic band, that really gets the Moms mad.