Hey... I'm doing a project for english at school in which we have to choose a song or a poem and give an oral presentation on that song and the meaning. I've chosen to do mine on Bullet With Butterfly Wings... I've spent a lot of time listening to the song and reading into the lyrics but I'm not really 100% at all on the meanings in the song.
What are your opinions on what the song is about?

Sometimes Billy's lyrics seem so obscure that you could take a lot from them, and if you argue it well then anything can make sense and 'fit' with the song...I mean, all poetry's subjective, right? But sometimes billy's songs are so much so that it's impossible to say "this is what this song is about". I think BWBW is one of those songs. Of course ALL songs are like this - all anyone (who's not Billy) can ever offer is an interpretation, but, you know what I mean. Some songs, I think, are easier to read than others. Like The Aeroplane Flies High (turns left, looks right). Or 1979.

Anyway, sorry I'm not any help, I just felt like posting anyways, is all
Well, obviously there's the Job bible reference, you could talk about that...

marydoesnotforget link=topic=1252.msg18748#msg18748 date=1175506728]
Sometimes Billy's lyrics seem so obscure that you could take a lot from them, and if you argue it well then anything can make sense and 'fit' with the song...I mean, all poetry's subjective, right? But sometimes billy's songs are so much so that it's impossible to say "this is what this song is about". I think BWBW is one of those songs. Of course ALL songs are like this - all anyone (who's not Billy) can ever offer is an interpretation, but, you know what I mean. Some songs, I think, are easier to read than others. Like The Aeroplane Flies High (turns left, looks right). Or 1979.

Anyway, sorry I'm not any help, I just felt like posting anyways, is all
Well, obviously there's the Job bible reference, you could talk about that...


Yeah I was planning on mentioning the reference to Job... It is a pretty cryptic song but so are a lot of them... But if all else fails I was thinking I'd go with a song off Machina like I Of The Mourning and just go on about the story of Machina.
Thanks anyway though.

I read a quote somewherethat read something like: Life is like a bullet and you're steering it with butterfly wings.

A quote from Billy on quotephoria relates to this:
"The simplest way that I can understand therapy is that we're born a certain way, we're taught to be something different, and we spend our whole lives trying to unravel it and ultimately align ourselves with who we really are."

So the bullet represents what people are pushing you to be, and the butterfly wings are you trying to become who you really are. so he's trying to say its not easy to be yourself in this world.

This should help put the lyrics in perspective, it did for me anyways.

-"I still believe I cannot be saved" has to do with jesus dying on the cross "being our savior, saving us" as the catholic church believes. Expressing that he doesn't believe jesus could save such a horrible person/world. you could also make many other interpretations. But to me this is the most powerful line in the song.

If I may make a little off topic comment, my band covers this song and playing the ending is about the most fun I've had playing live. Its so energetic and powerful.

I heard Billy say once that alot of his lyrics are taken as broad statements about the world when really he is talking about himself, his world. One line in particular he mentions is "The world is a vampire" He said that in this line he was speaking of his own world - the world he lives in. I dont know if this helps but it may give u a different way to look at his lyrics. Sometimes Billy's not making grandiose statements on the course of society...sometimes he's just referring to himself.

I did a similar paper on "Pennies" back in the day.

the song is about despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage

I wrote a paper about blank page...in the end I think I bullshited a little bit because it had to be ridiculously long and theres only so much you can say about a song. I think pumpkin peices was right on the money with bullet.

www.songmeanings.net - seems to have a lot of different peoples interpretations. Also, try Wikipedia, there's an interesting interpretation on there.

i really have no idea what the song means, it would be nice to find out someday.

I know what he sings about, but I won`t tell uuuuu, muhahahahahhah

Thanks all for your replies..... I have enough to make my presentation... It is a really interesting song, and there are a lot of ways you can look at it, that's another great thing about the Pumpkins songs.

I did an essay on muzzle a while back, one of the simpler songs but i think its realy powerfull

dougydarkangel link=topic=1252.msg18774#msg18774 date=1175605196]
I did an essay on muzzle a while back, one of the simpler songs but i think its realy powerfull

it was really good, dougy!

I love chanting the very last line, "and I still believe that I cannot be saved!" It feels great!`

in grade school my music teacher made us do a project on a musical group or solo artist, but get this it could only be from the 60's,70's or 80's i wanted to do the pumpkins but he said no newer groups they haven't done nothing yet they have no legacy well fuck you mr harris you retard there the best ever, so i ended up doing my project on the monkeys yeah the monkeys not my choice he made me do it the monkeys suck where's there legacy?.

was Led Zeppelin, deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix, the beatles, and much more taken? How'd you get stuck with the monkees? I can think of hundreds of bands better than the monkeys from those time periods.