“Bullet” by Hollywood Undead, an American rock-rap band, is a piece of music that leaves the listeners puzzled as to its true meaning is. While the guitar chords can be considered cheerful, the lyrics speak of self harm and ending one’s life, topics that do not fall into the same mood as the guitar. This contrast in the music presents an interesting dynamic to assess and decipher what the music is trying to get across. Not only does the song have an intriguing dynamic, but the official lyric video provides helpful insight into the meaning of the lyrics. Despite the lighthearted instrumentals of the piece, the controversial actions, diction, and illustrations in the lyric video showcase the dark tone of the music.
The subject of the song mentions …show more content…
Several times different words are used to show the uncertainty of the subject, like “think” in line 3 and “if” in lines 23 and 44. In context, “think” is being used to decide whether or not to commit an act of self harm. “If” is used during what is commonly called the pre-chorus, saying that if the subject survives then he will see his friend the next day. The use of these words showing the uncertainty of the subject depicts the thought process of those that consider self harm and suicide. It is often not a carefully planned decision, but rather a decision made from various events occurring during a dark period of time. With this uncertainty shown, we move into references of going to Heaven and God. The repetition of the word “fly,” in lines 43, 51, and 54, references not falling to Hell, the Christian destination for one who commits suicide, but “flying” up in the sky to God and to Heaven. This almost contradicts the dark tone that has been given thus far, but the dark tone is reaffirmed when a young girl begins to recite lyrics at the end of the piece, two of her lines being “I wish that I could fly.” Hearing a child say words that were used previously to describe the moment of death creates a very chilling image in the listener’s mind, reinforcing the dark tone given by the actions of the subject through finding and evoking the emotions of the listener. Child death is a very sad, dark event in our culture, putting a grey curtain over people and cities, and a child hinting at taking their own life is no different. The language of uncertainty and use of words to reference God supports the dark mood established by the actions performed by the subject of the
The subject of the song mentions …show more content…
Several times different words are used to show the uncertainty of the subject, like “think” in line 3 and “if” in lines 23 and 44. In context, “think” is being used to decide whether or not to commit an act of self harm. “If” is used during what is commonly called the pre-chorus, saying that if the subject survives then he will see his friend the next day. The use of these words showing the uncertainty of the subject depicts the thought process of those that consider self harm and suicide. It is often not a carefully planned decision, but rather a decision made from various events occurring during a dark period of time. With this uncertainty shown, we move into references of going to Heaven and God. The repetition of the word “fly,” in lines 43, 51, and 54, references not falling to Hell, the Christian destination for one who commits suicide, but “flying” up in the sky to God and to Heaven. This almost contradicts the dark tone that has been given thus far, but the dark tone is reaffirmed when a young girl begins to recite lyrics at the end of the piece, two of her lines being “I wish that I could fly.” Hearing a child say words that were used previously to describe the moment of death creates a very chilling image in the listener’s mind, reinforcing the dark tone given by the actions of the subject through finding and evoking the emotions of the listener. Child death is a very sad, dark event in our culture, putting a grey curtain over people and cities, and a child hinting at taking their own life is no different. The language of uncertainty and use of words to reference God supports the dark mood established by the actions performed by the subject of the