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BaconFacedWilson

Can't Get Shot In The Back

By BaconFacedWilson, in Matthew Good

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Prometheon

Prometheon

Posted
Posted

Alright, this is one of my favourite songs, and I've thought a lot about the meaning, so here's my interpretation:

 

Mutes they like to protest, to dissagree between the lines where the mass majority hide

 

People all buy into the same bullshit, and the only people who disagree are those that are deprived something essential, those who are painfully excluded.

 

And on the news it's like Mardi Gras, every night with their shirts off to shine your ears and eyes

 

Media circus, no real information, it's all just entertainment and stuff. See SARS scare, shark attack summer, african killer bees etc. To 'shine your ears and eyes' means to basically tell you what you want to hear in your middle class suburban neighborhood, and not real news about places outside your country or realm of awareness.

 

In a restaurant booth I cut my tooth on pictures of our sable justice, but given the facts who can't relax? So easy on death...

 

The restaurant booth is kinda just filler think, but he's relating the experiance of realising for the first time that 'justice' is 'sable' (usually meaning dark.) Furhtermore, we're given the facts, we all know it's bullshit, but we don't care. It keeps us happy and consuming and ignorance is bliss.

 

Here's the important part:

 

Love ain't somethin I remember, trust ain't somethin I afford no one, lately I remember to forget Can't get shot in the back, if you don't run.

 

Here's where it becomes largely self interpretive, and here's my stance on it: The "love ain't something I remember , trust ain't somethin I afford no one" speaks of a past conflict. A time when someone was hurt by something, and they've kind of lost faith in others. "Can't get shot in the back if you don't run", to me, means that everything negative that happens to you is the result of something you did. If you weren't a coward, if you didn't run, you wouldn't have been shot in the back. Maybe if you weren't an ass in your relationship, you'd still have your woman, and still remember love, and still be able to afford trust to people. You would never be betrayed unless there is a reason for betrayal, correct?

 

This is prefaced by "lately I remember to forget", which shows how painful this thought really is, to think that we are the cause of every betrayal and hardship we have to endure. And so lately he's forgotten and gone with the "big bad world" view, instead of taking self responsibility, as most of us do.

 

The second verse is pretty much a re hash of the first, with him saying that his "fate lies with someone" other than himself, which is untrue as stated by the chorus, but this is a dissillusioned song about regret, as far as I see it, so the bitter sarcasm is perfectly welcome. The character has forgotten that he can't get shot in the back if he doesn't run, and so his fate lies with someone else, and there's with him.

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Prometheon

Prometheon

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Posted

Heh, I can't tell if that's sarcasm or not, but I'll say 'thanks' anyway.

 

Oh and there's a few typos/mistakes but for some reason I can't edit them, so just ignore em`. A key thing I loeft out near the bottom is that he's CHOSEN to forget. He doesn't want to remember, as it goes against the fundamental way people think about themselves and their conflicts. In a way it kind of reminds me of a book called "Illusions" by Richard Bach, if anyone's read that.

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squall17

squall17

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Posted
Heh, I can't tell if that's sarcasm or not, but I'll say 'thanks' anyway.

 

Oh and there's a few typos/mistakes but for some reason I can't edit them, so just ignore em`. A key thing I loeft out near the bottom is that he's CHOSEN to forget. He doesn't want to remember, as it goes against the fundamental way people think about themselves and their conflicts. In a way it kind of reminds me of a book called "Illusions" by Richard Bach, if anyone's read that.

no sarcasm at all, your interpretation rocked

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Eterna1

Eterna1

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Posted (edited)

I like your interpretation prometheon, but I dissagree with the part "Can't get shot in the back if you don't run" section.

 

 

I think its leaning more along the lines of if you accept your fate, and take whats given to you, it wont be a surprise if you get fucked over. Running is trying to get away (false hope), and getting shot in the back is generally unexpected. If you just stand there, infront of the guy with the gun, expecting to die, you wont unexpectedly get shot, since you knew it was coming.

 

Its basically saying to be ready for the worst to happen, or bluntly, pessimistic.

 

Edit: I lost all my NF dollars when I bought the live Blue Skies and tried to download it. My computer froze and I never got to see it. =(

Edited by Eterna1
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Prometheon

Prometheon

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Posted
I like your interpretation prometheon, but I dissagree with the part "Can't get shot in the back if you don't run" section.

 

 

I think its leaning more along the lines of if you accept your fate, and take whats given to you, it wont be a surprise if you get fucked over. Running is trying to get away (false hope), and getting shot in the back is generally unexpected. If you just stand there, infront of the guy with the gun, expecting to die, you wont unexpectedly get shot, since you knew it was coming.

 

Its basically saying to be ready for the worst to happen, or bluntly, pessimistic.

 

Edit: I lost all my NF dollars when I bought the live Blue Skies and tried to download it. My computer froze and I never got to see it. =(

Hmmm, I like this interpretation as well, and I think that message comes accross a lot strogner in the low quality B-Side recording of the song, but if you listen to the right live versions, when he's singing the final chorus, the energy he puts into it makes it seem unlikely that he's talking about lying down and accepting your fate. I still feel ike he's trying to send a message. To stop 'running' if you want to avoid the pain of getting shot in the back. It's all choices.

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Shiri

Shiri

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I like your interpretation prometheon, but I dissagree with the part "Can't get shot in the back if you don't run" section.

 

 

I think its leaning more along the lines of if you accept your fate, and take whats given to you, it wont be a surprise if you get fucked over. Running is trying to get away (false hope), and getting shot in the back is generally unexpected. If you just stand there, infront of the guy with the gun, expecting to die, you wont unexpectedly get shot, since you knew it was coming.

 

Its basically saying to be ready for the worst to happen, or bluntly, pessimistic.

 

Edit: I lost all my NF dollars when I bought the live Blue Skies and tried to download it. My computer froze and I never got to see it. =(

Hmmm, I like this interpretation as well, and I think that message comes accross a lot strogner in the low quality B-Side recording of the song, but if you listen to the right live versions, when he's singing the final chorus, the energy he puts into it makes it seem unlikely that he's talking about lying down and accepting your fate. I still feel ike he's trying to send a message. To stop 'running' if you want to avoid the pain of getting shot in the back. It's all choices.

Somehow, I agree with both of you, perhaps it doesn't make sense but I really do.

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beautiful_midnight

beautiful_midnight

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Posted

Great analysis. This really is a beautiful song, definitely one of my favourites. One great thing about Matt's music (there are so many) is that his lyrics can be very emotional, yet quite vague at the same time, giving each listener a chance to interpret it, and take what they want from it. There is no one direct approach to each song, so one song can mean something to one person, and mean something entirely different, yet equally important, to another. It's very personal.

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