Well you've got the perfect disguise and you're looking okay
From the bottom of the best to the worst well what can I say
Cause you cocked your head to shoot me down
And I don't give a damn about you or this town no more
No, but I know the score
Need me to fall down so you can climb up
Some fool-ass ladder. Well, good luck.

I hope, hope there's something better up there
Cause you cocked your head to shoot me down
And I don't give a damn about you or this town no more
No, cause I know the score
Broke my back



Lyrics submitted by PLANES

Track duration: 02:32

"Perfect Disguise" as written by Isaac Brock, Eric Judy, Jeremiah Green

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Perfect Disguise song meanings
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52 Comments

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  • +2
    General Comment:i think this may be more about someone who uses you to get what they want and when you read through the lies and catch them, they leave you. "need me to fall down some fool-ass ladder, well goodluck i hope there's something better out there" is what the person wants him to do. could be getting used by a girlfriend trying to make her life better while she doesn't do anything for him and isn't appreciative at all and when he stops doing what he's doing, she leaves him. it sounds something like that but could be for anyone not just a relationship. you see the person though finally for all of their lies and you start to hate everyone and everything for letting you believe their lives: "and i don't give a damn about you or this town no more" this person is obviously being used by everyone around him or feels like he's being used. he doesn't want to talk to anyone, doesn't trust anyone, and believes everyone has a "perfect disguise" and that they're not actually who they say they are. It takes a while to catch on to these disguises but after you realize you wish them luck with the rest of their lives as a way to tell them to go fuck theirselves and just pick up, leave town, leave the girl or whoever, and start out new...you've given up on them and that's fucking that. that's what this song means to me.
    Flag x32543on November 06, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Songs are meant to be interpreted for personal reasons. Any song can mean anything to anyone. To me, this song is about realizing that someone was using you all along, and they finally totally fucked you over, so you leave them behind. I think this because I relate to it, and it hapened to me.

    "Need me to fall down so you can climb up
    Some fool as a ladder, well good luck
    I hope,
    I hope there's something better up there."

    She wanted more, so she cheated on me, then left me. Used me then moved on. Good luck; I hope there's something better up there.
    Flag lunchboxturtleon January 21, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i dont care what anyone else said about this song. the meaning is so simple to me. The song is called perfect disguise because whoever he is singing about fooled him. whether its a girl he liked or a person he trusted, the person presented themselves as a person he could trust (perfect disguise) but later turned out to be someone with no integrity. after he realized that he couldnt trust this person he realized the person presented themselves with a perfect disguise. I can relate to this through a girl i just splitted from that i now realize is all about first impressions but i can understand how it could be about anyone who knows what the best personality to present themselves in to a specific person but really is a devious person at heart. integrity is very important to value. If you dont have integrity then who are you really. a person with perfect disguise. and the song should be longer but would it really accomplish anything more than it already has? this song is beautiful.
    Flag shlobodonon December 03, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song should be longer.
    Flag girlfriendincomaon July 08, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The first time MM played this song live was at their first Seattle show after the rape accusation. Brock said at the end of the show, "Thanks a lot to our friends for coming out tonight, and uh... everyone else...". He probably didn't mean it like it sounds, he was prolly just giving his friends a special mention as opposed to fans but, in lieu of the recent events, it's fitting.

    And yes, I think this song is about the girl who accused him. Although I'd say most of the other songs on M&A aren't.
    Flag thirsty_thursdayon November 18, 2009   Link
  • -1
    General Comment:it's fool as a ladder, not fool-ass ladder.
    Flag sheionizeson November 02, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i think anyone who was rejected can relate to this song..well..at least thats whati think this song was about
    Flag Nightonthesun09on September 26, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:When Modest Mouse was a small band Isaac Brock was accused of date rape. At the time he was crucified by the Seattle music press and no clubs would book the band which led to Modest Mouse temporarily breaking up and Isaac Brock moving from Seattle. That's what this song is about.

    Flag Ckreisheron August 25, 2009   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:It would be a bit boring if he were just singing the plain old facts so I think it's poetically generalizable to other human situations/emotions/etc., but I think pretty much every line in here fits very well with the rape allegation situation. The business stuff doesn't really have much traction at all, for me.

    I was still living in Seattle at the time and there was this uproar where the community really turned against Isaac. He actually said he wouldn't have believed him either, had it been someone else who was accused. And he ran away to Florida for a bit after that, then later ended up living in Oregon. He was done with the town and the scene after that incident. Makes sense to me.
    Flag NelsCourageon April 11, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I've listened to this album for about 4 years and as time passes I find new ways to relate to each song. A lot has been happening in my life and everything seems to be changeing around me. This is where I extract my opinion to these lyrics.

    This a situation where a a person has let somebody into their life and got very close to them. Now out of the blue the other person has comletely turned heel. Whatever purpose the person had served them has obviously ran out and with the same measure of tact they used to trick them into thinking they can be trusted they've erased the individual from their life. I draw this conclusion from the lyrics " You cocked your head to shoot me down" As when a person shoots a firearm from a distance they tend to cock their head to take aim through the sights and get a more accurate shot. The lyrics implicate the person has opened their eyes and can almost see everything for what it is now. Regardless they hope the best for this person despite obvious feelings of contempt. They just want the other person to be happy. They can't help but leak the fact their just a little bit spiteful though because they know this person is lieing to themselves just to push them further away. By the end of the song he's been bruised severly and just wants to stop caring about it. It's as if no matter how much you know a person they can change their entire personalty in the blink of an eye and the person being betrayed feels like the only genuine human being left on the entire planet and it's brought them to their knees.


    -The Young Legend
    Flag EcayceIVon February 16, 2009   Link

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