I can't get them up
I can't get them up
I can't get them up At all
Hey ho let go

Good morning killer king you're a star
That's gorgeous hold it right where you are
The weathers kinda lousy today
So what oh what oh what'll we play'

Stratocaster strapped to your back
It's semi-automatic like dads
He taught you how to pause and reset
But that's about as far as you get

So what's the use of going outside'
It's so depressing when people die in real life
I'd rather pick up right where we left
Making out to faces of death
Making out to faces of death

And I could save you baby But it isn't worth my time
And I could make you chase me for a little price is right

It's a hit but are you actually sure'
The targets in the crowd are a blur
People screaming just like they should
But you don't even know if you're good
You don't even know if you're good

So tie them up and feed them the sand
Ha! nigga! try hard to tell us using your hands
A pictures worth a million words
And that way nobody gets hurt
And that way nobody gets hurt

And I could save you baby but it isn't worth my time
And I could make you chase me for a little price is right

Woo-ah-oo
Woo-ooh-ah-oo
Woo-ah 'ooh ah ohh ah oo

You're my guitar hero
You're my guitar hero
You're my guitar hero
You're my guitar hero

X marks the box in the hole in the ground that goes off at a breath
So careful don't make a sound
X marks the box in the hole in your head that you dug for yourself
Now lie in it

Shut up about all of that negative shit
You wanted to make it and now that you're in
You shut your eyes and flip the cassette
And that's about the time that they hit
And that's about the time that they hit

What the fuck is up with this shit'
It's certainly not worth getting upset
His hands are gone and most of his head
And just when he was getting so good
Just when he was getting so good

And I could save you baby but it isn't worth my time
'Cause even if I saved you there's a million more in line

Woo-ah-oo
Woo-ooh-ah-oo
Woo-ah 'ooh ah ohh ah oo
You're my guitar hero
You're my guitar hero
You're my guitar hero
You're my guitar hero



Lyrics submitted by iggy1110

Track duration: 04:47

"Guitar Hero" as written by Amanda Palmer

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Guitar Hero song meanings
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45 Comments

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  • 0
    Song Meaning:I'm in love with this song and though I don't think it's the only theme, a large part of the meaning behind these lyrics in my opinion is war and soldiers.

    I had the idea briefly just from hearing the song but if I remember correctly on Amanda's website, each individual song lyric page had a picture and the picture for this song was a news paper clipping about how the US soldiers in Iraq have been given a game console with the game "Guitar Hero" for blowing off steam.

    I see it as a metaphor, with the guitar being a gun (which I know is obvious, or at least I hope it is). For instance "Stratocaster strapped to your back, It's a semi-automatic like dad's, He taught you how to pause and reset, But that's about as far as you got" is quite plainly father teaching his child the basics of how to shoot.

    "So what's the use of going outside', It's so depressing when people die in real life" is a juxtaposition of real life at war compared to video games.

    My favorite line, which holds such truth in my opinion: "And I could save you baby but it isn't worth my time, 'Cause even if I saved you there's a million more in line" even if one soldier were saved, there is an almost endless number waiting to take their place.

    "It's a hit but are you actually sure? The targets in the crowd are a blur, people screaming just like they should, but you don't even know if you're good" is another juxtoposition of Guitar Hero style playing to a live audience and a fire fight during war.

    I could quite easily go on, but I've made my point. I don't really see any comment on violence and video games as others seem to, the obvious themes of both Amanda's music and her career quite plainly show that she is not the type of person to jump on the "video games are evil and the cause of all shootings" band wagon.
    Flag Lycoon February 17, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I heard that this song was basically a parody of the Moral Guardians who think music leads to school shootings.
    Flag Crane42on August 25, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:To me, the song is a warning about idealizing/romanticizing people, situations and/or things too much, whether it's soldiers or celebrities (or video games/songs/movies/etc. about them) or just someone you find attractive. It's also a comment on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, school shootings, relationships, the music business, and just celebrity culture in general. The thing with games like Guitar Hero and Call of Duty are that they are *based* in reality, but they *aren't* reality. The saying "The truth is stranger than fiction" definitely applies here.
    Flag jamie leeon April 25, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I think this song is about a person who is obsesed with video games. He joins the army because he enjoys the games so much then finds it dificult to adapt to it in real life.
    "how are you going to turn this thing off
    this isn't at all like the ones back at home"

    In the end I think this person gets killed:
    "his hands are gone and most of his head
    and just when he was getting so good"

    Flag Leonoreon May 15, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Whenever I hear this song I think of my ex boyfriend. We would go upstairs and play video games (usually guitar hero) but would end up doing other things... eventually "guitar hero" became an inside joke among me and my friends.

    "so whats the use of going outside
    its so depressing when people die in real life
    i'd rather pick up right where we left
    makin' out to faces of death"

    this sounds like a girlfriend wanting to go watch her boyfriend play video games and do stuff, but knowing Amanda Palmer's style it probably is alegorical.
    Flag ZzzzzzzirpAon November 03, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:It seems to me that this song attempts to over dramatize the effect and purposes of playing video games. It also seems to be written by "someone" who obviously is not very familiar with games outside of common knowledge (like pause, reset, what Guitar Hero is, etc). You might even say they don't "get" games. Maybe the song is trying to say that games are pointless and desensitizing, but surely it can't be saying they're dangerous, because the half a million Modern Warfare 2 players haven't gone out and killed any body yet, and there isn't any reliable research showing successful attempts by the armed forces to turn soldiers into killing machines using video games.

    If anything, I would like to think this song is about an emotionally disturbed individual who fills a void in their heart by playing violent video games, then decides it might be interesting to join the army and try it for real (shut up about all of that negative shit/you wanted to make it and now that you're in/you're obviously not gonna die/so why not take your chances and try). At one point before that it almost seems to defend games by suggesting they are harmless outlets (try to tell us using your hands/a picture's worth a million words/and that way nobody gets hurt), but then again this could just be a vague attempt at sarcasm.

    And one last thing, if the song wasn't called Guitar Hero and didn't "pause and reset", it would be difficult to find any clear references to video games without taking shots in the dark; with that in mind, I think whatever point the song is supposed to make (and it obviously is trying to make SOME point), it only uses the topic of video games as a springboard to a more important topic.
    Flag tonyjones17on June 20, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:So maybe it's just my gutter mind but when I heard . . .

    "what the fuck is up with this shit
    it's certainly not worth getting upset
    his hands are gone and most of his head
    and just when he was getting so good"

    I thought of them having an intimate moment and she said something about his game addiction, which pissed him off?
    Flag kemkinson January 24, 2010   Link
  • 0
    Memory:I saw her perform at CoachellaFest. She wrote the song while on tour with another band. After the guys played a show, they'd go back to their tourbus and play video games like Guitar Hero to unwind. She said she thought that was "pretty fucked up" and wrote this song to make fun of them, or something like that.
    Flag scarymaryon October 25, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:When i hear this song, or the song strength thtough music, it reminds me of a school shooting. Also, the videos show some sort of tragedy happening at a school. This song is going on about how life isnt like the games he plays, and that its not turning out like it does in there. He cant "pause and reset". so he finds his dads gun. And shoots up his school.
    Flag Winky21on September 27, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:When i hear this song, or the song strength thtough music, it reminds me of a school shooting. Also, the videos show some sort of tragedy happening at a school. This song is going on about how life isnt like the games he plays, and that its not turning out like it does in there. He cant "pause and reset". so he finds his dads gun. And shoots up his school.
    Flag Winky21on September 27, 2009   Link

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