Hey Jackboot
Fuck your war
Cause I'm fat and in love
And no bombs are falling on me for sure
But I'm scared to death
That I'm living a life not worth dying for

And your plow shear
It's a sword
And its wide arcing swing chops the heads off of many things
Mono crops... Laughter roars
Oh high hilarity
Oh muck bury me
Oh standard bearer carry me burning home from another tour

Go ahead put your red dress on
Days of white robes have come and gone
Come and gone
Oh you rivers, oh you waters run
Come bear witness to the whore of Babylon

"Hey Slave" They called
And we caved
We answered
To a new name
Shout it loud shout it lame
But black face it
You're such a good dancer
Oh you're a star
You're carnival
Jacaranda petals fall
Mix with the blood of the saints
Shot down in the square
Don't track it in on the soles of your shoes
When you're dragged into the back of this car

Go ahead put your red dress on
Days of white robes have come and gone
Come and gone
Oh you rivers, oh you waters run
Come bear witness to the Whore of Babylon

It's a trap
That much is plain
Still,maybe send snapshots
Of all your sweet pain
Playing tortuous games
It goes: Lense, light, fame
Read my names on your lips
When the man cracks the whip
And you'll all shake your hips
And you'll all dance to this
Without making a fist
And I know that it sounds mundane
But it's a stone cold shame
How they got you tame
And they got me tame.

So go ahead put your red dress on
Days of white robes come and gone
Come and gone
Oh you rivers, oh you waters run
Come bear witness to the Whore of Babylon



Lyrics submitted by fistfuloflove

Track duration: 04:25

"Red Dress" as written by Jaleel Bunton Kyp Malone

Lyrics © CHRYSALIS MUSIC GROUP

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Red Dress song meanings
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12 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:I think it's an allusion to people selling out their spirituality for material gain. The Whore of Babylon is spoken of in Revelation as being clothed in scarlet (hence, red dress). A lot of the lyrics seem to talk about how we're slaves to the things we own, with heavy allusion to fame as a type of slavery.

    So yeah, giving up your soul (The time of the white robes is gone) for the 'red dress' of fame, fortune and power.
    Flag LograyXon January 23, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The song is talking about the women being enslaved and "tamed" making reference to our society in general, saying that we are allowing ourselves to be controlled, and are not taking a stand to fight for what we believe in. I think the "Red dress" and "days of white robes have come and gone" was reffering the whore not being "pure" anymore, since white represents innocence and purity. This is basically saying we have done something in the past to stand up for what we believed in, but now those days have passed.
    Flag indiecrazze87on June 24, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The significance of the Red Dress is that is symbolizes our indifference to the face of our oppressors. In the past they had to hide their identities with white robes and hoods, but now our general apathy has allowed them strut around in a red dress without any fear of exposure. Pretty scary when you think about it. Also the imagery of a "red dress" definitely points to our choice of consumerism as our new master, ie: e channel, red carpet obsessions, tabloid gossip as our elected distraction from the real truth.
    Flag misterbrownon January 22, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song rocks my face off. Best antiwar song I've heard...possibly ever? It's up there, no question.

    The only thing I have to add is that the song is yelling at us for being so passive. Compare the war in Iraq (or Afghanistan, for that matter) to Vietnam, and you see that they're pretty much the same: we're in a far off country we have no business being in, fighting a war we can't win, chasing after invisible boogie monsters (Communism/Terrorism). But unlike Vietnam, when the people spoke up, protested, rioted, or did SOMETHING, people now are not. "'Hey Slave,' They called, and we caved, and we answered."--yeah. The narrator doesn't like it, and is about as angry at himself as everyone else: "Cause I'm fat and in love, and no bombs are falling on me for sure. But I'm scared to death that I'm living a life not worth dying for.//It's a trap, that much is plain."--he's not doing anything, he sees the trap that he and all of us are falling in, he doesn't like the prospect, but he's not doing anything about it, and neither are we. "And I know that it sounds mundane"--you've heard this all before, and it sounds like nagging, or so he thinks, and feels that this whole song is futile--"But it's a stone cold shame, how they've got you tame and they've got me tame."

    Awesome. \m/

    PS I like the bitter and sarcastic jab at narcissistic facebook/myspace/other social networking sites: "But send snapshots of all your sweet pain." Ouch.
    Flag GraceMaybeon December 17, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"White Robes" is a reference to the KKK I think. As in, the days of that crude sort of overt racism are gone, but although everyone's really politically correct now, maybe not that much has really changed?
    Flag sper12on November 13, 2009   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation:The "Whore of Babylon" is from Revelations in the Bible, and may be the key to this song. There are obvious allusions to slavery and past oppression in the song, but now the days of “white robes” have come and gone. However those that were enslaved (and really everyon) are still in the chains of materialism and fame. One interpretation of the “whore of Babylon” from the Bible is that she represents materialism and greed.

    I think he is being sarcastic about many people who claim to be anti-war. The person saying “f*** your war” followed by “I’m fat and in love” obviously just wants to be left alone. They don’t have any real political opinion about it. They are enslaved by the convenience of modern life. We can all be fat and happy and don’t have to worry about thousands of people dying elsewhere in the world.
    Flag clovuson May 13, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:
    The song references slavery and lack of respect for black people, but to me that's a metaphore for how people in general let society and government tame and enslave them. Not with literal chains or whips, but by caving and taking the easy path. "Hey slave they called and we caved, we answered to the new name." For our personal feeling of safety and perhaps a few compliments, "You're such a good dancer", we sacrifice our beliefs and integrity, "and you'll all dance to this without making a fist". I'd say the red dress could refer to war as an example of what we support and don't resist that compromises our integrity. "Fuck your war cause I'm fat and in love and no bombs are falling on me for sure. But I'm scared to death that I'm living a life not worth dying for."

    I am curious about the "Whore of Babylon". Babylon is now located in Iraq, so perhaps we are whoring Babylon?

    I'm also curious about the Jacaranda petals. Perhaps it is simply for the stunning visual of the light purple petals mixing with blood, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was more.
    Flag dkizzleon April 27, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Is it actually Jackboot? I keep hearing "jackal."
    Flag zephidon March 10, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Seems like an anti-war song to me.
    Flag zephidon March 10, 2009   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:Does anybody have an idea of what the Jacaranda trees reference is about? I'm really curious about that, and have not been able to figure it out.
    Flag falkieon March 08, 2009   Link

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