Smoke and mirrors and everything nice
I wasn't married to the weekend, I was banging’ on the back end
Kamikaze and Miami Vice
She shook a few of my favorite things
Like cloak and dagger, see Seabury Quinn
I couldn't keep it all together, I was spooking in the end zone
Arigatou, go-go gadget arms
She only took me for 10,000 yen

It’s like a bad dream, something from the back of a magazine
Black and white and cheaply put together
Like a slasher film
I’m torn in opposite directions
The plot sucks but the killings are gorgeous

God damn these killings are gorgeous

Darkened corners at every bend
I wasn't sucking down the poison; I was working on the QT
Shaky shaky, all over the world, she tried a cartwheel at every turn
The creepy crawlies, a case of revenge,
I had the martyrs that I bartered from the barons for the bandoleers
Karaoke, a feminine flaw, I had a feeling this was not the end

It’s like a bad dream, something from the back of a magazine
Black and white and cheaply put together
Like a slasher film
I’m torn in opposite directions
The plot sucks but the killings are gorgeous

And like a nightmare, covering the tracks that had brought you there
Paranoid and frozen in the heavens
Like a slasher film
I’m torn in opposite directions
The plot sucks but the killings are gorgeous

Cave in, cave out
Nothing but nervous doubt
Waiting for the big bang to get me
Waiting for the big bang to get me
Waiting for the big bang

Wrapped in plastic, we all get the ends
She had to take it to the majors couldn't keep it on the down low
Silly rabbit, good grief, también
Another stiff at the scene of the crime

It’s like a bad dream, something from the back of a magazine
Black and white and cheaply put together
Like a slasher film
I’m torn in opposite directions
The plot sucks but the killings are gorgeous

And like a nightmare, covering the tracks that had brought you there
Paranoid and frozen in the heavens
Like a slasher film
I’m torn in opposite directions
The plot sucks but the killings are gorgeous

God damn these killings are gorgeous



Lyrics submitted by littleodie914, edited by relaxzen1, edphlash

Track duration: 03:53


Pulp Fiction song meanings
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29 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:It's "I'm torn in opposite directions," not "Torn in opposite directions."
    Flag relaxzen1on December 01, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Oh -- and go-go gadget arm refers to the asian chick giving a good handjob.
    Flag JackFrostZZZon February 27, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I agree wholeheartedly with the relationship angle, but I think the pop culture talk indicates that the singer is a stereotypical Hollywood studio exec discussing his impending break-up in empty studio-speak.

    Nearly all of the pop culture references are either movies or tv shows, and a lot of the terms ("what was I banking at the back end" "keep it on the down low") sound like generic studio-talk. So I basically see the singer as a studio exce who's every conversation and thought is couched in terms of how to sell his latest project, and he even talks about his deeply-personal break-up as if it's a write-up in Variety.

    On the plus side, it also gives him perspective to objectively appreciate it: I take "the plot sucks but the killings are gorgeous" to mean "it sucks that this is happening to me, but from the outside, this would make a great scene."
    Flag JackFrostZZZon February 27, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I got to ask at the Q&A session at the 4 albums 2 nights in San Francisco. Justin said it was about following someone, with attempts to save them and continuously failing but they put it to the style of a pulp novel.
    Flag ibleachtheskyon August 28, 2011   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:okay the whole "Like Coke n' egger" is cloak and dagger like the comics including seabury qiunn who is if im correct was an American pulp magazine author it all makes sense!
    Flag AaronMartionon January 27, 2011   Link
  • 0
    Lyric Correction:If there's a booklet with the CD then obviously I'm wrong, but otherwise I'm fairly certain the line is:
    "Silly Rabbit, good dream, tambien."

    Like many of the other references in the song, it is a reference to a movie. In this case, Donnie Darko, where in the main character sees a man in a rabbit mask a lot. It's a complicated film, but is also is themed by the song 'Mad World' which has the lyric:
    "The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had."

    With the way the rest of the song goes, I think it makes sense and adds a whole lot of depth to an already greatly layered song. Regardless of the exact line, I love the song.
    Flag jlieuranon December 30, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Okay... My friend and I drove 15 hours to see motion city soundtrack a few months ago, and the whole way we listened to mdl. And when I listened to this song (my interpretation is pretty random...) I got from it that he cheated on his girlfriend with an asian woman, (probably a prostitute, since she took him for ten thousand yen...) and the girl played into his fantasy with all his pop culture references, and such. And then the girl went around telling everyone that she slept with Justin Pierre (she had to take it to the majors, couldn't keep it on the down low) And now he is just waiting for his g/f to hear the news (waiting for the big bang to get me..) And he's torn in opposite directions, and is hoping its all a bad dream!

    lol i know this is probably way off, but I like the idea, and I was extremely tired while coming up with this theory...
    Flag kerehackeron May 26, 2010   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion:Okay. There's the booklet. Why is it still with '?'? f#ck.
    Flag ElrondPunkon May 04, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I hate to be one of those guys that tries to relate every single song on earth to relationships, but I think this song was written about some troubled relationship, only, the story of this relationship-gone-bad is told by referencing as many pieces of pop culture possible. I get a vibe that he was fucked over in a relationship, every reference to the female is a negative reference.

    When it comes to the chorus, and this is my completely subjective take on the lyrics, but when I read "the plot sucks but the killings are gorgeous", I can't help but be reminded of all the failed relationships I've been in, and how all of their plots sucked, but when they ended, the killings, it was always some amazing, horrible happening, where I would experience all of these emotions that typically lay dormant in me. Those moments suck, but they really make you FEEL, thus, they're gorgeous moments.

    This song seems to be about a girl that came into his life, really flipped him upside down, seemed to be everything he was looking for, then it became apparent that it was probably too good to be true, and it sucked.
    Flag citizen dildoon April 09, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Pulp*************************************
    Flag smonkey89on April 02, 2010   Link

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