Pumped Up Kicks

I think the Von Maur shooting was a kid named robby, and the people that shop there are rich kids with pumped up kicks.

Wow! I think that you certainly nailed it! What you said makes perfect sense. I'd like to know more -- for example, is this based on certain true events?

I think you're right. I think the part about the first verse "and I don't even know what" isn't really meaningful--to me, it just sounds like the narrator's trying to say "I don't even know what [you should do], but he's coming for you." I don't necessarily think the song is non-fiction, so I would guess the name is just a name chosen for the character. <br /> <br /> I do think the second verse goes a little bit more into the abusive father, though; I think "I've been waiting a long time" is definitely about revenge; he's been beaten his whole life and he's finally getting even. "It's packed on ice" is referring to the ice pack he's going to have to put on his face after his dad hits him. I'm not really sure about "your hair's on fire"--I like the idea that it's about the cigarette, and he's just a little nuts.<br /> <br /> I think the song is from the perspective of an outsider first and then from the character's perspective; I don't think it's the character putting himself in the third person...

I totally believe this song is about shooting up classmates, but I think the part about "Dinner is packed on ice" means that his father's "Dinner" is most likely a case of beer, packed in ice to stay nice and chilly fresh. The rest of your interpretation I agree with dude!

I think the line "I don't even know what" is just referring to the box of things he's found. Like, it's a box of fun things and I don't even know what, as in a lot of random stuff.

The line "and i dont even know what" might be trying to convey that the kid sees a box of his dads "fun things", like maybe drugs or condoms or other sexual things and of course the gun. The kid is too young to know what the other stuff is used for but he does recognize what the gun is used for, killing. The cowboy thing is just the kid thinking is needs to bring justice to his situation. His going to right all the wrongs in his life just like in cowboy movie, with a shootout. This leads me to think the kid around 10, before puberty.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnenden_school_shooting

subzerodeluxe, that incident has nothing to do with a boy named Robert.

Agree lyricaljoy.... For me the box is Pandora's Box and the whatever is the not actually drugs or tactile things but the actions attached to the gun.

I agree you're pretty spot on. It's weird because I went to a school where this was a real problem but this song kind of makes it easier to deal with because it gives you both views; not just the victims families but the families of the shooters. I know to those who dealt with this kind of situation this song can be very upsetting but at the same time I appreciate it.

I agree you're pretty spot on. It's weird because I went to a school where this was a real problem but this song kind of makes it easier to deal with because it gives you both views; not just the victims families but the families of the shooters. I know to those who dealt with this kind of situation this song can be very upsetting but at the same time I appreciate it.

I don't agree. Totally about child abuse. =(

this song is about the Von Maur shooting. That woul d explain the use of the name Robert because the shooter's name was Robert Hawkings

bmullen728 is spot on. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_A._Hawkins

This kid is definitely disturbed and plotting revenge, imagining himself as a cowboy, I think we all mostly agree. Cowboys not only tote six-shooters, they roll their own cigarettes, whistle, and wear dusters (not mentioned in the song, but now inseperable from teenage outcasts).<br /> <br /> I don't think the cigarette is a joint; in this day and age they would probably just come out and say so.<br /> <br /> Could be Robert's Dad abuses him, or just doesn't notice or care that his son is being victimized, so is just as bad. This kid could be mentally ill with no one taking the time to notice, could simply be a social outcast for one of the meaningless reasons kids torment each other. Schizophrenia would cause someone to be paranoid and plot revenge against anyone for something real or imagined, it causes hallucinations and talking to oneself, and high school would be a typical time for it to first turn up.<br /> <br /> I think the dinner packed in ice is a very clever reference to revenge, a dish best served cold!<br /> <br /> I like this song because it provides some food for thought and some food for groovin'!

i believe that the part "And say your hair's on fire, You must have lost your wits" means that his hot headedness took away from his reasoning at the moment. however not sure about who he's talking about. it could be his father, or him.

also, i think he's a "cowboy kid" just refers to the fact that he smokes Malboro Red Cigarrettes. Malboro Man was a cowboy. and the part where he's reasoning with his cigarrette was just him trying to maybe talk some sense into himself or understand what he's about to do and his "hair's on fire" as he becomes hot headed and lose his "wits" or the ability to be understanding

I think your interpretation is right, but "pumped up kicks" haven't really been popular for like 15 years :/

Robert Duvall was Hollywood's last great cowboy.<br /> <br /> "The Guinness Book of World Records once named Robert Duvall the most versatile actor in the world: He's worked in every genre, in masterpieces ranging from To Kill A Mockingbird to The Godfather. But the Academy Award-winner's most indelible contribution is to the Western. Early in his career, he appeared on TV series Shane and Cimarron Strip and during his nearly five decades onscreen, he's returned to those cowboy parts time and again."<br /> <br /> blogs.amctv.com/photo-galleries/robert-duvall-photos/introduction.php

wireupdate.com/wires/13873/assistant-principle-dies-in-omaha-ne-high-school-shooting/ <br /> this is the sifnifagence of robert<br />

I think, not only is the second verse saying his dad is abusive (which is the "surprise" he has for the kid) but the verse "Yeah, the slight of my hand is now a quick pull trigger I reason with my cigarette" is him waiting with his gun to turn it around on him and kill him. One of the Columbine shooters killed his parents, I believe (or one of those crazy school shooters did) before he went to school and started killing other kids. Very intuitive of you to pick up on all this- I believe you're even right about the cigarette referring to his conscience or to his self-reflection (the thing everyone tends to do when they smoke). I got the same exact interpretation from it the first time I heard the song. <br />

Oh wait, my bad. LOL! You did pick up on the possibility that he might be planning to shoot his dad. I have this terrible habit of not being able to finish reading the very last bit of someone else's post, before I get so excited I have to reply. D'oh! I do the same thing with $5 dollar footlongs from Subway. Can never quite finish the last little bit.

Awesome song, so disturbing in such a subtle way and <br /> <br /> lyrical your interpretation is chilling

Yeah, specifically I think it's about the Westroads Mall shooting rampage by Robert Hawkins in Omaha Nebraska, December 5, 2007

I don't know if someone already did this or not and if so, I sincerely apologize. I don't have time to read ALL the posts but lyricaljoy you were rt on the money. <br /> <br /> " What is 'Pumped Up Kicks' about?<br /> <br /> 'Pumped Up Kicks' is about a kid that basically is losing his mind and is plotting revenge. He's an outcast. I feel like the youth in our culture are becoming more and more isolated. It's kind of an epidemic. Instead of writing about victims and some tragedy, I wanted to get into the killer's mind, like Truman Capote did in 'In Cold Blood.' I love to write about characters. That's my style. I really like to get inside the heads of other people and try to walk in their shoes."<br /> <br /> <br /> this website has an interview with the band...spinner.com/2011/03/04/foster-the-people-sxsw-top-100/

I think you're right, lyricaljoy! <br /> I also think that "Robert" is the name of the kid, and he starts off by telling the story in a kind of third-person view.

its Robert Butler who got a gun from his dads closet who is a police chief and took it to school. not the westroad mall rampage

Well.I thought it was a light-hearted song,with no meaning to bad things what so ever.Now. I don't like this song that much anymore.I didn't know much of the words,hence why I'm here.I had thought about singing it for a community thing.i'm pretty sure that I won't now.I most likely won't listen to it again.I thought it was just one of those kind of weird songs.But it reminds me of an 80's song called "i don't like mondays" Which is about a girl who went on a killing spree at her school when asked why she said she didn't like mondays,this made it more exciting. In case you didn't guess,she was killing on a monday.

I've changed my mind.It's too good of a song to not listen to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Daddy works a long day<br /> He be coming home late, yeah, he's coming home late<br /> And he's bringing me a surprise<br /> Because dinner's in the kitchen and it's packed in ice<br /> I've waited for a long time<br /> <br /> Maybe Dad's not there....and maybe was never there.<br /> <br /> It shows how some kids without good, strong parenting and being brought up by TV will turn them loose. Also bullying can push people to the breaking point, in ones mind or in other ways. <br /> <br /> Great song!

when he says that his dad has box of fun things means the box has the gun<br />

when he says that his dad has box of fun things means the box has the gun<br />

oh wow... i thought he threw the cig at someone, and their hair caught fire...<br /> youre much more logical...<br /> good work, you ^-^

The name Robert definitely draws a connection between this teenage killer and Robert A. Hawkins, a 19 year old who killed nine people in a mall shooting in 2007 in Nebraska. Interesting that Foster the People uses this comparison, a mall would likely be were all the pumped up kicks come from. The allusion to a rolled cigarette hanging from his lips also draws comparisons to the on screen rebellions persona of James Dean, a similar persona with which another teenage killer, Charles Starkweather, was obsessed with. Now to tie the whole thing together for any conspiracy theorists, both of the killers I've related the song to came from Nebraska, and were some of the deadliest occasions in Nebraskan recent history, even thought they happened 50 years apart. <br /> <br /> *Refer to any of many pictures of James Dean with a hand rolled cigarette.

"Kids are just getting younger and younger and losing their minds and going on killing sprees. It really was bothering me, and I was trying to figure out why that was happening more and more. I wanted to tell that story and get inside the head of a kid going crazy," he said. "The song's about isolation, being an outcast, and seeing the world through the character's eyes. It's not about him actually physically going and doing anything, it's about his mental state. -Foster the People

I have to say, you're pretty much on the dot. The only thing is that I think you're wrong about the cowboy thing. He has a revolver, and in many old cowboy movies they have guns. Maybe 'Robert' is at a costume party with a bunch of the 'trendy popular kids'

I think the "I don't even know what" means he probably not only found his dad's gun but his stash of porn and the like. He took the gun but as for the rest of it... "I don't even know what [he did with it]"<br /> <br /> As for the the "pumped up kicks" I think it's a term for name brand clothes the ones this kid doesn't get to wear and therefore is an outcast (bullied) add to that what you said about being abused by his father, it all adds up.<br /> <br /> "he's bringing me a surprise" could mean that his dad also sexually abused him as well as beating him.<br /> <br /> "they say your hair's on fire" it could mean that his dad had a hot temper and was always angry. <br /> <br />

This song is actually about the copycat killings of a young man that went into a mall and began shooting.<br /> <br /> <br /> Being a veteran from Iraq, the irony of most situations, you find humor that most people dont find. Like the amount of bullets and the amount of kills/wounded. Most people's accuracy rate is not even 10%. Columbine was somewhere around 4% and Virginia Tech was around 6%.

and i dont know what is metatfor for the mulastation from his father, he has been waiting to kill him,reasoning with his cigertte is his other personality<br /> hopes this helps

The name of the shooter in the song is Robert, which is the name of the boy who went on a shooting spree at the Westroads in Omaha, NE.

this song is about the columbine shooting....when the two kids went around shooting at people at their school then killing themselves look up an interview it says it....

I agree with all that you said, and i think i might have an idea of who Robert is. In 1967 the movie In Cold Blood came out based on the book by Truman Capote about two murderers that brutally shoot the Clutter family of 4 over about $40. Robert Blake is the actor that played Perry Smith, and Smith was a pretty messed up guy. His father abused his mother and all the children, including him. Perry's father was an alcoholic and then so was his mother. Then when his mother died when he was just 13, he was sent to an orphanage where the nuns would abuse him for chronic bed-wetting (a common trait among serial killers). Anyway, the point is, Mark Foster really liked In Cold Blood, so I'm guessing Robert Blake is "Robert". Hope this helped, let me know your thoughts!

Does anyone remember the 1979 song from the Boomtown Rats, "I don't like Mondays"....

lyrical... Could this song be about the kid killing his Dad? It's a hard one to figure out. Cool tune though! Love it!

It seems this song has been pretty well analyzed. The one aspect I haven't seen explored is the possibility that this might have a darker edge to it than even the homicidal teen rampage. This might have a hint of 'generational' serial killer phenomena. Back in 2001, there was the father/son team of serial shooters in the Washington DC area. Darker still, is the line:<br /> <br /> "Because dinner's in the kitchen and it's packed in ice"<br /> <br /> Even if you make dinner for a neglectful parent/spouse, "packing it in ice" doesn't make much sense...unless, it is some kind of fresh meat that you don't want to spoil and start decomposing. Could be one of the victims and either Robert has discovered something very disturbing about his father (maybe some of the other "fun things" he found in the box with the gun - 'trophies' of his father's victims perhaps) - or he has now completely broken with reality his Daddy is indeed back from home and is the one packed in ice. Just sayin'<br />

The line "and I don't even know what" would be a continuation of the previous line. I take it to read, yea, his dad has a box full of fun things and other things I couldn't even name.

Sounds like you have thought it through very intricately. Not sure how right on you are. But if I rated it on a scale of 1-10 I'd give it an 11.

thanks lyricaljoy. i know understand!<br />

Is it possible that robert refers to Robert Ford... the man that killed Billy the Kid.. especially with the reference to the old style of gun

i feel like when he says "he's a cowboy kid yeah" is referring to his rolled cigarette. a cowboy is a Marlboro cigarette. thats just my opinon at leat.. he almost nicknamed robert as the "cowboy kid" and it has a double meaning because cowboys smoked marlboro cigs and also owned guns... what do you guys think??

it is a true story about a poor boy named robbert.who grow up in a broken home with a dad who beat him. he didnt kill his dad. he went to the mall and shot everyone with Nike airs, which probably means all the trendy popular kids. then he shot and left a note to his dad that said "1 day ill be famous."

You would think for a sound that sounds so upbeat and catchy it would be about somthing diffrent and not about a homicidal teenager. the way the lyrics are it sounds like its about a school shooting i think the "idon't even know what" in the song has to do with the things in the box maybe he doesn't exactly know what is in the box or in the closet.

I agree 100%

For the most part, I do believe you are spot on. Here's some of my take on it. This part..."Yeah, he found a six-shooter gun<br /> In his dad's closet hidden in a box of fun things<br /> And I don't even know what<br /> But he's coming for you, yeah, he's coming for you"<br /> He found his dads gun, in a box along with other stuff that you have fun with, but he's keeping it to himself, it's his secret. <br /> <br /> This next part I find interesting...<br /> <br /> I reason with my cigarette<br /> And say your hair's on fire<br /> You must have lost your wits, yeah<br /> <br /> I don't think it's a tobacco cigarette, but a cannabis cigarette, a.k.a joint. since the first verse speaks of a "rolled cigarette."

You definitely nailed it! Gave me chills reading your post and listening to the song. Awesome! Thanks!!

I was told by my friend who also likes this song that "dinner's packed in ice" referrs to Beer, liquior, wisky, etc. But I do not know which is right. But the rest of the meanings really helped me understand the song and I thank you for that. Good Job.(:

I completely agree with lyricaljoy. I just wanted to add that the band said in an interview that this song is spacifiacally about the Columbine shooting. It is a very good written song that keeps the tragity in our memory but I can't stand to listen to it anymore. Im live in Colorado Springs(Where Columbine High School is) And I am constinly reminded of the event and even typing this right now is leaving me shaking, when I listen to this song I start to cry. This song is a good reminder to this event.

Lyrical joy, the verse "dinner on ice" means that his hungry mans dinner is still in the freezer. Its not an actual dinner. maybe that why his dads going to beat him when he finds out.

When adolescence do things like shooting ppl, they tend to identify with other people who have done things similar to what they are about to do. I think he may be referring to Robert Steinhauser who shot and killed 16 people in Erfurt. Its called the Erfurt Massacre.

Actually this song is about Robert Hawkins of the Westroads Mall shooting in Omaha. Robert was long estranged from his parents and lived with friends. The people he chose to open fire on were mostly middle-aged people over 40's with only Maggie Web (24) remotely close to his age (19). Robert also was a loner, which the cowboy characteristics refer to (six shooter, cigarette, etc).

go to this link it will explain everything. dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1344543/Millard-South-High-School-shooting-Student-Robert-Butlers-Facebook-suicide-note.html

This song could be about the Columbine Shooting.

"and I don't even know what"<br /> <br /> I think this could have two references:<br /> I don't know what else he found when he found the gun <br /> In his Dad's closet with the gun<br /> or I could mean I don't know what kind of gun, but I know it's a six shooter.

nice job lyricaljoy, <br /> <br /> after i read your comment i looked at the lyrics again.<br /> i love these lyrics, so simple and direct. i don't think he is about to shoot yet.<br /> its all still in his mind. he is sitting at home, smoking a cigarette, he has just found his dads old gun "in a box of fun things And I don't even know what" <br /> he is innocent, young, very deeply hurt and so angry! he holds the gun in his hand and finally feels powerful, he imagines being at school the next day.<br /> <br /> 1st verse is in 3rd person and future. he sees himself in the scene:<br /> <br /> "He'll (he will) look around the room, He won't tell you his plan"<br /> <br /> this cool cowboy kid with his cigarette and his gun sees <br /> "all other kids with the pumped up kicks" running from him now! <br /> <br /> in the 2nd verse he is back at home, looking at his cigarette , talking <br /> "Daddy works a long day<br /> He be coming home late, yeah, he's coming home late<br /> And he's bringing me a surprise"<br /> <br /> he knows he is going to get beaten<br /> "Because dinner's in the kitchen and it's packed in ice"<br /> he was supposed to take the frozen dinners out and he isn't going to.<br /> <br /> he has waited for a long time for this, <br /> to stand up to his dad. now he is ready.<br /> <br /> "I reason with my cigarette<br /> And say your hair's on fire<br /> You must have lost your wits, yeah"<br /> <br /> i love this, in all innocence he projects himself onto his burning cigarette <br /> and says what he knows is true. <br /> "your hair's on fire and you must have lost your wits, yeah"<br /> <br /> for those who think this song sets a bad example kids, i disagree.<br /> this is not a song that glamorizes guns, violence or abusive behavior (as some do).<br /> this is a song about the overwhelming pain of a young boy. about what he is feeling and what he is thinking about doing. it doesn't make it seem cool to shoot up your class. it makes it look tragic. <br /> i don't think its just about a single event either. its about all of them.<br /> and its about anyone in this situation. <br /> i imagine most of us have felt overwhelmed and powerless at some point in our lives and fantasized about making it different, or covered it up very well!<br /> <br /> if anything i think this song could make someone that feels like this boy, <br /> feel less isolated by seeing that they are not alone in it. <br /> and hopefully choose a better path than some have chosen in the past.

I sat in class reading this with the biggest smile on my face. Totally changed my mind about the song. I knew the killing part but all the other details really helped. :)

How about this for the meaning of-:"And say your hair's on fire, you must have lost your wits"<br /> I think he has shot someone in the head, and you could imagine the rest.<br /> The dinner packed in ice may be that it has come from proceeds from sales of ice. or still has to be defrosted from the freezer. Would the fun things be drug apparartus or adult toys?<br /> A lovely catchy light hearted tune that ironically conveys so much tragedy in Roberts life and the events which will unfold because of his bullets being faster that the kids in the pumped up kicks...

ACTUALLY,<br /> The lyrics to "Pumped Up Kicks" are written from the perspective of a troubled and delusional youth with homicidal thoughts. The lines in the chorus warn potential victims to "outrun my gun" and that they "better run, better run, faster than my bullet". Foster said, "I was trying to get inside the head of an isolated, psychotic kid." He wrote the lyrics in order to "bring awareness" to the issue of gun violence amongst youth, which he feels is an epidemic perpetuated by "lack of family, lack of love, and isolation". The song's title refers to shoes that the narrator's peers wear as a status symbol. The issue of youth violence is a matter close to the group. Foster was bullied in high school, while bassist Cubbie Fink has a cousin who survived the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. Fink said of his cousin's experience, "She was actually in the library when everything went down, so I actually flew out to be with her the day after it happened and experienced the trauma surrounding it and saw how affected she was by it. She is as close as a sister, so obviously, it affected me deeply. So to be able to have a song to create a platform to talk about this stuff has been good for us."<br /> <br /> Contrasting with the dark lyrics of the song, the music, which was written first, is upbeat. Foster said, "It's a 'fuck you' song to the hipsters in a way–but it's a song the hipsters are going to want to dance to." Jeffery Berg of Frontier Psychiatrist said, "I was so engrossed with the cheery melody of its chorus that it took me a few listens to discover that the lyrics suggest dark, Columbine revenge."<br /> <br /> Due to the opening lyrics, "Robert's got a quick hand," many have speculated that the song is a reference to Robert Hawkins, perpetrator of Omaha's Westroads Mall shooting. The band's publicist refutes this with "This is completely false. The character name in the song is just a coincidence." For play on the television channels MTV and MTVu, the words "gun" and "bullet" were removed from the song's chorus. Foster believes many have misinterpreted the song's meaning, and he has written letters to his record label and called radio stations to complain. He explained, "The song is not about condoning violence at all. It's the complete opposite. The song is an amazing platform to have a conversation with your kids about something that shouldn't be ignored, to talk about it in a loving way."<br /> <br /> Researching, not like a dumb ass, goes a long way.

Acually i beleive he being ritalral when he says dinner in the frige in ice.meaning a deeper meaning of his dad useing all his money for drugs and now their poor and can not afforde good food

You got all of it right but the song is true foster the people are singing about somthing that happened in 1980s a guy walk into scool with a shot gun that he found in his dads closet and killed everyone in the classroom he got home waited for his dad to come in and shot him and himself

It's about the kid who shot up the Columbine School in April, 1995

boozooz I like your finding, it's very informative. And a good read, although I would like to add that interpretating the song in your own ways is not "dumb".

'And I don't even know what,'<br /> I think this is a culture reference to the way teenagers would say 'I know it sounds ridiculous'. They'll say 'what even' to agree back, too, and such, so it could be like that.<br /> Examplary conversation;<br /> <br /> "Y'know Jennie?"<br /> "Yeah?"<br /> "Her, and Brad, last night, and I don't even..."<br /> "What even..."<br /> "I know, right?"<br /> "Yeah man."<br /> "Yeah"

Wow!!!! That's perfect... Complete description of the song. Rate UP? Definitely

@lyricaljoy <br /> "The line "and i dont even know what" might be trying to convey that the kid sees a box of his dads "fun things", like maybe drugs or condoms or other sexual things and of course the gun. The kid is too young to know what the other stuff is used for but he does recognize what the gun is used for, killing."<br /> In my opinion he knows what those things (or at least what are they for) are and he thinks they are "fun" (if you think a gun is fun...)<br />

@lyricaljoy Meme

@lyricaljoy right!!

@lyricaljoy the name 'Robert' is an allusion to Robert Wayne Gladden, Jr. He was a school shooter in Maryland, Baltimore who after being severely bullied shot up the school with a shotgun. He was also drinking vodka at the time.

wow that...just blew my mind.

I actually don't like lyricaljoy's explanation. Especially when you look at the way it was written from 2 different perspectives..maybe three-the singer/friend(I mean who is saying the chorus..we don't really know). I did notice this about the song before I looked at the lyrics. Before I had a good look at the lyrics I basically thought the same thing that I still think about this song:<br /> <br /> There is something about posers in general that tick him off. If I was singing a song about a boy who is ticked off by posers..this is exactly the light-hearted kind of track I would do it to! Awesome track, can't WAIT for the EP.

A box of fun things I think is a reference to bullets, you can usually find a box near a gun.

'Cause dinner's in the kitchen and it's packed in ice.- Revenge is a dish best served cold.

I completely agree with you Koriism, but I think he's waiting for his dad to come home so he can shoot him and end the abuse. Craziness!

I think the "dinner packed in ice" is just a microwave dinner.

I think it is about the columbine shooting because if you think about it, it seems that it is in a populated place. Or maybe he had kids always picking on him and he wanted to get them back because if you listen to the line 'all the other kids with the pumped up kicks you'd better run better run outrun my gun' seems like he doesn't like them for that reason

Robert could also mean Robert Ford an outlaw in the old west who shot Jesse James.

I agree with NBSDAD565 about the box of ammo. I think the reference to 'I don't even know what' is that he is mainly focused on the gun and ammo and nothing else in the box. At this point he's too nervous and anxious to pay attention to detail. He's on a mission to get the gun and ammo and nothing else in that box of fun things even matters.

K, great write up.<br /> <br /> Don't know if people who posted the lyrics can't spell, or if it came from the artist, but the phrase is "sleight of hand" which is what magicians do when they do hand tricks. "Slight of my hand" is a mystery. Prob just a typo.<br /> <br />

You left out Robert Starkweather, the spree killer from Kansas

I think the dinner packed in ice part is saying that its food in the kitchen yet it is uncooked and he is waiting at the table to be fed

I think the "Dinners packed in ice" reference might be about him having to make his own frozen dinner or something although I don't know.

I think that the second verse should be interpreted as follows.<br /> <br /> "Daddy works a long day<br /> He be coming home late, yeah, he's coming home late"<br /> <br /> Here he is planning what he is going to do. He'll be waiting for his dad, debating with himself (or alter ego?) around what time he most likely will be home.<br /> <br /> "And he's bringing me a surprise<br /> Because dinner's in the kitchen and it's packed in ice"<br /> <br /> He knows he is going to get a beating from his dad, because he did not make dinner ready. So he on purpose does not make dinner (still frozen), making sure that his dad will start ruffing him up. This would give him the "justification" of doing the next thing:<br /> <br /> "I've waited for a long time<br /> Yeah, the sleight of my hand is now a quick pull trigger"<br /> <br /> He has been "getting a surprise" from his dad for a long time, so the abuse has been an integral part of his life. He (or an alter ego) cold bloodedly decides that he will end his father's life, the moment he wants/starts to beat him up. He is still waiting for his dad to come home.<br /> <br /> "I reason with my cigarette<br /> And say your hair's on fire<br /> You must have lost your wits, yeah"<br /> <br /> He is trying to convince his cigarette that it is just/the right thing to do. The cigarette is apparently not seeing "the humor" in his plan (disagreeing). The cigarette is just an objectification of his conscience, or his alter (more sane) ego (since according to the Foster the People statement to CNN.com, it is about a psychotic kid)

@Koriism WOULD YOU SAY THE WHISTLING AT THE END IS SORT OF HIS SUBCONSCIOUS CALLING HIM OUT AS BEING A WUSS?

@ledzeplover @ledzeplover Good explanation. One thing to add I guess is that this may have taken place in the early 90's. The reason I say that is, back then Reebok made their "Pumps." A shoe that you could inflate by pumping an air button on the shoe's tongue. A few kids in my school had them and they were all kinds of awesome, but most kids back then didn't get amazing shoes like that. So to me, "Pumped Up Kicks" also refers to that time, and possibly the feeling one might get seeing people in school with all the cool new toys that many can't afford.

I think you hit it right on, except for maybe when he says he found " I don't know what". Either he's already psychotic, or he found some shrooms or similar and believes he's a cowboy. A kid I knew took shrooms and only managed to shoot himself with apparently dad's gun, in an orange grove. Also would explain talking to inanimate objects. ANyways liked your explanation, love the beats and sound, but unfortunately the meaning of the song will probably never hit the ears of the people it would benfit the most. GET A GUN SAFE IF YOU OWN A GUN PARENTS.

No, every revolver is NOT a six shooter!!! "Six shooter" specifically refers to revolvers having cylinders with six chambers for holding individual rounds of ammunition. Five cylinders is another common configuration, but there are some that actually hold 10 rounds or more!

GoPSYCHyourself -<br /> <br /> It's so funny that you described the song as a "groovy tune". The first time I heard the song I thought the same thing. I thought the chorus part had a "60's" feel to it -- something like the "Mama's and the Papa's" (or some other 60's band) would have sang back in that era. I first heard the song while I was driving my car and by the end of the tune I was tapping my foot and bobbing my head. When I read the lyrics, I was shocked (and saddened) a little bit. For me, it brought back memories of the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. In 1999, I worked for the yearbook company that printed Columbine's yearbook. The shootings happened just a few weeks before the yearbook was supposed to be shipped. When we heard about the shootings, there were alot of emotions at the place I worked. We were shocked, very angry, and deeply saddened. So many tears were shed. When you work on these yearbooks every year, and you see all the faces of these young kids who are supposed to have their whole life ahead of them -- sometimes you can't help but feel like you've lost a member of your own family.<br />

I think you've got the interpretation of the cowboy correct in that he is enacting justice, "cowboy justice" like in the wild west and that is what life is feeling like to him,"wild" and out of control. It also reminds me of some of the scenes from Stephen King's Gun Slinger series when he walks through town smoking a rolled cigarette shooting people at will. Is he psychotic or some kid trying to feel just a little bit powerful and see some justice done in the world.<br /> <br /> Dinner is "packed on ice" means he's going to put his father on ice, or kill him. Maybe Dad is coming home late because he's cheating on the kids mom.<br /> <br /> While both stanza's could be about the same person, I think the change from third to first person indicates two different people, or at least two different personalities. Perhaps the narrator is inspired by Robert to seek "cowboy justice" with regard to the wrongs his father has committed but has doubts about his plan in the personification of his lit cigarette. Does he "pack him on ice" or has he lost his wits (perhaps meaning lost his sanity, but more likely, his sense of composure and resourcefulness)? We are left to decide for ourselves and ask, "What would we do?"

love the careful analysis! "The final issue I see at work is the psychological state created by combination of the neglect and/or abuse suffered at home at the hands of his father, and the likely ostracism experienced at school enacted by the pumped up kicks-wearing cool kids and/or jocks. This perfect storm of lacking a functional primary support system, immediate and regular behaviors at school could create a dissociative split o state of pre-psychotic decompensation where in he begins t view himself......" Are you an owl with spectacles and a pointer? Just askin' :)

GoPSYCH:<br /> <br /> Thank you for the insight and I agree. I was in the car the other day and no one knew the words to this song, however, everyone was singing. I made a comment you could be worshiping anything that you do not believe in, and, it was laughed off! Now that I have come home and really taken a look at this song, it is very clear that there was a boy in an extreme sexual abuse situation. This has been laughed off and discredited by pop-culture. The, "people", think that he is some mass criminal? With the intent to hurt others in a violent, ixceptable manor. Logically, he is only speaking his feelings concerning a grave travesty he/they has/have overcome. I do not think that he would become a worldwide pop-star with the intent to harm rather than inform. Pay attention to what someone might actually be saying versus what your un-solicited opinion is... If you as a young man have that much integrity to disclose this level of personal information by these means, I would I think it was not to harm but to be observed... Get out of yourselves and think and care about others.<br />

Branching off on Beachgal, the famous Smith & Wesson 500 magnum, which has only five chambers due to the large rounds it uses, is a prime example.

Yeah, revolver doesn't automatically equal six-shooter. The S&W 686 Plus holds 7 rounds. Ruger's LCR and the S&W Bodyguard(and similar compact revolvers from other companies) hold 5 rounds, as do several large caliber weapons such as the .480 Ruger Super Redhawk and the S&W 500. The LeMat revolver, carried by Jeb Stuart in the Civil War held 9 rounds, and could also fire a single shotgun shell. The Taurus 608 holds 8 rounds of .357 Magnum. So yeah, a revolver isn't automatically a "six-shooter".

Like siding with Christian Slater's character in "Heathers," most of us can sympathize, even fantasize, but that doesn't mean we'd do it.

Totally know what you mean. <br /> <br /> We want to root for the underdog, but the other side of us says not to.<br /> <br /> This song protagonizes an antihero of sorts.

Actually, it's good characterization on the song writer's part that the protagonist blames his victims - the sort of psychotic anger driving his actions is ALWAYS outward-directed.

Its complicated stuff. Bullying is really bad, but at the same time, the song addresses that the killer was freaking crazy. Its dark. Its putting us into the mind of the shooter, which is uncomfortable because its not black and white. Its in the mind of someone who is mentally unstable and in pain and just looking to GIVE pain. He's pretty messed up. For me personally, this doesn't portray the victims as the bad guys. It actually freaks me out a lot, haha. Its deep. Because in the mind of the shooter, he IS in the right. He feels this is justice finally being served. Whether he was wrong isn't the point of the song. The point is to give us a glimpse into what's going on in the head of the crazy.

BOOM! Right there

@kanzei yes exactly what its about!!

And it was probably the kids with the nice "pumped up kicks" that were bullying him because maybe he was kinda poor and the kids with the pumped up kicks (the rich kids or the popular kids) would tease him because of that. I think your answer is correct.