Robert's got a quick hand
He'll look around the room, he won't tell you his plan
He's got a rolled cigarette
Hanging out his mouth he's a cowboy kid
Yeah found a six shooter gun
In his dad's closet, oh in a box of fun things
I don't even know what
But he's coming for you, yeah he's coming for you

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, outrun my gun
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, faster than my bullet
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, outrun my gun
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, faster than my bullet

Daddy works a long day
He be coming home late, and he's coming home late
And he's bringing me a surprise
'Cause dinner's in the kitchen and it's packed in ice
I've waited for a long time
Yeah the sleight of my hand is now a quick pull trigger
I reason with my cigarette
And say your hair's on fire, you must have lost your wits, yeah

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, outrun my gun
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, faster than my bullet
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, outrun my gun
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, faster than my bullet

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, outrun my gun
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, faster than my bullet
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, outrun my gun
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, faster than my bullet

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, outrun my gun
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You'd better run, better run, faster than my bullet


Lyrics submitted by evenabird, edited by kitty17moo, indierox, Paymaan, MycroftJr, bobbywasabi123, smartboiii420, haylo740, tobyoakes

Pumped Up Kicks Lyrics as written by Mark Derek Foster

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Pumped Up Kicks song meanings
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    General Comment

    This song is about a kid from the 1960s that goes on a rampage.

    In the first two stanzas, he speaks in third person, creating a disturbing mood while describing the character and his situation.

    The action starts with the chorus.

    He starts threatening kids at shcool with the lines of: "All the other kids with the pumped up kicks better run, better run, faster than my bullet." These "pumped up kicks" are the shoes that the "cool" kids wear- the kids he is starting to shoot. Later that night, after all the cool kids are dead, he waits at home for his dad to arrive. "Daddy works a long day. He's coming home late, yeah he's coming home late and he's bringing me a surprise." This surprise is a beating, and the "working a long day" stuff is a cover up for going to the bar and getting drunk. "I've waited for a long time. Yeah, the sleight of my hand is a quick pull trigger." He's waited a long time for this moment. This is the moment he gets to get revenge on his dad by giving his dad a surprise- a bullet in the head from his "quick pull trigger" once he stumbles in the door. Now that his dad is dead, the kid goes nuts. "I reason with my cigarette. I say "your hair's on fire, must of lost your wits, yeah."" He starts talking to his cigarette as he goes over the events of the day in his head, bringing back the chorus.

    WolfMoccasinon July 27, 2016   Link

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