Beetlebum
What you've done
She's a gun
Now what you've done
Beetlebum
Get nothing done
You beetlebum
Just get numb
Now what you've done
Beetlebum

And when she lets me slip away
She turns me on then all my violence is gone
Nothing is wrong
I just slip away and I am gone
Nothing is wrong
She turns me on
I just slip away and I am gone

Beetlebum
Because you're young
She's a gun
Now what you've done
Beetlebum
She'll suck your thumb
She'll make you come
'Cause, she's your gun
Now what you've done
Beetlebum

And when she lets me slip away
She turns me on then all my violence is gone
Nothing is wrong
I just slip away and I am gone
There's nothing wrong
She turns me on
I just slip away and I am gone

He's on, he's on, he's on it
He's on, he's on, he's on it
He's on, he's on, he's on it
He's on, he's on, he's on it
He's on, he's on, he's on it
He's on, he's on, he's on it
He's on, he's on, he's on it
He's on, he's on, he's on it


Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae, edited by tpfang56, Hancockenstein

Beetlebum Lyrics as written by David Rowntree Steven Alexander James

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Beetlebum song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

65 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +8
    General Comment

    Damon said it was about his at-the-time girlfriend Justine (from Elastica) and her growing heroin habit.

    bradleybon January 07, 2005   Link
  • +6
    General Comment

    This song is about Damon's experiences smoking heroin with long-time Justine Frischmann (of Elastica) and having sex with her.

    Mackernion June 15, 2012   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    Heroin. Thats about it really.

    dougievileon September 18, 2004   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    its the bum of a beetle init!

    joeytheboyon July 03, 2003   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    Beetlebum is about Heroin. Users say that when they shoot up, its orgasmic, hence "she"ll make you come". Acid makes users feel very weird and can make them violent, rendering the line "All my violence is gone" useless.

    bobby82on May 26, 2005   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    Oh god, how I love this song. It makes me feel so good...kind of melancholic, but happy for sure. I've never felt like that before while listening to a song. It's genius.

    CandyDazedon March 15, 2013   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    she'll make you come? or cum?

    elodieon September 20, 2004   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    how can a shaven pussy be a beetlebum...i love this song, its their best!

    but yeah, another word for 'chasing the dragon', is chasing the...yes - the beetle. when you heat up junk on tin foil, it melts, and you chase the beetle round with a tin foil straw, the lyrics really sum the rest up.

    ant in the carpeton October 03, 2008   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I just googled it and i've come up with this- im sure you all googled it too like. " The song is about heroin and the drug experiences that Damon Albarn had with his then girlfriend, Justine Frischmann of Elastica.[1] In the 2010 Blur documentary, No Distance Left to Run, Albarn confirms this song is about heroin use and implies that he was personally involved.[2] The song's title is a reference to the phrase "Chasing the beetle" (Chasing the dragon) which refers to inhaling the smoke from heated heroin, morphine, or opium that has been placed on a piece of tin-foil. Albarn has stated in an interview with MTV that the song describes a complicated emotion, sort of 'sleepy' and sort of 'sexy'."

    kimbles1981on January 12, 2012   Link
  • +2
    Song Fact

    This is a song completely about heroin use/abuse.. The beetle reference is the heroin powder that liquifies on a strip of tin foil, inhaled thru a tinfoil tube (toot) which is black and hard when at rest resembling a beetle.the bum ref is a lazy, do nothing person.. When he sings of she's a gun.. It's about the Russian roulette that it's both powerful and dangerous.. Get nothing done.. Is what eventually happens when u become a addict. She makes u come is the ref to heroin.. All male users ref to heroin in the female and when u become a addict heroin replaces your want or need for sex.. Makes u come is not literal, it's symbolic of the fact it had become his sex now.. Numb is a reference to emotionally numb which u become after long use..she'll suck your thumb is a ref to the calming ability of the drug. Nothing is wrong is a ref to the oblivion u feel in that nothing fazes you any longer and just rides by over ur head.i just slip away and Iam gone is a ref to the 'gouch' or 'nod' which accompany immediate use where user is placed in a hypnogocic state between sleep and wakefulness, alert in ur surroundings but asleep within urself.. If someone talks to u or u must move u can immediately get up or become vivid before once again slipping back into a serene state of relaxation.. To the outside observer the user appears asleep.

    sol.cuttaon November 07, 2017   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Holiday
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday". I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Album art
Midnight
Ed Sheeran
“Midnight” is a song about finding a love that is so true that it provides a calming feeling through every storm. Ed Sheeran reflects on his good fortunes in landing someone with such peace and support and speaks of not fearing the dark days because he knows they’ll all end in the safety nets of her arms. “Well, good morning there / What a way to start the day / With everything laid bare,” Ed Sheeran sings in the first verse, enthusiastic to be waking up beside his woman. He apologizes for missing her calls in the second verse and promises to return them because for him, speaking to her is the most important thing. “Well, I get lost inside my head / In this chaos, you’re my calm / And I will find my feet again / ‘Cause еven the worst days of my life will always еnd / At midnight in your arms,” sings Ed Sheeran in the chorus, revelling in his good luck.