6 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A

Bernie Lyrics

Blowing fire through
the hillside
Pelting wings stuck
to quicklime
Smashing nobody's
headlights
Nothing tells us
we're alive

Bernie's got the way to
feel good times
She lives on the way to
the park
All we've got to do is
just drop by
We don't have to wait
until dark

Screaming tires through
the sunshine
Told the cripple he
looks blind
Caught the rats in
the manhole
Beat them all the way
back home
6 Meanings

Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.

Add your thoughts...
Cover art for Bernie lyrics by Failure

what a song! what amazing imagery! from what I heard, Bernie was a gal that turned somebody on to a certain black viscous substance that could be smoked or snorted. the park could be macarthur park. could be another park. this experience feels so good we could do it all the time, why wait until nightime?

"smashing nobody's headlights" what a fantastic description of the joys of numb vandalism.

"pelting wings stuck to quicklime" always made me think of the fable of Icarus and flying too close to the sun but that doesn't seem to fit. Anyone know what this lyric refers to?

never thought of the line "smashing nobody's headlights". i used to raise hell and of course didn't think anything belonged to anyone. in fact my motto was "everything is mine or it's nobody's". as for the quicklime, there is a plant substance called "bird lime" that attracts birds and is very sticky. i think it's used to catch birds in south america and could be some sort of treesap. there ya go, 8 years late.

Cover art for Bernie lyrics by Failure

I related this song so much to the film "Gummo". I always thought of hoodlums that go around vandalizing and terrorizing animals then going to Bernie's place simply to fuck her.

*take advantage of her.

it sounds like the first part is him and and a friend went to bernies messed up on a drug and was probably doing the drug so much that instead of waiting till dark to go pick it up,they think its ok to pick it up anytime of the day. and bernie is the one providing it. i think the last part is them leaving bernies and being messed up. pretty much they are high all the time.

maybe Harmony Korine is a Failure fan??

Cover art for Bernie lyrics by Failure

Yet another drug-fueled rambling about days spent loaded. Gotta love Failure. So easy to spot the meanings, yet so artfully presented.

A great track.

Cover art for Bernie lyrics by Failure

This song, though it predates it, still reminds me of the film "Gummo" but I regret my embarrassing choice of words. "Bernie's place simply to fuck her." I meant to say "take advantage of". However, in that interpretation I imagined Bernie to be female. I was comparing "Bernie" to a character in the film. I can't recall the character's name. I should have elaborated. Instead I sounded daft, restoring to a blockhead choice of words. Drugs are obviously a theme in the song but I feel you can interpret the song without drugs being the central theme. I agree with the above comment "days spent loaded". However, outside of drug use I believe this song can carry a general theme regarding vandalism, ruffians, hoodlums, ect. You know, a song detailing the shenanigans of hooligans drugged, violent and the like. Which is similair in theme to "Gummo".

Cover art for Bernie lyrics by Failure

This is about going to meet his drug dealer named Bernie and the shenanigans he gets into on the way there.

My Interpretation
Cover art for Bernie lyrics by Failure

It's about a happy homeless being which is happy because there's alcohol. I understood: "All we got to do is just drop dimes". It's the cynical realization that you don't need society or culture to lead a happy life because you can receive luck through substance abuse.

My Interpretation
 
Questions and Answers

Ask specific questions and get answers to unlock more indepth meanings & facts.

Ask a question...