Chemical Warfare

Dead Kennedys

Down at the arsenal they keep the nerve gasses
Guarded day and night by caged white rabbits
Been sitting there for years, I'm gonna have at it
I cut through the fence, run right in and grab it, go crazy, crazy
Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy

Now I got my own mustard gas in my pocket
Climb on a tree on a branch and drop it
On a country club full of Saturday golfers
So I can watch them die chokin' shakin' in convulsions, go crazy, crazy
Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy

Chemical warfare, chemical warfare
Chemical warfare, warfare, warfare
Chemical warfare, chemical warfare
Chemical warfare, warfare, warfare

Panic in the air, see the headless chickens runnin'
Golf carts head-on crashin' crackin' heads wide open
Scratch the grass, mister, you can't breathe
And roll and writhe in a sandtrap, starting to heave
Claw those clubs, lemme see you seethe
Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy

Chemical warfare, chemical warfare
Chemical warfare, warfare, warfare
Chemical warfare, chemical warfare
Chemical warfare, warfare, warfare

Yellow air
Yellow clouds
Blowin' down down down the fairway, sensitive to the touch
Mowin' down, down the putting green heading straight for the big clubhouse where

The stuffed country club
Effervescent ladies, so carefree
Relax, pose by the pool
Limber limp with a dry martini
Until

Oh shit, what is going on in here?!

Chemical warfare, chemical warfare
Chemical warfare, warfare, warfare
Chemical warfare, chemical warfare
Chemical warfare, warfare, warfare


Lyrics submitted by Ice

Chemical Warfare Lyrics as written by Jello Biafra Klaus Flouride

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Chemical Warfare song meanings
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18 Comments

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  • +5
    General Comment
    Great song! The politicians and aristocrats in 'high society' are happy to give the order to condemn hundreds/thousands of people in foreign lands to their deaths with horrific chemical and biological weapons. Good ol' Jello fantasises about giving them a taste of their own medicine, down in their natural habitat.
    WavinGerbson June 17, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    I think it's more about how it's way too easy to get weapons.
    The Doctoron March 14, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    This song is about killing rich people at a country club with mustard gas.
    hobophobeon April 07, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    This song also touches on Biafra's distaste for golf.
    antiderivativeon June 20, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    The one by Slayer has the same name but sounds completly differant and has completly differant lyrics
    Violentpacifiston September 08, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    I also think it's about how it is easy to get weapons. DK RULES!!!!
    SK8B0R3D_4_LIFEon February 15, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Upon first hearing, one might think this song is sick and perverted, like "forest fire" - makes for a nice anti yuppie double feature... but after some time, or if you're more clever than me (pfft), instantly, you can appreciate it as a satirical dark fantasy never to be fulfilled but to play loudly on your car radio when driving by the local golf club. the power of words!
    Heinrichon October 26, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    There is a golf course adjacent to a desolate trail me and my friends go to hike and smoke pot, and the golfers there always launch golf balls at us. I even saw them launching golf balls at deer once. Assholes. I feel this song. xD Yeah, it's about nerve-gassing golfers.
    Tig45on February 03, 2014   Link
  • 0
    Song Fact
    In the introduction to this song in the album "Take Me To Your Leader," a live concert recorded in 1979 and released on August 12, 2021, Jello Biafra says "...this is a song about a place called the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, who [sic] leaves cannisters full of nerve gas right next to the runway of the Denver International Airport! It's easy to steal."
    DreadfulTwerpon August 12, 2022   Link
  • -1
    General Comment
    Sounds like fun to me. I need some this to take to the golf course in my city. EBHC
    afipunk01on August 24, 2002   Link

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