Bauhaus – The Man with the X-Ray Eyes

"Man With The X-ray Eyes" as written by Daniel Gaston Ash, Kevin Haskins, David Jay and Peter John Murphy....
Shoes that no man would want to wear
[Incomprehensible] the night's last cold stare
Red fist curled 'round the house
Wash away, boy, Shelly's shoes
Wash

Chocolate power is so crisp
Atomic open house is really here
And we have gone so desperate
Your power knows no bounds
And heavier with time are our shoes
That no man would want to wear
New tread wipes a wet road so dry
It stings

Into the borrowed course
Under the dreadful birds
Under the singing soil and all those guilty clouds

I have seen too much, wipe away my eyes too much
Wipe away my eyes, too much
Wipe away my eyes, too much
Wipe away my eyes, too much

Wipe away my eyes
Wipe away my eyes
Wipe away my eyes
Wipe away my eyes
Wipe away my eyes
Wipe away my eyes
Wipe away my eyes
Wipe away my eyes
My eyes, eyes, eyes



Lyrics submitted by alda

"The Man With the X-Ray Eyes" as written by David Jay Daniel Gaston Ash

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

The Man with the X-Ray Eyes song meanings
Add your thoughts

9 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General CommentNo comments yet?

    This song always makes me laugh. I love the lyrics. Don't ask me to interpret them, though.
    thecountisdeadon May 31, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General CommentIt could have been inspired by the 1960's sci-fi movie "X - The Man With The X-Ray" eyes, starring Ray Milland and, yes, Don Rickles.
    gregorybrianon February 10, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General CommentCheck out: youtube.com/…
    gregorybrianon February 10, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General CommentI'm not certain about this one but this song made me think of the poem Ozymandius by PB Shelly. To me it's somewhat about the power of nuclear weapons and modern hubris much like Ozymandius.

    It's almost as if our narrator has seen into the past with xray eyes and like PB Shelly sitting at the foot of Ozymandius our narrator perceives the futility of great empires and himself (his own demise).

    I think at the end this is a frightening, unsettling, moment and he wish he had never seen what poor PB Shelly had seen.

    Anyway I love the song and poetry of it.

    I could be very wrong about this... Here's the original PB Shelly poem I'm referencing:

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
    shaded.dreamson March 13, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General CommentI'm not certain about this one but this song made me think of the poem Ozymandius by PB Shelly. To me it's somewhat about the power of nuclear weapons and modern hubris much like Ozymandius.

    It's almost as if our narrator has seen into the past with xray eyes and like PB Shelly sitting at the foot of Ozymandius our narrator perceives the futility of great empires and himself (his own demise).

    I think at the end this is a frightening, unsettling, moment and he wish he had never seen what poor PB Shelly had seen.

    Anyway I love the song and poetry of it.

    I could be very wrong about this... Here's the original PB Shelly poem I'm referencing:

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
    shaded.dreamson March 13, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General CommentNo, I think you're right. The lyrics do specifically mention "Shelley's shoes," so the metaphor of Ozymandia's statue's giant feet is definitely applicable.

    And on the nuclear theme, I think the point is that unlike the ancient Ozymandias, who was forgotten through time, the modern Ozzy (I am SO sick of typing the name) is destroyed much more quickly because of nuclear weapons.
    Keterianon March 25, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General CommentI think you're right about the Ozy reference in that one line, but this song is more directly about the Roger Corman film "X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes," in which a scientist gives himself x-ray vision, which gradually deteriorates until he can't see normally any more, driving him crazy. Xavier (the title character) literally ends up tearing out his own eyes.
    Keterianon October 15, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General CommentChocolate Power is so crisp.
    What?
    Wauhauson August 09, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General CommentThe live version and the Mask version sound completely different. I don’t know which I love more
    nogodbobon March 01, 2019   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!

Back to top
explain