Well your CD collection looks shiny and costly.
How much did you pay for your bad Moto Guzzi?
And how much did you spend on your black leather jacket?
Is it you or your parents in this income tax bracket?
Now tickets to concerts and drinking at clubs
Sometimes for music that you haven't even heard of.
And how much did you pay for your rock'n'roll t shirt
That proves you were there
That you heard of them first?
How do you afford your rock'n'roll lifestyle?
How do you afford your rock'n'roll lifestyle?
How do you afford your rock'n'roll lifestyle?
Ah, tell me.
How much did you pay for the chunk of his guitar,
The one he ruthlessly smashed at the end of the show?
And how much will he pay for a brand new guitar,
One which he'll ruthlessly smash at the end of another show?
And how long will the workers keep building him new ones?
As long as their soda cans are red, white, and blue ones.
And how long will the workers keep building him new ones?
As long as their soda cans are red, white, and blue ones.
Aging black leather and hospital bills,
Tattoo removal and dozens of pills.
Your liver pays dearly now for youthful magic moments,
But rock on completely with some brand new components.
How do you afford your rock'n'roll lifestyle?
How do you afford your rock'n'roll lifestyle?
How do you afford your rock'n'roll lifestyle?
Excess ain't rebellion.
You're drinking what they're selling.
Your self-destruction doesn't hurt them.
Your chaos won't convert them.
They're so happy to rebuild it.
You'll never really kill it.
Yeah, excess ain't rebellion.
You're drinking what they're selling.
Excess ain't rebellion.
You're drinking,
You're drinking,
You're drinking what they're selling.
How much did you pay for your bad Moto Guzzi?
And how much did you spend on your black leather jacket?
Is it you or your parents in this income tax bracket?
Now tickets to concerts and drinking at clubs
Sometimes for music that you haven't even heard of.
And how much did you pay for your rock'n'roll t shirt
That proves you were there
That you heard of them first?
How do you afford your rock'n'roll lifestyle?
How do you afford your rock'n'roll lifestyle?
How do you afford your rock'n'roll lifestyle?
Ah, tell me.
How much did you pay for the chunk of his guitar,
The one he ruthlessly smashed at the end of the show?
And how much will he pay for a brand new guitar,
One which he'll ruthlessly smash at the end of another show?
And how long will the workers keep building him new ones?
As long as their soda cans are red, white, and blue ones.
And how long will the workers keep building him new ones?
As long as their soda cans are red, white, and blue ones.
Aging black leather and hospital bills,
Tattoo removal and dozens of pills.
Your liver pays dearly now for youthful magic moments,
But rock on completely with some brand new components.
How do you afford your rock'n'roll lifestyle?
How do you afford your rock'n'roll lifestyle?
How do you afford your rock'n'roll lifestyle?
Excess ain't rebellion.
You're drinking what they're selling.
Your self-destruction doesn't hurt them.
Your chaos won't convert them.
They're so happy to rebuild it.
You'll never really kill it.
Yeah, excess ain't rebellion.
You're drinking what they're selling.
Excess ain't rebellion.
You're drinking,
You're drinking,
You're drinking what they're selling.
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So “Excess ain’t rebellion” is basically saying that you are not getting away from the herd by following the shepherd. “You’re drinking what there selling ” is reemphasizing the fact that you are doing what they want you to do. You are still just another good consumer to them.
Also, "Rock on completely with some brand new components" is truly a genius line. I think he's talking about the new accesssories that are earned by a lifetime of hard living -- liver problems, medical bills, faded tatoos, etc.
Brilliantly sarcastic and smart lyrics from Cake, as usual
As for the Pepsi can theory I think that the "as long as there soda cans are red white and blue ones" refers to the workers stupidly continuing to manufacture guitars brainwashed into subservience by nationalism.
And the Einstein who thinks that computers are a purely capitalist invention might wonder how the USSR launched sputnik, MIRR etc. into space without computers.
the guy (the singer) is confronting this kid ("you or your parents...") who is wearing a bands t-shirt but doesn't know anything about them.
As long as their soda cans are red, white, and blue ones.
--This means that they'll keep getting things as long as they have their sponsors (Pepsi--red, white, and blue soda cans).