My Kingdom

This song is about an angry, perhaps violent, argument between two people who consider each other loved ones, who unsuccessfully try to get the other one to listen.

"I chop and I change and the mystery thickens There's blood on my hands and you want me to listen To brawn and to brain when the truth's in the middle Born of the grain like all good riddles"

these lines juxtapose imagery of committing violent murder ("chop", "change" (to dispose of blood-stained clothing), "mystery" (i.e., murder mystery), "blood on my hands") with words describing what might happen during a verbal disagreement ("you want me to listen....") means that its about an argument, in which the narrator is extremely angry, i.e. figuratively screaming bloody murder, and has trouble listening to the other person. "to brawn and to brain...." means the dichotomy between passionate anger and cool reason "when the truth's in the middle" means the resolution lies in compromising between passionate love and calm, civil, rationality. "born of the grain...." means as opposed to "against" the grain, meaning, to favor harmony rather than opposition. "...like all good riddles" means that the way to resolve the argument is a riddle to be found, which riddle must be solved together through harmony and cooperation, not stiff opposition and hostility.

"B-b-burn the skin off and climb the roof top Thy will be done B-b-bite the nose off and make it the most of Your king- kingdom kingdom kingdom"

That chorus is sarcastically said to and heard by the narrator during the ongoing argument. The narrator is so angry, he won't take no for an answer ("thy will be done") and he in effect bites his own nose off to spite his face. "His kingdom" is sarcastic--the narrator has no control over his words and actions, he is the opposite of a ruler of a kingdom. I say the narrator is the one being spoken to in the chorus, not the one doing the speaking, because the title is "My Kingdom" rather than "Your..." Also, it could be that they are saying it to each other.

"You kill when you talk and the enemy weakens Your words start to walk when you're not even speaking If my heart is a war its soldiers are bleeding If my heart is a war its soldiers are dead"

with lyrics like those, the song has to be about matters of the heart and conflict with a loved one. Still more killing imagery , but this time it's the narrator's partner doing the figurative violence, and the "enemy" is the narrator. The last two lines of the verse are explicit similes relating his heart to an army in a war. These two lines make it clear that this song is about matters of the heart, and that the violent and militant imagery is just figurative, not literal.

"I've lost and I've gained and while I was thinking You cut off my hands when I wanted to twist If you know how to dance to Boney Maroney He's doing the ballet on both of his wrists"

that verse juxtaposes dance imagery ("twist" "Bony Maronie"*, "ballet") with imagery of violent amputation. again this is about conflict with a loved one. the narrator is trying to work things out (dancing) but the partner is "cutting off his hands" meaning the partner is making it difficult or impossible to talk things over.

the lyrics in parentheses at the end are the hostile thoughts of the narrator toward the other person, or perhaps the mutual thoughts of both persons, which are thought in a moment of anger, even though each professes that other person to be a loved one.

*From wikipedia: "Bony Moronie" is Larry Williams' third single, which has been covered many times, including a version translated into Spanish re-named "Popotitos". Williams' original peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #4 on the U.S. R&B chart.

This song has long intrigued me and @mliem411 does some good work here. Not everything lines up between the lyrics and that interpretation; that can happen when lyrics get a bit figurative, but I wonder if there\'s an intention that is partly or even significantly different than that interpretation.\n\nFor starters, the Lord\'s Prayer deserves mention, as "Thy will be done" is right out of it – the archaic "thy" narrows it down as being not just a casual use of language. And it occurs in the Lord\'s Prayer just after the word "kingdom."\n\nThe Lord\'s Prayer begins with the words, "Our father," so I wonder if in a modest modification of your interpretation, this might be about the abuse of a child by their father, and the abuse, the father lording his power over the child, is the father\'s "kingdom" while this song, a response back, is the child\'s "kingdom," hence the "my" in the title.

Does no one remember the Bunnymen? C'mon! They were arguably one of the best alternative bands of the 80s. This is such a good song from a great album.

Just got the album and this song is probly the best on it...certainly among the best...great tune

G-g-g-g-reat guitar

Surely “born of the grain” relates to alcohol.