Machine Gun

There's a lot you could impose on this song, the lyrics are typically Gibbons in style (Wonderfully Criptic) But If I had to put a spin on this, I'd say (Speaking from an experience where the lyrics seem to fit) It is a song about how she is coping with a broken relationship (Who knows what who or when as it could apply to many situations)

If like me your a very private person who likes to be alone (as an emotional safeguard) You'd know the pain and the anger of a failed relationship that you've put a lot of faith into.

"I saw a saviour" (This is the one!) "I thought I'd see it in the cold light of day" (I totally fell for it - It even seemed so right even in the "cold light of day!") "But now I realise that I'm only for me" (Seems that I was wrong and the only person I can rely on is Myself) "If only I could see you return myself to me" (If you could see how bitter and lonely you've made me) "And recognise the poison in my heart There is no other place, no one else I face The remedy will agree with how I feel" (this bit is like saying if only you would recognise how bitter I am, how focused on this feeling I am, and how the remedy - perhaps gunning the person down with a "machine gun" - agrees with how she feels?

"Here are my front teeth, what more can I say?" (I'm snarling with anger OR I'm still smiling, what more can she say?) For I am guilty for the voice that I obey (We make mistakes only because we make desicions based on the information we have at the time.. I.e We listen to out own inner voices and sometimes we simply follow our hearts!) Too scared to sacrifice the choice chosen for me (Perhaps I should have said no and stayed by myself - but I was too scared to give this opportunity up?)

and then the verse again.. I personally like to think that this is a defiant attack on a situation where you've caught with your guard down... and the only way to retaliate is to get out your Machine Gun!!! RAT A TAT TAT TAT TAT..... mwarghahahahaha

your all wrong, it's a song about a machine gun.

the beautiful thing about music is one song can mean so many different things to different people. however i think there is a EXTREMELY obvious meaning to this song that no one else has noticed so far on this page. this song is about disillusionment. it's about coming to the realization that you have believed in something or someone that has lead you to do things that were wrong or that made you feel disappointed in yourself. it's about losing sight of who you really are and i having to face that for yourself. it's about realizing that you blindly followed something/one into doing something against your morals without any arguement and admitting you were wrong to do so.... or at least that you repent for it. "for i am guilty for the voice that i obey"

the beginning implies that this thing or person promised "salvation" but did not deliver.

also, she does NOT say "here are my front teeth" she says something along the lines of "here i am reflecting" or "here in my reflecting"

the song conveys also that the only way to fix this person's life is for them to do something different and true to thereself "the remedy will agree with how i feel" (i.e. "that beef stew didn't 'agree with me'")

at the risk of sounding "unpatriotic" i am also going to make the HUGE connection between the lyrics and the title that everyone else has overlooked thus far.... ready? these kinds of feelings are very common to, you guessed it... SOLDIERS! veterans to be specific.

i know that people may respond to this angrily so let me just say, i believe that there are very few, if any, more respectable people in the world than those who are willing to give up their lives for others. BUT, the things that these people have to do and have to see, many times, are crushing to a human being.

so, although these lyrics can fit many life situations, they are most certainly written as an ode to the broken hearts of our beloved troops overseas... hence the title "machine gun"

I agree that God is implied (and indicted!) by the lyrics.

This is the message I get out of the song: Be wary of anyone who claims they're the antidote to a "poison" in your heart, because they can deprive you of your agency. That is, they might make it so you think you can't heal yourself without them. Such a "remedy" is disempowering and wouldn't agree with how you truly feel about yourself.

This critique could apply to more than just God. Any lover can end up doing you harm if he/she subverts your autonomy and makes you dependent on them for the cure to your woes (e.g. loneliness).

I think the song's called "Machine Gun" not just because of the wicked drums, but because it's a psychological call to arms, and a plea for self-assertion.

Basically no one else can save you but you, and you are your own judge, and you must always remain true to yourself.

"Here are my front teeth, what more can I say?" part is clearly wrong. Other sites claim its "Here in my reflecting, what more I can say?"

I think the song is about neurosis... that self doubt, when we do things against what we know is best for us, addiction, self-defeating thoughts and behavior, its an angry declaration of surrender.. possibly from a lack of faith... i also agree with hanibal's interpretation... its about someone stuck in a pattern perhaps a relationship or an inner struggle and they are fighting to get out...

this is about depression (for me)

i think this song is clearly about religion and god:

"There is no other place No one else I face"

there's no afterlife and no one to judge you there.

"Too scared to sacrifice a choice Chosen for me"

we don't choose our religion, we're born into it. despite that it's hard to give up because we don't want to be alienated from society.

The gloriously raucous first single off "Third".