Sometimes when I'm in heaven
I get forgetful of the Earth, woah
Until I hear you bickering like boys and birds
The heat is off, gate's open, the shade is down

I got a pocket full of deadliness
Opium den mother forget my head
At the dead-end called Unsteadiness
Boxed blondes have less fun

Boomerang my head
Back to the city I grew up in
Again and again
Forever a Lake Effect kid

Oh, I got the skyline in my veins
Forget your nighttime
Summer love on a gurney with a squeaky wheel
And joke us, choke us
'Til Lakeshore Drive comes back into focus
I just wanna come back to life
Spark my crazy head to keep you warm at night

I got a pocket full of deadliness
Opium den mother forget my head
At the dead-end called Unsteadiness
Boxed blondes have less fun, fun

Boomerang my head
Into the city I grew up in
Again and again
Forever a Lake Effect kid

Boomerang my head
To the city I grew up in (into the city I grew up in)
Again and again and again and again
Forever a Lake Effect kid

Boomerang my head
Into the city I grew up in
Again and again
Forever a Lake Effect kid

Boomerang my head
To the city I grew up in (into the city I grew up in)
Again and again and again and again
Forever a Lake Effect kid

Again and again and again and again and again


Lyrics submitted by Molz017, edited by Mellow_Harsher

Lake Effect Kid Lyrics as written by Peter Wentz Patrick Stump

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Lake Effect Kid song meanings
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24 Comments

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  • +1
    General Commentuntil anyone verify the corrections, i'm gonna keep it the way it is.

    but, you gotta love patrick.
    even if you can't understand him sometimes :]
    Molz017on September 10, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General CommentBoomerang my head
    Back to the city I grew up in
    Again and again and again and again
    Forever a lake effect kid

    To break it all down--
    Pete is a nostalic person, that thinks about the past a lot and at the time he wrote this he was thinking about all the memories he made growing up in Chicago. Therefore, boomerang my head, to the city i grew up in. And since he's saying again and again and again and again I get the feeling he was thinking about Chicago quite a bit. Also, to like OmgItsAl said, He is and forever will be, a Chicago boy.

    Oh and the line is "Sometimes when i'm in heaven, i get forgetful of the earth." If you listen closely thats what it is. Pete's saying that since he's moved to LA (aka the city of angels, aka heaven) he forgot where he was and wasn't thinkin about Chicago (aka earth) too much.
    marcus_182on October 17, 2008   Link
  • +1
    My InterpretationI know it's supposed to be an ode to Chicago, but pete's whole bipolar thing is woven into it so beautifully too, imo. Here's why I think so:

    1. “Forever a lake effect kid”
    The lake effect is a weather phenomenon which causes the weather to be super changeable. (They have the lake effect in Chicago, because it's near Lake Michigan.)
    Being bipolar also makes you changeable, having mood swings ("unpredictable as weather"), and it's chronic, so ‘forever’.

    2. “Sometimes when I'm in heaven, I get forgetful of the Earth.”
    When you're manic, you're not grounded, you forget about things that would normally get in the way of your big plans, like money or boundaries.
    And idk but when you're depressed you sort of forget that happiness is even an option, so maybe if you're manic you forget that being down is an option (forgetful of the earth)?

    3. “I got a pocket full of deadliness”
    I see this as Pete having to carry around his bipolar pills everywhere. In the past, he tried to overdose on these, so they're a pocket full of deadliness. It's like me and insulin: it can kill people , but I carry it around all the time.
    (I know pete doesn't take pills anymore, but he used to, and this song is pretty old.)

    4. “At the dead-end called unsteadiness.”
    I like this phrase. Feeling unsteady (like I imagine being bipolar does to you) makes him feel trapped or like it gives him no prospects.

    5. “Boomerang my head”
    Just this way to say it makes it sound like a reference to having mental ups and downs. If it was only about going back to Chicago then why boomerang just your head? Why not your body and suitcases or whatever too lol (yeah yeah, they probably mean they're dreaming about being in chicago, but it's open for interpretation)

    6. “I just wanna come back to life / spark my crazy head to keep you warm at night.”
    Sounds as if he's feeling depressed or numb (from meds or from life) and thinking he'd prefer to be manic again.

    That's just my take on the song. I love their poetic songwriting <3
    LovelyRita91on October 22, 2021   Link
  • 0
    General CommentI dont think all these lyrics are correct, but there pretty close. but its "Opium den mother forget my head, at the dead end OF unsteadiness"

    I think this is another song about drugs.
    "Pocketful of deadliness"--Narrator has drugs in his pocket/with him.

    "Opium den mother forget my head"--Den Mother=Supervisor. And I guess this supervisor didnt care about the narrator taking opium.

    "Dead-end called unsteadiness"--Ridiculously Unsteady, pretty self explanatory

    and I really dunno, boxed blonds, Im guessing that might mean a blond that dyed their hair?

    So thats about all I think about the song. Great great song though, its the best of there demos they released, love the main riff.
    kellan6on August 29, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Commenti think the song refrences living in chicago. If you have ever learned anything about weather/meteorology you know what a lake effect is. "the city i grew up in" is obviously chicago and the lake is lake michigan. bam.
    pocketofdeadlinesson September 01, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Commentwhen i first heard the song, the first thing i thought of was wilemette.
    lol, i'm weird
    Molz017on September 01, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Commentinstead of 'the key for loving her', i'm pretty sure it's "i get forgetful of the Earth' - maybe
    hobo62on September 03, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General CommentI think 'boxed blondes' might actually be 'faux blondes'. As in 'bleached/fake' blondes have more fun. Playing on 'blondes have more fun' and making it 'fake blondes have more fun'. Iuno.
    Just makes a hella lot more sense in my head.
    omegalomaniacon September 08, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General CommentI like this song..
    Im curious about the new album though
    HannahDoesntKnowon September 08, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General CommentI think 'boxed blondes' might actually be 'faux blondes'. As in 'bleached/fake' blondes have more fun. Playing on 'blondes have more fun' and making it 'fake blondes have more fun'. Iuno.
    Just makes a hella lot more sense in my head.



    well, they're the same thing.
    hair dye comes in a box :]
    Molz017on September 10, 2008   Link

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