He stood like a statue
As he was beaten across the face
With a horse whip
Where the wounds already exist
A well-oiled rifle
And never lonely, Marlon JD
If you want to come down, come down
Give him some dignity
So see, so see Marlon J.D.
So see, so see Marlon J.D.
Learn to live without clutter
To live without luxury
Sometimes I envy them
Goodnight yourself, Marlon JD
He did not defend himself
He didn't even raise his hand
I will not beg because
This is how I am
So see, so see Marlon J.D.
So see, so see Marlon J.D.
"Bare floors, plain white walls.
No window curtains, nothing but essentials.
With no luxuries, no ornamentation,
Utter simplicity.
But it's also clean,
It's clean as a rifle."
So see, so see Marlon J.D.
So see, so see Marlon J.D.
"And, and they're never lonely
And sometimes I envy them"
As he was beaten across the face
With a horse whip
Where the wounds already exist
A well-oiled rifle
And never lonely, Marlon JD
If you want to come down, come down
Give him some dignity
So see, so see Marlon J.D.
So see, so see Marlon J.D.
Learn to live without clutter
To live without luxury
Sometimes I envy them
Goodnight yourself, Marlon JD
He did not defend himself
He didn't even raise his hand
I will not beg because
This is how I am
So see, so see Marlon J.D.
So see, so see Marlon J.D.
"Bare floors, plain white walls.
No window curtains, nothing but essentials.
With no luxuries, no ornamentation,
Utter simplicity.
But it's also clean,
It's clean as a rifle."
So see, so see Marlon J.D.
So see, so see Marlon J.D.
"And, and they're never lonely
And sometimes I envy them"
Lyrics submitted by deltasunlight
Marlon J.D. Lyrics as written by Nicholas Jones James Bradfield
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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!
“So see, so see Marlon J.D.”
Maybe J.D. doesn’t stand for James Dean and I’m way off. But assuming it does, Dean and Brando were briefly mirror images of each other: two 1950s film icons, sex symbols, beloved actors. But their lives took two different paths. James Dean died young and beautiful in an auto accident, he’s frozen in time forever as he was in “Rebel Without A Cause”. Marlon Brando lived a long life, lost his good looks and due to his erratic behavior lost the same favor he had with people in the 1950s. And although Brando is thought of highly as one of the greatest actors to ever live, Dean’s brief career was untarnished and gets to be viewed in the “what might have been light”. For all we know it would have been Dean embarrassing himself at Michael Jackson’s 2001 Madison Square Garden concert if he had lived. But he left the world at the top of his game and for a lot of people (including Richey unfortunately) that is desirable compared to declining in later life as all humans do.
Reading the comments above adds another dimesion to it. The song is obviously about rebellion. Kind of like Richie saying "look at WW1, you're either going to die or end up a weak but comfortable old man while the world you fought for changes and you can't do anything about it" You might as well fight for what you believe in and risk death, even if that means not fighting at all and giving up. "So see Marlon Brando and don't end up like him, James Dean".