Then you were dead
Subsistin' on that same old bread
It's the memory that hides
The whole wide world

It's the gas he'd's love of america
It's the memory that hides
Take your photographs back
For the love of all gods

Our gas he'd marches on
Our gas he'd marches on
He's a bonified man
A star amongst his clan

And the only one that let me ride
It's the memory that dies
Our gas he'd was right
When they lanced his skull

There was puss and light
It's the memory that dies
So take your photographs back
For the love of all gods

Our gas he'd marches on
Our gas he'd marches
It's the memory that dies
And make your photographs black

For the love of all gods
Our gas he'd marches on
Our gas he'd marches on
Gas he'd is on the radio, radio, radio


Lyrics submitted by Caverna[RR], edited by mark111230, brycej3, EternalTearsOfSorrow, giftedmadness

Gas Hed Goes West Lyrics as written by Chad David Taylor Chad Alan Gracey

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Gas Hed Goes West song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

13 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    Gas hed is a term they have created to describe a man that follows his own path and holds his morals despite the worlds pressures , the song is also drawing comparison to the fact that its his humble internal memories that drive him and he does not project out would accomplishments for validation or recognition, and as such they would die for him

    CAFAon May 25, 2014   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    Gas Hed Goes WEst

    Follow the SUN, from EA (Eve and Adam) St. to WE St.. GAS is God and Satan, the "original" mono(a?)theist, unlocks the key to Live....

    adam@freelive.org unduecoercion.com

    adam772308on July 27, 2014   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This is one of the few songs that reaches me without having any idea what the lyrics mean. I've tried, though...

    It has an air of undefeatable purpose ("For the love of all gods/Our gas hed marches on"), especially when the spirituality of the writers is taken into consideration. Every time I here it it procures a different image, but the most persistent is that of the tragic hero. The person searching, the angry son avenging a murdered father; the knight on a quest ("A star amongst his clan"). Yet it's also a contrast between the hero with a cause and the singular psychopathic urge for revenge. In places you think the crusade must be a good one ("When they lanced his skull/There was pus and light"), and yet you still see waste of life that results ("make your photographs black","It's the memory that dies")

    ballzofsnoon April 27, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    not sure what this means. i really like the song though. a great one to listen to when your down for sure

    X324324324on November 03, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I was reading Stephen King's "The Stand" at the same time I was playing this album over and over, so this song gave me a strong impression of the journey of "The Trashcan Man" from that story.

    That character was a half-dead radiation-poisoned pyromaniac schizophrenic who survives what is essentially the Apocalypse. He is part of the "bad side", travels West across America and ends up getting destroyed in a nuclear explosion, so the phrases of "gas hed" (Fire), "Memory that dies" (post-apocalypse), "exemplified his clan", "marches on" and "lanced his head with light" (vaporised by a nuke) had a lot of strong correlations.

    I doubt that's the original meaning of the lyrics, but that's what they mean to me now.

    endoron July 25, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I really wish I knew what this song meant....\ At the end of the song I always imagine he is singing 'gas hed is on the way to you' and I don't even know if it makes sense

    sleepykittyon September 11, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    but it seems it definitely is

    on the radio

    sleepykittyon September 14, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Can anyone catch what is said in the background at around 3:55?

    kalaklanaron April 21, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Love this song, even though I don't really know what it means. Don't even know what "gas hed" or the word "hed" means. what does it mean???

    dinzao9on May 15, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    This one has stumped me for years! It really could mean anything, but here are a couple of my thoughts:

    Idea #1: Gas Hed is the Sun (goes west=sets in the west from our wordly view)and the lyrics to me could be making an allusion to the end of the world or even the end or a major change in the universe.

    "It's the memory that hides/dies, the whole wide world" ...With the Sun gone, the light upon the world (and/or the world itsel)f is a memory. That memory dies.

    A 'star' amongst his clan... The Sun=a star

    "it's the memory that dies

    and make your photographs black"...The Earth ends and photographs and possibly even our memories are blank and empty...

    "...there was pus and light" ...a star or the Sun exploding or diminishing leaving light before complete darkness and destruction?

    I know I'm reaching here, but this is a tough one!

    Idea #2- Gas Hed is a bomb of some sort heading west from some location, and the lyrics are implying a similar fate as my description above, only its cause is due to a great war. "Gas Hed's on the radio"....Imminent chaos and the ultimate world war is the breaking news on the radio.

    Idea #3- Gas Hed = 'gashed' or deep hurt or wounds. Really nothing else worked out with this yet. Just a thought.

    glassjaw7on October 14, 2012   Link

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!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him. There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example: "'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Album art
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.