Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Welcome to the second reel
Glad that you can make it
We thought your fate was sealed
It's not what we expected
But you punch above your weight
And you're stronger than you look
And the ending's not the same
They changed it from the book
I'm the boy with the bubble gun
I'm taking aim
I cannot hit to hurt or cause you pain
If words could kill I'd spell out your name
It's time to kill the king
It's written in the scripture
See what tomorrow brings
Got to get a bigger picture
So forgive me forgive me for I am born
To be what I must be and I must be
The boy with the bubble gun
I'm taking aim
I cannot hit to hurt or cause you pain
If words could kill I'd spell out your name
I'm the boy with the bubble gun
The boy with the bubble gun
I'm the boy with the bubble gun
With work to do
If songs could kill
This one's for you
Glad that you can make it
We thought your fate was sealed
It's not what we expected
But you punch above your weight
And you're stronger than you look
And the ending's not the same
They changed it from the book
I'm the boy with the bubble gun
I'm taking aim
I cannot hit to hurt or cause you pain
If words could kill I'd spell out your name
It's time to kill the king
It's written in the scripture
See what tomorrow brings
Got to get a bigger picture
So forgive me forgive me for I am born
To be what I must be and I must be
The boy with the bubble gun
I'm taking aim
I cannot hit to hurt or cause you pain
If words could kill I'd spell out your name
I'm the boy with the bubble gun
The boy with the bubble gun
I'm the boy with the bubble gun
With work to do
If songs could kill
This one's for you
Lyrics submitted by ThreeMilesDown
The Boy with the Bubblegun Lyrics as written by Tom Mcrae Mcrae
Lyrics © 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!
More Featured Meanings
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Its a dig at himself.......whatever he writes songs about will not change anything in the world. The bubblegun would be a useless, ineffective weapon....like words
Its a dig at himself.......whatever he writes songs about will not change anything in the world. The bubblegun would be a useless, ineffective weapon....like words
this song is so powerful when performed live. you really get the feeling that tom has reached his limits with this person and wishes he could do something other than talk about it.
I always find it a shame that the verses don't come upto the level of perfect understated bial of the Choruses.
I wonder if it was aimed at someone in particular and if they know it's about them?
Check the "Black Session" live recordings, he dedicades this song to Tony Blair :)
it's the boy with the bubblegun, and not with the bubblegum, like the title says, so Tom_999, it has nothing to do with children choking on bubblegum.
I think thelastnarrator is right about this song. And Itekei is also right.
i love the two lines "If words could kill I'd spell out your name" and "If songs could kill this one's for you" he's reached the end of his tether with this person - it's kind of scary how much hate comes across in the lyrics. but also frustration - he can't do anything and he can do as much damage as a boy with a bubblegun. he wishes that songs and words could kill (and we all breathe a sigh of relief that they can't...)
d
I'm not certain about this song, but I vaguely remember hearing news stories about children choking on bubblegum and suffering to death. It may have something to do with this song.