Sonic Youth

Society Is A Hole

3 Meanings

Add Yours

Q&A

Society Is A Hole Lyrics

[Thurston]
Society is a hole
it makes me lie to my friends
it's running down my street with white power sneakers
on the beautiful beat of black feet
society is a hole

it beats my friends big heads
my friends have big heads
i can understand it but i don't recommend it
you got big big hair and everybody's scared

society is a hole
it makes me lie to my friends
the assault of holy noise there's a slap in my face
my friends are girls wrapped in boys
we are living in pieces i want to live in peace
society is a hole

Submitted by

shut On Dec 23, 2001

Tunic (Song for Karen)

Lyrics saved successfully! Thanks!

These lyrics are currently locked and can only be edited by moderators and administrators.

You must be logged in to edit lyrics.

Unable to save lyrics. Please try again.

Lyrics cannot contain links.

Lyric edit submitted successfully and is pending approval. Approvals usually take 24 hours.

Keep it true to the song

Fix what’s wrong, but don’t rewrite what the artist wrote. Stick to the official released version — album booklet, label site, verified lyric video, etc. If you’re guessing, pause and double-check.

Respect the structure

Songs have rhythm. Pages do too. Leave line breaks where they belong. Don’t smash things together or add extra empty space just for looks.

Punctuation counts (but vibe-editing doesn’t)

Correct typos? Yes. Re-punctuating a whole verse because it ‘looks better’? Probably not. Keep capitalization and punctuation close to the official source.

Don’t mix versions

If you’re editing the explicit version, keep it explicit. If it’s the clean version, keep it clean. No mashups.

Let the lyrics be lyrics

This isn’t the place for interpretations, memories, stories, or trivia — that’s what comments are for. Keep metadata, translations, and bracketed stage directions out unless they’re officially part of the song.

Edit lightly

If two lines are wrong… fix the two lines. No need to bulldoze the whole page. Think ‘surgical,’ not ‘remix.’

When in doubt, ask the crowd

Not sure what they’re singing in that fuzzy bridge? Drop a question in the comments and let the music nerds swarm. Someone always knows.

shut

Submitter

2001-12-23 22:55:48

3 Meanings

Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.

Sort by

by fenderjazz1

16y ago

thurston is expressing his distaste for the modern world most obviously. surrounded by insignificance and the hell of capitalistic society (my friends are girls wrapped in boys/it's running down my street with white power sneakers) my fave line: "we are living in pieces i wanna live in peace" couldn't have said it better myself. many people live their lives dislocated from what makes them happy or could potentially make them happy and (i'm thinking of New York) are harsh to strangers b/c they are just another person walking down the block ~Nick

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by whiskeyclonehotel

21y ago

This was written when Thurston misheard a Black Flag lyric

Users:

Reply · 1 Share

by foreverdrone 8y ago

@whiskeyclonehotel : For many years I've wondered whether the title of this song was a variation on the phrase "...society, as a whole..." but this is the first I've heard any facts regarding the specific source. Or, maybe this was nothing more than my own peculiar mondegreen.

by Willboe

15y ago

The Stooges- Not Right

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

Questions and Answers

Ask specific questions and get answers to unlock more indepth meanings & facts.