Hey Man, Nice Shot

The rumor is that it was about R. Budd Dwyer, who was the Treasurer for the state of Pennsylvania. He gave a bizarre rambling speech and then reached into a manila envelope. He took out a huge gun, said, “Stand back, this will hurt someone!” and then put the gun in his mouth and fired one shot. The whole thing was broadcast live on TV only once and never again.

The song is about Budd Dwyer, if you don't believe me look at the sites I have posted below. Budd was accused of accepting a bribe, tried and convicted. If he had plea bargained he would have faced a maximum of five years in prison, instead he maintained his innocence and faced fifty five years. (What you could have taught me may refer to his integrity). Those who were right there got a new kind of fear (Dwyer shot himself in front of a nationally televised live audience). They think that your early ending was all wrong for the most part they're right but look how they all got strong (the men who set him up not only got off scott free but made a sh** load of cash). If you want to argue that he was taking the easy way out why would he not admit it? With nothing left to lose why not call out the people who led you to do this, your co-conspirators? Doesn't make any sense at all.

Read the official statement by the band (Filter),

Do you really think you can write, record, mix, edit, produce, manufacture, and promote an entire album for release to the public for purchase in fifteen months and 13 days.

To sum up previous assertions; 1: The song is and always has been about Budd Dwyer. The band has discussed this in numerous interviews and innumerable publications. 2: It is not, nor has it ever been, about Cobain. Though the album came out in '95, after Cobain's '94 suicide, the idea for the song precedes it. The band has always denied any correlation to Cobain. To speculate a bit on the "wish I could've met you" line. Dwyer was well respected and liked by his peers and constituents and his conviction was controversial and suspect. His reasons for suicide were rather noble as apposed to selfish. Due to a loophole Dwyer was aloud to keep his Treasurer position until sentencing, which was to occur the next day. His family's finances were in tatters due to the cost of legal fees. Dwyer knew that killing himself before being forced to resign would entitle his family to his pension and insurance, to the tune of 3.9 million dollars(in 1984 exchange rates) which would ensure a decent life for his wife and kids. Proclaiming his innocence till the end, Dwyer showed great conviction in claiming his own life.

This song was originally thought to be about Kurt Cobain, but was revealed to be about R. Budd Dwyer, a politician who killed himself before his staff and assorted television news crews. He was elected Treasurer for the State of Pennsylvania and had been tried and found guilty of racketeering, bribery, fraud, and conspiracy. Although Hey Man Nice Shot isn't about Kurt Cobain, the line "they'd stick it in your face and let you smell what they considered wrong" sounds like a reference to the Nirvana song Smells Like Teen Spirit. Hey Man Nice Shot is basically sarcastically saying good job shooting yourself and taking a nonchalant attitude by saying "hey man have fun."

"'Hey Man Nice Shot' is about a guy doing something drastic," Rich picks up, "holding a whole bunch of people at bay, and doing something incredibly devastating to himself. I responded to that as some guy trying to make his life better, by making it worse. And trying to make everyone else alive through suicide. I'm not going to bring up his name out of respect for his family, and the fact that I don't want to sell records off of it. As far as me seeing some guy do something crazy [in the eyes of] everyone else, I saw him do something that took a lot of balls—granted, it was very wrong—I still think that if you tried something and it was a fucked-up way of dealing with it, hey man, nice shot. You took a shot at something. I'm not condoning his death, but like a kamikaze pilot, he had the balls to do something. Of course, fighting the U.S. in the ’40s wasn't the best idea in the world for the Japanese, but they were dedicated and they felt this was the best way to deal with battleships. At least there is a spirit there. I don't know if it's right."

I personally met the lead singer of Filter backstage at the Masquerade in Atlanta. He told me that it was about RB Dwyer. He saw the movie/shockumentary called "Traces of Death". After the Dwyer suicide is shown, a boy who had attempted suicide incorrectly and was disfigured said he wished there was someone he could have talked to in order to do it right.

ok, i know for a FACT its about Budd Dwyer, its NOT about kurt cobain. you think he'd be congratulating kurt on killing himself? no. you can look anywhere else, its about the treasurer guy

The song is indeed about R. Budd Dwyer, but, to clear up what division2roning said, he did not go into a bank nor did he hold anyplace "hostage." R. Budd Dwyer was a politician found guilty of bribery and was facing a harsh sentence, so he held a press conference professing his innocence. At the end, he pulls a gun out of a manilla envelope and shoots himself. The incident was shown on at least one news program in it's entirety. As far as "What you could've taught me, I could have saved some face" goes, it can be broken down like this: Many suicide shots to the face result in disfigurement of the face. R. Budd Dwyer's shot was, for lack of a better term, a clean shot. It went through and out the back, destroying the sinus cavity, resulting in blood rushing out of his nose. His face was still intact. The singer is saying that he wishes he could have met Dwyer so that he could get pointers on how not to destroy his face in his own suicide. The video of the suicide is available online and is very disconcerting, even for me.

It's NOT about Cobain, it's about Dwyer. Read the interview and go look up the clip if you still can't figure this one out.....

http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/filter/articles/story/5925965/filter_are_back_in_the_fold

THE SONG IS ABOUT BUD DWYER, IT'S NOT ABOUT KURT COBAIN. THIS CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTERNET SIMPLY BY SEARCHING IT ON GOOGLE.

Bud Dwyer DID NOT go into a bank, as I see someone here said he did. He killed himself in a room at the Harrisburg Capital building after calling a press conference to "give an update on the situation" (he had been indicted on charges of corruption and fraud). Many thought this conference was going to be his resignation, but they were dead wrong.

You can read it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budd_Dwyer#Public_suicide

fucking retards.

AGAIN I REPEAT, FOR ALL THE DICK WADS THAT THINK IT'S ABOUT COBAIN, IT'S ABOUT DWYER. GOOGLE IT IF YOU STILL FEEL THE NEED TO BE A DOUCHEBAG.

I guess you kiddos never learned to read. Copied straight from Filter's website...

"The angst-ridden hit single “Hey Man Nice Shot” was inspired by the televised suicide of Pennsylvania state treasurer Budd Dwyer in 1987"