Lost in the Supermarket

The Clash

I'm all lost in the supermarket
I can no longer shop happily
I came in here for that special offer
A guaranteed personality

I wasn't born so much as I fell out
Nobody seemed to notice me
We had a hedge back home in the suburbs
Over which I never could see

I heard the people who lived on the ceiling
Scream and fight most scarily
Hearing that noise was my first ever feeling
That's how it's been all around me

I'm all lost in the supermarket
I can no longer shop happily
I came in here for a special offer
A guaranteed personality

I'm all tuned in, I see all the programs
I save coupons from packets of tea
I've got my giant hit discotheque album
I empty a bottle, I feel a bit free

The kids in the halls and the pipes in the walls
Make me noises for company
Long distance callers make long distance calls
And the silence makes me lonely

I'm all lost in the supermarket
I can no longer shop happily
I came in here for the special offer
A guaranteed personality

It's not here
It disappear
I'm all lost in the supermarket
I can no longer shop happily
I came in here for the special offer
A guaranteed personality

I'm all lost in the supermarket
I can no longer shop happily
I came in here for that special offer
A guaranteed personality

(I'm all lost) I'm all lost in the supermarket
(I'm all lost) I can no longer shop happily
(I'm all lost) I came in here for the special offer
A guaranteed personality

(I'm all lost) I'm all lost in the supermarket
(I'm all lost) I can no longer shop happily
(I'm all lost) I came in here for a special offer
A guaranteed personality

I'm all lost in the supermarket
I can no longer shop happily
I came in here for a special offer
A guaranteed personality

I'm all lost
I'm all lost
I'm all lost
I'm all lost in the supermarket
I can no longer shop happily
I came in here for the special offer
A guaranteed personality


Lyrics submitted by aebassist, edited by Mellow_Harsher

Lost In The Supermarket Lyrics as written by Mick Jones Joe Strummer

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Lost in the Supermarket song meanings
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73 Comments

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  • +10
    General Comment
    I think this song's about how disenchanted people become with modern society and the way its strips us of our identity. "I can no longer shop happily I came in here for that special offer A guaranteed personality" He lived his life like the commercials told him to, as in he followed all the trends thinking they had the answers ("I save coupons from packets of tea / I've got my giant hit discoteque album"). But when he wanted something substantial, personality, although modern culture promised it, it isn't there, hence is lost in the supermarket of modern culture.
    Cherub Rockon September 23, 2002   Link
  • +4
    General Comment
    It's a metaphor for suburban life. He's saying that growing up in the suburbs can lead to a kind of identity crisis because basically when you live there you have no identity(according to him, that is). So it is kind of depressing.
    aebassiston May 16, 2002   Link
  • +3
    General Comment
    It's all about consumerism being empty. We live for it, we got our giant hit Britney(tm) albums, and we all love Bacardi(tm)!! Yeah! Whoops where's our culture.
    arfarfon June 05, 2004   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    the supermarket is his happy place, like where he use to go get high or somthing, his life led him there, but its lost his effect, and he doesnt know what to do anymore
    intoodeepon April 10, 2003   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    I think this song is about being lonely or trying to find sumone to be with or sumthing along those lines. You can c it in such lines as... "I wasn't born so much as I fell out, Nobody seemed to notice me" and "The kids in the halls and the pipes in the walls, Make me noises for company" and "Long distance callers make long distance calls, And the silence makes me lonely" as well as other lines. The whole part with the getting lost in a supermarket is kinda a metaphor for the writers life. if your lost in a supermarket, your trying to find someone you kno the person u came in with, in this song, the writer kind of is saying how he's lost in the world and he's just trying to find someone he can relate to or sumone who will give him attention. I dont kno how much sense that just made but i hope u got what i was trying to say. anyway, The Clash rule! R.I.P. Joe Strummer and Topper Headon
    Iwannabetheminorityon June 23, 2003   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    Essentially to all of the meanings that previous posters have gotten from this song, I think that this song is about insecurity and confusion of who you really are. It's really well-written and one of my favorites from The Clash. Very well done.
    Aerionon April 07, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Mick Jones wrote this song while living when he was broke and had to live with his grandmother. I believe in a recent Rolling Stone he talks about this. Anyway, here he is, this hipster punk musician in a popular band, and he has to share a flat in the suburbs and just wallow in the lameness.
    ubermaxon April 18, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    a word from the easily amused... i always found this song humorous. it's just kind of funny to hear him singing about being lost in a grocery store... hahah. okay, i'll shut up now.
    LiquifiedCaton June 26, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Topper Headon's dead?!
    queenjaneon September 27, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    P.S. - I also love this song, it really struck a cord with the theme of lonliness, and again, Mick's voice suits it perfectly.
    queenjaneon September 28, 2004   Link

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