Headhunter Lyrics
Today he has no means, he's alone and anonymous
But written in his cells he has got the marks og the genius
I'm looking for this man to sell him to other men
To sell him to other men at ten times the price at least
I'm looking for this man who knows the rules of the game
Who's able to forget them to realize my aim
I'm looking for this man to make us rich and famous
Two - You bait the line
Three- You slowly spread the net
And four - You catch the man
It's about businesses cherry picking who they wish to employ.
Plus to me, this song doesn't sound dated at all.
It kicks seven shades of shit out of modern day music IMHO !
This song is a criticism of capitalism.
Huh. Maybe I'm too literal. I first heard this back in the 80s and was reading a lot of cyberpunk. I kind of always associated this era of industrial with it.
Anyway, I translated it literally. It's a song about a bounty hunter hunting down some genius (maybe programmer or other information expert) who's wanted for some very urgent reason. But he plans to double cross the his employer and sell the man to the competition to make him rich and famous.
But ultimately he'll kill the genius if either side crosses him. And he's explaining this to someone -probably to a contact who might know where he is.
The whole piece is a vignette. A snapshot of time in this bounty hunter's life.
Anyway, that's what I thought.
I can buy it as a criticism of capitalism, in that it is an indictment of corporate hiring practices.
The synthesized digeridoo that makes up the bassline is one of my favorite instrument sounds ever.
I think like a lot of great electro the precise meaning of the lyrics (beyond the broad theme of hunting someone) is left purposefully ambiguos, to add to the distance and cold atmosphere of the song
Here\'s an interview excerpt:\n\nTW: From the last album, Front By Front, you had the single "Headhunter" with the B-side "Welcome to Paradise." What made you think of the concept?\n\nJean-Luc DeMeyer: I had the chance to work in an insurance company before, and I worked in the department of human resources and I saw the way that this company was trying to hire people. It was very polite and very nice with men in suits, but at the same time it was very cut-throat. I wanted to make a parallel between tribal warfare and these activites. The song means both of these activities.
Used to dance to this song and I loved it. Then I heard it at a strip club...Now I really love it! :-) Peace
it seems to me to be mroe about corporate slavery about how wage earners are nothing mroe then numbers to corporate buisnesses and that they arent afraid to cut buy and sell peoples lifes for the bottom line of a few extra cetns per share
It's definitely about seeing humans as commodities to be bought, sold or traded, but whatever it is about, it's a techno masterpiece - the musical equivalent of a classic work of art.
What a great song! Reminds me of sitting at my computer in my old house, with the heater on, talking to the love of my life, and trying to come to terms with moving interstate. I used to play this song all the time last winter.