Desaparecidos

Survival of the Fittest/It's a Jungle Out There

18 Meanings

Add Yours

Q&A

Survival of the Fittest/It's a Jungle Out There Lyrics

He hides in his suit like a snake in the grass
His sales-pitch forked-tongue hissed
Now the wolves wear their name tags
They are hunting in packs
Herding their prey up the aisles and back
They’re smiling
Their teeth are showing
While the doctors and lawyers like vultures descend
They swoop down to the scene of the car accident
To pick the victims to pieces
Then there is the sly silver fox
Makes his money tele-scamming notch babies
He says, "The end is near, buy my policy
I’ll make you young again
I’ll make you young again"

Loan sharks will circle, until they can make sure it's paid

Take the cash from my hand
Hear the register sing
And the roar of the lion logo on the screen
He’s hungry, I should buy some popcorn
So I exit the dark, feeling blind in the sun
And the bobcats look tired
They ate their fill of asphalt
Because we need more parking
With so many up at the pulpit
Rams and bugs
The news cameras capture guerrilla warfare
Eagles into buildings crash landed
Despair is all that there is now
In a cubical cage that smells like a rat
Whose smile gets bigger along with your debt

Don’t take it personal
It's just business

Submitted by

ltb On Apr 16, 2002

The Happiest Place on Earth

Man and Wife, the Latter (Damaged Goods)

What's New for Fall

Man and Wife, the Former (Financial Planning)

Manana

He hides in his suit like a snake in the grass
His sales-pitch forked-tongue hissed
Now the wolves wear their name tags
They are hunting in packs
Herding their prey up the aisles and back
They’re smiling
Their teeth are showing
While the doctors and lawyers like vultures descend
They swoop down to the scene of the car accident 
To pick the victims to pieces
Then there is the sly silver fox 
Makes his money tele-scamming notch babies
He says, "The end is near, buy my policy
I’ll make you young again
I’ll make you young again"

Loan sharks will circle, until they can make sure it's paid

Take the cash from my hand
Hear the register sing
And the roar of the lion logo on the screen
He’s hungry, I should buy some popcorn
So I exit the dark, feeling blind in the sun
And the bobcats look tired
They ate their fill of asphalt 
Because we need more parking
With so many up at the pulpit
Rams and bugs
The news cameras capture guerrilla warfare
Eagles into buildings crash landed
Despair is all that there is now
In a cubical cage that smells like a rat
Whose smile gets bigger along with your debt

Don’t take it personal
It's just business

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.

ltb

Submitter

2002-04-16 23:17:41

18 Meanings

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

Sort by

by FakeEstate

22y ago

This is one of the best written songs in ages. I love all of the metaphors.

the salesman as "a snake in the grass" - hidden, yet ready to attack; the wolves as corporations, pushing consumerism on culture; the MGM lion selling movies, selling concessions; bobcats eating asphalt (Bobcat is a brand of heavy equipment used in construction [such as parking lots]); eagles into buildings.

I am surprised at the 9/11 reference. Desaparecidos also made a 9/11 reference in Give Me the Pen, which was written shortly after the band formed in 2001.

A brilliant song, indeed. Who does the songwriting in the band? Is it all Oberst, or do the other members help?

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by benaxel

18y ago

I found the missing line on the desaparecidos myspace. Someone had posted the lyrics in a comment.

"Loan sharks will circle, till they can make sure it's paid."

I always thought he said something like "it tracks full circle, but the commander is me" but now we all know what the fuck he's actually saying.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by RubberDuckieYAY

24y ago

oh man this kid is gonna go places...he is so talented! when he sings he means it and it makes me fall in love, not just with him but what he's saying and altho these words are not romantic in a traditional sense they are romantic because of the passion he sings them with. this is one amazing song.