Devil's Haircut

To quote Beck from his special appearance on Futurama:

"See, Bender, you have you write about what you feel. Like, when I wrote Devil's Haircut, I was feeling... wait... What is that song about?"

on wikipedia it says that its about his past addictions to vicodin... which i havent read his bio, but i didnt know he had addictions to vicodin.... and its wikipedia that said so haha. I thought that it was just kinda like a jekyll and hyde thing... kinda... like he tries to stay away but "everywhere I look there's a devil waiting" and then he turns devious. Its a good song anyways whatever it means.

"Stealing kisses from the leperous faces" haha, lyrical genious? or old fool rambles? Beck would be the greatest rambling old grandpa. Haha.

This song obviously means, where ever he turns he's tempted to commit a sin..."everywhere I look there's a devil waiting."

Ahh, agreed. I've been listening to Beck since I was, like, two years old. You know, I often try to come up with lyrical interpretations of his songs, but I'm simply not that creative! His songs are just too awesomey weird. And I'm rather saddened that hardly anyone's commented on any Beck songs- he rocks my freaking WORLD. Haha. Oh well. He has originality like you wouldn't believe.

To me this song is about deterioration, the devils are dismantling all creation, there are many references to stagnant locations, which now seem to be rotting away. Lives in slumps (dropouts, briefcase clutchers, etc.). I don't have many ideas for what the devil's haircut could possibly refer to, maybe a perceived status quo (that of human nature or modern society) that rather than maintaining the world is leading it into a gradual decline. Something's wrong 'cause my mind is fading =? theres a nagging feeling at the back of his mind that the world is fractured and in decline?

Mouthwash jukebox gasoline Mouthwash =? A vague attempt to stave off the deterioration, hardly enough to have any real effect on its own. jukebox =? the pointless endeavors people pursue to while away their time in as enjoyable a way as possible gasoline =? peoples consumption and major contribution to the deterioration.

Rock 'n' roll, know what I'm sayin' =? maybe his realization that there is little that can be done to prevent it and you may as well get on with your life, theres no one he could tell who would listen or understand or have the power to do anything about it. Maybe a prediction of the chaos to emerge from the collapse.

I like the suggestions of a rebellion motif because it fits the lyrics however it doesnt fit the music/singing, he sounds so calm up untill the end, which seems to fit a sudden collapse better than a gradual buildup of tension. Also, he doesnt really seem to feel trapped as one of the pen pushers or even with them so much as just tagging along and observing them, describing them as briefcase blues rather than attributing the blues to himself. hitchhiking. On the other hand if you do look at it in the rebellion terms, the hitching a ride with the bleeding noses bit could be a reference to the desire to climb the social and/or corporate ladder.

This is probably mostly me and may have little to do with the song, but its what I think when I hear it.

also I agree with doodoodoo, there are lots of reasons an artist might want to claim it has no meaning (avoid having to explain it, or meaning is to personal to share openly

I'm tired of idiots saying Beck's songs are just rambling nonsense, just because you're not artistic enough to understand them doesn't mean they don't mean anything, like the beatles' I am the Walrus.

I ripped this off wikipedia because I decided to do some research on it instead of pulling random opinions from my own ass.

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The song is dotted with references to the wandering disorientation that comes with touring, such as "coming to town with the briefcase blues".

Beck himself has talked about the meaning of "Devils Haircut" on a few occasions. In one interview, he claimed that it was "a really simplistic metaphor for the evil of vanity". He said of the song: “ I don't know if I ever had any youthful purity, but I can understand that you might be tempted to make commercial shit and compromise to do it. I try not to compromise on anything. I think we associate becoming an adult with compromise. Maybe that's what the devil is. In "Devils Haircut", that was the scenario. I imagined Stagger Lee... I thought, what if this guy showed up now in 1996... I thought of using him as a Rumpelstiltskin figure, this Lazarus figure to comment on where we've ended up as people. What would he make of materialism and greed and ideals of beauty and perfection? His reaction would be, "Whoa, this is disturbing shit".

I feel as though this is song about the singer walks into a town full of anarchy and crime. The events lead am impression on him that begins as a meer thought("Got a Devil's Haircut in my mind").But by the end of the song,when Beck begins to scream the chorus, it seems as though the man has succumb to the discord of the town and is now a part of it to his horror

ah i love beck..i've been listenin since i was about 7..he is great..i love the drums in this song and the fx

this was SUCH a great song live... if you ever get the chance, GO SEE BECK LIVE!!!!!!!!!! it was one of my all time fav concerts and i didnt think i was even that huge of a Beck fan.... it was just sooo entertaining! you will love it!!

this was SUCH a great song live... if you ever get the chance, GO SEE BECK LIVE!!!!!!!!!! it was one of my all time fav concerts and i didnt think i was even that huge of a Beck fan.... it was just sooo entertaining! you will love it!!