Schmidt, Chantal

English 9A

Dr. Josol

Protest song

Nov 13, 2015

 

Bullet by Hollywood Undead

Hollywood Undead’s Bullet was recorded for their second studio album American Tragedy which was recorded and released in 2011.  It’s a protest song written by Lewis Edwards and Hollywood Undead, so Jorel Decker, Matthew Busek, Dylan Alvarez, George Ragan, Jordon Terrell and Daniel Murillo.  A protest song is associated with a movement for social change.  Hollywood Undead is protesting against bullying and abuse. With Bullet the band is trying to tell you to be more considerate towards people that suffer from depression and loneliness.  Hollywood Undead is known for its Rap rock and rap metal songs.  

 Bullet tells the story of two young men in first person view. It describes the struggles both of these men had with attempted (or successful) suicide.  The happy music but dark lyrics in combination are supposed to represent a person with depression: Seemingly happy on the outside, sad on the inside.

The message of this song is to be considerate about a person’s condition or situation, you might not know what they’re going through and a simple sentence could end someone’s life.  Also, bullying leads to loneliness, leading to depression and eventually suicide.  Many people are not aware or simply don’t care about the effect of bullying.

The song begins with the chorus, showing the thoughts of the songs protagonist: A teenage boy.   At that part of the song he’s sitting at the top of a twenty story building and it is stated that his only friend is the bottom of a bottle, showing his loneliness.  He’s also trying to think of a way to end his life.

The song then launches into its first verse and Charlie scene starts rapping.  In it the protagonist describes the decomposition of his life saying that his “two best friends” are "a bottle of pills and a bottle of gin" (Charlie Scene, Bullet).  We then learn that he’s at the top of a twenty story building, that the polishing of a bottle is pushing him off and how asphalt has never “looked so soft”.  He then shares his concerns that his mother might’ve found his suicide note and had called the police, since he hears “the sirens and they're off in the distance” (Charlie Scene, Bullet). Realizing he needs to move fast, he states, that he’s more scarred than his wrist is.  Also, he still needs to buy a suit, because he “gotta look nice” (Charlie Scene, Bullet) when he goes to meet god.

The Chorus repeats and the song continues with the second verse in which the protagonist is switched out for another young male, who also struggles a lot in life.  He had an abusive family and his father left him, leaving his mother guilt-struck.  In the middle of the song it switches from third person view to second person view.

Both men are very lonely, since in both choruses it is stated that their only and best friends are "a bottle of pills and a bottle of gin"(Charlie Scene, Bullet).  They both want to end their lives with a bullet (therefore the song title) and say that if they do that, they’ll be “gone, gone, gone, gone” (Charlie Scene, Bullet), so dead.

This song is quite different from Hollywood Undead’s others songs, since it is mainly sung and rapped by Charlie Scene (Jordon Terrel), who isn’t one of the band’s clean singers, meaning he usually doesn’t sing, he raps and screams.

You would probably enjoy listening to Bullet if you liked rap music. If you’re a fan of Hollywood Undead , you should definitely try listening to this song, since it’s quite different from their previous songs, but if you only listen to them for their rock music, I wouldn’t recommend Bullet to you, since it sounds very cheerful and  not so much like Rap Rock or Rap Metal. Also, you don’t have to go through what the two protagonists have experienced to enjoy this song. All you have to do is listen to the story being told.

 

 

"Bullet" lyrics. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2015, from http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/hollywoodundead/bullet.html

 

Bullet. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2015, from http://hollywoodundead.wikia.com/wiki/Bullet

 

(n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullet_(Hollywood_Undead_song)