Loser


        In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey
        butane in my veins and a mouth to cut the junkie
        with the plastic eyeballs, spray paint the vegetables
        dog food skulls with the beefcake pantyhose
5       kill the headlights and put it in neutral
        stock car flamin' with a loser at the cruise control
        baby's in Reno with the vitamin D 
        got a couple of couches, sleep on the love seat
        someone keeps sayin' I'm insane to complain
10      about a shotgun wedding and a stain on my shirt
        don't believe everything that you breathe 
        you get a parking violation and a maggot on your sleeve
        so shave your face with some mace in the dark
        savin' all your food stamps and burnin' down the trailer park

15      Soy un perdedor
        I'm a loser baby so why don't you kill me?
        Soy un perdedor
        I'm a loser baby so why don't you kill me?

        Forces of evil in a bozo nightmare 
20      banned all the music with a phony gas chamber
        'cuz one's got a weasel and the other's got a flag
        one's got on the pole shove the other in a bag
        with the rerun shows and the cocaine nose job
        the daytime crap with the folksinger slop
25      he hung himself with a guitar string
        slap a turkey neck and it's hangin' from a pigeon wing
        you can't write if you can't relate
        trade the cash for the beef for the body for the hate
        and my time is a piece of wax fallin' on a termite
30      who's chokin' on the splinters

        Soy un perdedor
        I'm a loser baby so why don't you kill me? 
        Soy un perdedor 
        I'm a loser baby so why don't you kill me?

Analysis: Beck begins the song "Loser", his first single, describing himself and his style. Ever since the beginning, Beck has always been different. He doesn't pay much attention to anything ("plastic eyeballs", "dog food skulls") and doesn't plan for the future. Lines 5 and 6 say that he just goes with the flow, oblivious to danger and just letting nature take its course.

People tell him that he doesn't have anything to complain about, but he's telling them that not everything is that clear. Don't be too trusting, it's like doing something stupid without thinking about the consequences.

The chorus is a sarcastic mockery of himself. "Soy un perdedor" translates from Spanish into "I am a loser." Interestingly enough, the chorus was improvised on the spot while recording the track. He was frustrated and sang that because it's probably what he was thinking at the time since he didn't write a chorus for his song.

The second verse is describing how someone was trying to sabotage him. "Forces of evil" play tricks on him to stop him from making music. Lines 21-22 say that one of them tricked ("one's got a weasel") him so that the other could take advantage of his venerability and expose his weakness, ("one's got a flag") putting it on display ("on the pole"). The one who tricked him should be jailed and forced to watch crappy daytime reruns and eat the gross food that a musician, such as Beck, would eat.

After that, the guy finished himself with all he had left (a guitar string). Then Beck says in line 27 that you can't sing about what you don't know. He's implying that all his music comes from the heart and is genuine. I think line 28 is saying that all the money he makes goes toward food to fuel his body, which houses his hatred, but I'm not sure about that one. He has nothing to do with his time, and it's like a piece of wax ready to be molded.

Mellowgold

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