Song Details
Body Bag
Green Day has played this song live 20 times
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Song Meaning
Fan interpretation: "A relationship makes the narrator feel like he's a dead man in a body bag, either because he can't hide his mistakes from his lover, such as drinking, or because his lover is the one misbehaving and she's crazy and unpredictable.
'She knits me a pastel purple sweater.' The narrator's lover does sweet things for him, despite his mistakes. Alternatively, she does sweet things before acting out.
'I'm staring blank into the sky.' He could be staring at the sky as he revels in those sweet things, or he could be looking away because he knows he doesn't deserve it and it won't last. He could also be staring blankly at the sky as his lover screams at him.
'She reads me like a scarlet letter.' She sees through the narrator.
'She holds my heart and hopes to die.' This is a play on the phrase 'cross my heart and hope to die.' It could mean that the narrator's partner loves him loyally and intensely; it could mean that she will hold him to account for his bad behaviour no matter what; it could mean that he can't stop loving her even if he wants to, or if she's the problem, he might feel like she'll literally kill him.
'Sometimes it ain't so bad, like a soul lies on the slab. This is my life in a body bag.' The narrator sarcastically remarks that even when it's not so bad, it's still as if he's dead in a body bag and his soul is lying on the slab in front of his headstone.
'She's got a diary of madness.' His lover's 'diary of madness' could refer to his issues, her own issues or, if their love is forbidden, a diary she keeps that feels like a record of delusions because they can't actually be together.
'She is a murder mystery.' Again, she could be a 'murder mystery' because the narrator feels like she might kill him. That could be a metaphor for her holding him to account for his behaviour. She could also be a 'murder mystery' simply because the whole thing makes them both feel dead. Or maybe she is an unpredictable psycho.
'She dumped me in a brand new address with a brand new sweater made for me.' She's thrown the narrator out along with her last attempt to show him kindness, the sweater she made for him. Or, if she's the unpredictable psycho, she sugarcoats her ruthlessness with kindness."
'She knits me a pastel purple sweater.' The narrator's lover does sweet things for him, despite his mistakes. Alternatively, she does sweet things before acting out.
'I'm staring blank into the sky.' He could be staring at the sky as he revels in those sweet things, or he could be looking away because he knows he doesn't deserve it and it won't last. He could also be staring blankly at the sky as his lover screams at him.
'She reads me like a scarlet letter.' She sees through the narrator.
'She holds my heart and hopes to die.' This is a play on the phrase 'cross my heart and hope to die.' It could mean that the narrator's partner loves him loyally and intensely; it could mean that she will hold him to account for his bad behaviour no matter what; it could mean that he can't stop loving her even if he wants to, or if she's the problem, he might feel like she'll literally kill him.
'Sometimes it ain't so bad, like a soul lies on the slab. This is my life in a body bag.' The narrator sarcastically remarks that even when it's not so bad, it's still as if he's dead in a body bag and his soul is lying on the slab in front of his headstone.
'She's got a diary of madness.' His lover's 'diary of madness' could refer to his issues, her own issues or, if their love is forbidden, a diary she keeps that feels like a record of delusions because they can't actually be together.
'She is a murder mystery.' Again, she could be a 'murder mystery' because the narrator feels like she might kill him. That could be a metaphor for her holding him to account for his behaviour. She could also be a 'murder mystery' simply because the whole thing makes them both feel dead. Or maybe she is an unpredictable psycho.
'She dumped me in a brand new address with a brand new sweater made for me.' She's thrown the narrator out along with her last attempt to show him kindness, the sweater she made for him. Or, if she's the unpredictable psycho, she sugarcoats her ruthlessness with kindness."
Lyrics
She knits me a pastel purple sweater
I'm staring blank into the sky, alright
She reads me like a scarlet letter
She holds my heart and hopes to die, alright
Sometimes it ain't so bad
Like a soul lies on the slab
This is my life in a body bag
She's got a diary of madness
She is a murder mystery, oh yeah
She drops me in a brand new address
With a brand new sweater made for me, oh yeah
Sometimes it ain't so bad
Like a soul lies on the slab
This is my life in a body bag, oh yeah
Sometimes it ain't so bad
Like a soul lies on the slab
This is my life in a body bag, oh yeah
I'm staring blank into the sky, alright
She reads me like a scarlet letter
She holds my heart and hopes to die, alright
Sometimes it ain't so bad
Like a soul lies on the slab
This is my life in a body bag
She's got a diary of madness
She is a murder mystery, oh yeah
She drops me in a brand new address
With a brand new sweater made for me, oh yeah
Sometimes it ain't so bad
Like a soul lies on the slab
This is my life in a body bag, oh yeah
Sometimes it ain't so bad
Like a soul lies on the slab
This is my life in a body bag, oh yeah
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More Songs from Love is for Losers
1)
The Last Time
2)
Taxi Driver
3)
Chasing a Ghost
4)
Body Bag
5)
Love is for Losers
6)
Cult Hero
7)
Kill Your Friends
8)
Happiness
9)
Soul Surrender
10)
Turn Me Loose
11)
Goodbye to Romance