11 Songs With Hidden Meanings
3. Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks
This rather upbeat song released in 2010 by American indie pop band Foster The People does not have such a cheerful meaning.
Lead singer Mark Foster had recently learned about the rise of mental health issues amongst teenagers. He was mainly interested in the psychology behind gun violence. When writing the lyrics, Foster tried to get in the mind of a “psychotic kid”, he told the Rolling Stone in 2011.
Knowing this, these lyrics make more sense: “Yeah found a six-shooter gun in his dad’s closet hidden oh in a box of fun things”. And of course, the hook: “You’d better run, better run, faster than my bullet”.