I think they're fusing those oh-so predictable metal ideas of something hard and dark and dangerous with something light and cute and pretty. Pumpkins were always like that. They'd write a song that went "AAAAARGH I WANT TO KILL EVERYONE ON EARTH" and the next thing on the album would be "Yay, pretty mermaids reading poetry to the moon".
The most common thought reason for the title and that rat in a cage lyric is that the song is about pent-up anger but the guy simply cannot get violent to let go of said anger! Bullet with butterfly wings is a saying for someone too empathetic to take out their rage on anyone or anything else!
maybe the title is meant to paint the mental picture of a bullet that instead of flying straight and focused on its target, it's just wizzing around aimlessly and chaotically, never being able to do any serious harm
I never thought of it that way. I thought of it as an attractive person [girl] whose looks are deceiving. But your idea makes waaaay more sense in the context of the song.
There's also this theme of beautification of violence.. The moral of the song aims towards a warning that the human world is horrible and destructive, despite otherwise portraying itself as wonderful.
He is a drummer that doesn't try to fit a pre defined beat to a song, he just constructs movements to fit. Honestly doing that is what has always separated the good from the great. Chamberlain elevates what would otherwise be just okay music, into something honestly quite special. I have always been impressed with his abilities.
To me, they sound exactly like the drums in the intro of Metallica's "Enter Sandman," which is another fantastic example of snare hits being used only for punctuation/emphasis while the toms hold down the groove (and build up the tension)
There's actually an interview with the drummer in the band (if I remember correctly) that explains the title of the song. I thought way more people knew why it was called a bullet with butterfly wings. It's actually a phrase that was used commonly in the 90s among music producers, it simply means a song that rises through the charts like a bullet, but has a melodic chorus like butterfly wings. The drummer explains in the interview that their producer asked them to make a "bullet with butterfly wings" and the lead singer got upset and said they'd make whatever they wanted. So to spite him, they made a song containing melodic verses but a heavy chorus. To drive the point home, they called it "bullet with butterfly wings". Didn't work as intended though, producer loved it
@@danwillreview As a long-time, hard core pumpkins fan, I want to point out that I'm 99% sure this is a made-up story. Beyond the unlikeliness of such a story being unheard of in the fan community, Billy and Flood didn't have a combative studio relationship at all, and why would Billy be against a melodic chorus song that did well on the charts? ...not to mention that the chorus is plenty melodic compared to the verses. I'd like to say I remember what the real meaning of the title is, but I think the reason I don't is that its real meaning is relatively boring-for example, a phrase he came up with where he liked the contrasting juxtaposition and thought it was appropriate for the song's theme. So, yeah, either he has never explained it, or the explanation was forgettable.
@@marvinlear5848 Actually there was discomfort per Flood at some level, at least there definitely was tension that occurred making the album. I remember the Pumpkins were being interviewed about the album on Chicago radio right hot after it was done in '95, and when asked about how it was working with Flood, there was a highly pregnant pause by all members, and the statement then popped by either James or WPC, prob Billy (it's amazing I remember quote but not sure who said it) , "he's one of those English whips" Stated wryly. And then another pregnant pause. Plus Billy is an irritable type that wouldn't be liked to be told what to do. So there's circumstantial evidence that the title story above at least could be true
@@Cheerleaderperson That's not particularly damning evidence, but it adds an interesting counterpoint. And I admit what is not "combative" for Billy Corgan might be combative for others; it's relative. Nevertheless, I've heard both Billy and Flood talk about recording with each other over the years, and whatever dustups they had, it must not have been worth mentioning, because they didn't. Also, who would've wanted a chart topper more than Billy Corgan? And if this phrase was so common in the '90s, why has it never come up in 25 years? Nothing in the story adds up! haha
ruclips.net/video/qk9uKBazec8/видео.html I didn't mention it earlier, but another problem I had with the story was that it doesn't sound like Flood's personality to even make such a request (of a melodic chorus chart topper, as if Billy needed cajoling to accomplish that at least once out of the 28 songs on MCIS). The video in the above link makes that pretty clear.
I think the reason they decided in the beginning to have the band enter after the completion of the word "vampire" rather than on the "pire" is that, in natural speech, "pire" is the less-stressed syllable in the word "vampire", so having the band enter on "pire" would've emphasized the wrong syllable and run counter to the natural rhythmic accent of the word which is generally a no-no in lyrics. Okay now I'm gonna watch the rest of the video. My two cents as a lyricist regarding that decision.
The fact that people apparently don't remember the title of this song anymore makes me feel old. On the plus side, this analysis is great. You hit on so many things that I always intuitively understood as a listener, but that I don't have the music theory to articulate. Like the tension between the melody and the chords in the bridge -- I could never have told you how that works, but I absolutely hear it.
Well at least some of us old people still remember the name of the song. Although when my wife & I saw them recently, she didn’t understand why so many people were wearing “zero” shirts 🤦🏻♂️
There's an old quote from Billy Corgan explaining how he would use a sort of free association two or three steps removed from the actual song to come up with titles: "Say you write a song about a chandelier, and the chandelier gives off light. And the light is the color red and red reminds you of the color your not supposed to wear around a bull. So you name the song 'Cow.'"
Despite all my rage, I am still just Nicholas Cage. And someone would say, I never made a spelling mistake. Despite all my rage, I am still just Nicholas... BEEEES! NO NOT THE BEES THEY'RE IN MY EYES!
@@salty_3k506 A somewhat common knock-knock joke among children. "Knock knock!" "Who's there?" "Interrupting cow!" "Interru-" "MOOOOO!" [Apologies for telling you this a year later.]
I can't get over your nails, I am sure your aware that they are long but my eyes are constantly drawn to that long nail. Maybe I'm being stupid but wowzers, I give this a nail out of music.
Damn, dude. Seriously. I’ve always loved this song, and admittedly, that scream is most of it. I want to say that I’m wondering how much of the note that they don’t play, but still hit, is actually overtones giving us a Ghost Note... I love your content, and always love seeing your new videos! PS: Thank you for the surprise Theremin!
Interesting interpretation of the snare part! It's like it personifies the thrashing against the cage, but in the end becomes the bars of a new one as he's defined by and therefore ultimately limited to that struggle. I've been listening to this song for most my life, and playing drums almost as long, and I never really thought of it that way before!
I love that you drew the parasol bicycle from The Prisoner when you said "His struggle to break free". I also love that you talk about claves in a song that you don't think uses them. You are a wonderful freak my friend.
12:40 sounds like a rewind, which is actually a genius way to make the unevenness sound good AND have that unsettling mood (think of skipping records in horror scenes)
To me the song title "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" was a description of a tool in suicide as being beautiful to the rat (person) who is trapped in the cage (depression) because it's an escape. The entire songs lyrics basically describe the feelings of someone suffering from severe depression.
@@chewiebacca8850 I love watching two people who have no context or insight reveal the inner meanings of songs they didn't write. Always so informative. It never occurred to me that works of art could only have one meaning. Good to know, and thanks for your insight. /s
@@chewiebacca8850 @Davis Phillips you're both right. When this was written Billy corgan was suffering from severe depression and sick of being bled dry by the music industry. He wrote the entire album by himself with no input from the other band members as he couldn't take the infighting nor the pressure of having to push through making another album, hence the 'can you fake it for just one more show'
This is now one of my favorite videos ever! I could watch one of these for basically every Pumpkins song. Something I’ve always loved about the Pumpkins (especially on Siamese Dream) is how they can be super heavy but not necessarily dreary or metal sounding (think Geek USA for example) but can also be very major sounding yet still heavy (Cherub Rock is a perfect example of this). And then when you get into all the later songs with all the different sounds, styles, etc, yeah I could definitely watch an endless number of these videos about the Pumpkins 😍
This is the first time I've watched your channel, and that was an incredible breakdown of the song. I've never examined it so closely and seen the way the music tells the story as much as the lyrics do. Thank you for this video, and I'll be looking forward to seeing many more!!
Funny how you talk about Jimmy Chamberlain matching the vocals. There’s a video where he’s talking about Tonight Tonight and how he likes to read the lyrics when writing his drum parts.
Remember seeing this on audio tape in a music shop back when I was little. One of my few memories from a place we didn't live in for that long before moving again. It was quite striking, obviously, to stick in my memory like that.
I love your delivery . The way you are discussing the theory along with the literary merits of the song, all the while lightening the mood with doodle jokes , well, its masterful . Thank you .
This was so well done!!! I've been writing songs for...damn, I'm old! And the Pumpkins are my favorite band, so this was perfect for me! Thank you so much for making and sharing this!!
If you want the full experience listen to Mellon Collie then listen to The Aeroplane Flies High box set. It's a lot of B-sides and demos along with the singles. Their B-sides and demos are just as good as the released stuff.
Awesome! From the moment I first saw your videos and later became a patron,(and suggested Tonight, Tonight for analysis) I've been waiting for an SP song. Worth the wait! Thank you!
This song was my most listened to song for a long time. I'd listen to it on repeat. I think I listened to it like 130 times or something like that in a period of probably 2 months. My old music app (I think it was just the old Samsung Music set-up from like 2014) kept track of each listen. It was miles above anything else.
SP are probably my all-time favorite band, and it's great to see some serious analysis of one of their classics. And here is my stab at the meaning of the title: a butterfly is a classic symbol of one's self expression coming into it's own or one that sort of gets at the same thing that the ugly duckling fable tries to, right? But while Corgan has proven himself quite adept at making pretty songs, just as often his self expression takes the form it does in this song, as a noisy, violent outburst, like a gunshot, and he is left wondering if he has brought anything of value into the world or just brought attention to his own negative outlook, you know, like a rat thrashing about at its cage. More likely, he just thought it sounded cool, though. One of the fan favorites is called "Mayonaise," for Pete's sake, so I don't think all their song titles had deep meanings.
My reading of the song has always been more about the boundary between rage and despair. Rage presumes the existence of a solution and directs us that an all out, immediate effort must be successful due to the unacceptability of a situation. Despair presumes there is no solution to a horrible solution, and directs us to preserve our energy towards things we can do something about, even if it is just palliative. The chanting "And I still believe that I cannot be saved" strikes me as someone is consciously trying to remind themselves they can't escape a bad situation, while their emotions still drive them to lash out as if there is one. It's a final battle between the two. The rage only ends when there is no more fuel left for it: through death, exhaustion, etc. Only a total shutdown ends the feud between rage and despair.
Great work, as always! I am continually amazed with your insightfull analyses. The bridging of music theory, semantics and emotional expression is great on this one! Really nice job!
I love this song, but a big part that plays in that is the relatability of the end of the song. I know the exact experience and I know that others have too where you get so unimaginably angry at something that go from loud to quiet as you try to suppress the anger but doing so only makes you think about it more making it build up to a new level that the volume of your anger breaches what you thought was the cap. I think it shows that emotion perfectly from the buildup of anger to the suppression to the inevitable explosion of emotions.
I think it's less about not letting your anger define you and more about the hopeless indignation of knowing how much is wrong with the would without the ability to effect it in a way that feels meaningful. No matter how angry we are at the way things are we are individually powerless to front meaningful change.
I've watched so many of your videos (I subscribe, like, etc) and I cannot thank you enough for making me a tiny bit smarter (I can only retain about 1% of your great info). But how is it I have not noticed those nails before.
To me, the Bb chord loop with no Bb could also be interpretted as that stable loop you mentioned. It's the normal that everyone has accepted, and Corgan's voice is the only thing highlighting the problem with it. The world isn't alright, we just need people who can raise the objections. And the marching pattern of the snare could then represent the constant battle. He has to keep shouting, keep raging, just to stay outside the cage. And that's the catch, even outside the cage of normallity, Corgan is still trapped. He's trapped in the fight to stay out. Maybe this is just because of my rather literal interpretation of the music video. The miners are desperately clawing at the walls to escape the pit they're in. The pit that represents a life of pure toll and hard work with no reward. And Corgan, who is free of the mud and physical work, is himself trapped in the position he's put himself. He's expected to just be a showman, an entertainer. He still can't escape the labels that he's assigned. He has to 'fake it for just one more show,' faking happiness, or energy, or whatever else is required of him.
This is absolutely remarkable. Makes so much sense and presented in a manner that a non-musician (me) can follow. LOVE SP and would love to see more of this type of exposition with Soma, Porcelina, and such.
I just found your channel and I wanted to say this vid is so beautifully made! And the little doodles really do help with explaining an easy concept in a visual way other then written music. Thank you!
C/W Suicide "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" always struck me as a reference to suicide - The whole thing is about how trapped he feels and how difficult life is, and the butterfly wings (usually associated with beauty, change, and freedom) are both a positive spin on a violent thing - the bullet that changes you, that helps you escape. Super dark reading, but not uncommon territory for the Smashing Pumpkins.
Dang, I was hoping you'd shed some light on about 1:46 in the song where a second high pitched guitar comes. I always loved that part. Well done still! I wish Billy Corgan could do a "reacts" type video to this.
A M A Z I N G. I've always loved that song since I was a moody teenager when it first came out but I have never connected to how deep it truly goes. I love your break downs of songs.. Thank you for your knowledge and in depth research....
I always thought that the title for this song made sense. A bullet is an image of violence; an object commonly associated with death, war, and explosive energy. A butterfly is gentle; associated with beauty, delicacy, and the symbolism of how short their lives are. Even if it's often referenced as a meme, "War never changes" is a quote that resonates true in a vampiric world. Giving a bullet - a violent, explosive object - the wings of a butterfly - a delicate, beautiful sight - essentially is a metaphor for covering ugly with a façade of happiness. "Despite all my rage, I'm still just a rat in a cage." The cage is a protective barrier between the people on the outside from the violent, disgusting being held within it. As someone who's suffered from anger issues their whole life, I think it's safe to say that you can't cover ugly with any kind of barrier. Eventually those barriers break, and there's no stopping the beast inside from getting loose. It's a bullet with butterfly wings; it's anger.
I think the title is about how some might miss the point of the subject matter because they think it's just a pretty song. This same sentiment is shared by both Nirvana and Muhammad Ali. "He's the one who likes all our pretty songs, and he likes to sing along, and he likes to shoot his gun, but he knows not what it means." "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." Within the course of this song, Billy uses at least five different vocal styles. As a metal vocalist myself, I can recognize the different ways to utilize the voice. I was classically trained in choirs, but I've also studied linguistics, so I know where certain sounds are made in the mouth and throat. When I sing this song, I have to remember which vocal styles belong where. It's quite the challenging song to perform. Kudos to Billy for crafting such a masterpiece of vocal performance.
A bullet with butterfly wings is a violent thing superficially beautiful, like a song about rage and resignation being cathartic and seemingly resolved. It might also be the bittersweet release of death, hopefully dying the cause, but all too often another body in the mill with no more significance than a crack and a squelch.
Be careful as you rage against the machine (sorry) because you run the risk of being imprisoned BY your rage. I like this interpretation and I think it's a valuable lesson for those of us living in the early 2020s. Without getting too political, there are plenty of reasons to feel like we're in cages and some very valid reasons to be enraged by that, but there is a danger of getting trapped in that rage and building our own cages with it. Thank-you!
something i find interesting with the rhythm in the prechorus is that the hits last increasing durations (3 eighths, 4 eighths, 5 eighths) before the two quick hits (both 2 eighths each) which gives it an imbalanced feeling and also a sense of rhythmic tension and release
Such amazing songs! I tend to focus on the brilliant lyrics, but the music is also amazing. I'd vote for anything on Lincoln: Ana Ng, They'll need a crane, Lie Still Little Bottle...
They will put it on the list to consider if you support 12Tone on Patreon. It is logical to support the people who pay subscription to keep this awesome channel happening. 🎶😎
you didnt mention it but on the final chorus where the chord loop is completed, because its missing that extra 2/4 bar, the lyrics are cut off at the word cage so Billy only sings "Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a - despite all my rage...". Hes broken free from his cage, so theres no need to finish that line. Its a common trick, especially in rock, to continue a chorus line like this where the lyric that would fall on beat 1 is omitted so that the loop can continue to build toward a resolution at the end of the chorus, but this usually happens at the cost of the lyrics making sense. its such a clever use of the trick to actually bring that into the story of the song.
new subscriber here! Thank you for this awesome breakdown. I love and understand music theory but I also love pop music devices. You mix your discussion up nicely
The bullet is violence, the butterfly wings are either innocence or rebirth. The juxtaposition expresses frustration - a desire to tear everything down, paired with the realization that even if you could it wouldn't accomplish anything "Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage" and outside of the cage he's still just a rat in a rage
"The world is a vampire" is the answer. The next line explains why it's the answer. So it makes sense how it goes from resolved to unresolved. It follows the same pattern of effect->cause as the lyrics.
Ive always been a fan of backwards period stuff. When done well, it just feels like a constant, floating build, rather than a series of resolved thoughts. And it can just set you up, and get you accustomed to the float, and then send you crashing into a chorus, for more power.
Oh hey, it's the first one of these for a song that I have actually listened to all that much; also, funnily enough, it was playing at the grocery store while I was shopping the other day
I'm always a bit weirded out when anti-establishment music like grunge is played as supermarket music. Reminds me that the culture machine can absorb and co-opt any rage or protest thrown at it There's a Black Mirror episode on this
Bit late to the party, but when combined with the imagery from the music video, there is room to make an argument that All Quiet on the Western Front (original movie) was being referenced, since Paul is killed by a sniper while reaching for a butterfly at the end of the film. My personal head cannon is that the song was a reaction to the pointlessness of war (the early 90s bring such hits as the first gulf war, the Rwandan civil war/genocide, the Bosnian civil war) and the title is a reference to one of the greatest anti war films of all time. The music video and its trenches and mud being further reference to that film about trench warfare. I have no evidence of this beyond coincidence, but it does kind of hold up.
In a way the answer and then question stucture can sound more natural, it's really clear up front what you're saying, then the question acts as more of a twist. This is a pretty cool way to do crazy things with the questions, like chromatic stuff, you understand it's context going into it. It can also be a great way to really launch you into a new phrase.
"despite all my rage i am still just a rat in a cage" and "bullet with butterfly wings" both somewhat express this violence, that cant really have an effect. its rage caged like a rat, and a bullet thats harmless like a butterfly. both express this force and emotion thats powerless to actually be expressed and have an impact.
I saw Smashing Pumpkins on their last tour a few year years ago. Hands down the best show I've ever seen. More than just awesome music. The production, the set, the lighting, everything was a complete work of art. They're coming back through next month and I'm so stoked.
"The world is a Vampire" just like a Bullett with Butterfly wings; it's beautiful and mysterious but it's 100% set on killing you. No matter how much you rattle your cage and express your rage it just doesn't care. It will kill you all the same, without thought or care as that's it's nature. That's why the song is called "A bullet with Butterfly wings." Cheers.🤙
I think they were thinking "hmm bullet with butterfly wings is a pretty cool name for a song"
Yep.. thats what I always thought
I think they're fusing those oh-so predictable metal ideas of something hard and dark and dangerous with something light and cute and pretty. Pumpkins were always like that. They'd write a song that went "AAAAARGH I WANT TO KILL EVERYONE ON EARTH" and the next thing on the album would be "Yay, pretty mermaids reading poetry to the moon".
They'd be right.
I imagine Trent from Daria saying that and it feels way to right.
Also a pretty cool tattoo.
The most common thought reason for the title and that rat in a cage lyric is that the song is about pent-up anger but the guy simply cannot get violent to let go of said anger!
Bullet with butterfly wings is a saying for someone too empathetic to take out their rage on anyone or anything else!
I'm glad he got it out via music
so you're saying it was an emo song before emo was really a thing... yeah that sounds about right
@@benjaminwatt2469 is Paint It Black an emo song?
@@benjaminwatt2469 emos invented emotions huh
It’s a statement of futility and nihilism. No matter what, he has no power to do anything
maybe the title is meant to paint the mental picture of a bullet that instead of flying straight and focused on its target, it's just wizzing around aimlessly and chaotically, never being able to do any serious harm
I never thought of it that way. I thought of it as an attractive person [girl] whose looks are deceiving.
But your idea makes waaaay more sense in the context of the song.
There's also this theme of beautification of violence..
The moral of the song aims towards a warning that the human world is horrible and destructive, despite otherwise portraying itself as wonderful.
Exactly. The bullet is the potential of the rage and the butterfly wings are an inability to deliver any meaningful action from the rage.
Probably not
@@Undaglibenglaubengloben Interesting analysis :D
"Billy Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins. "
"Homer Simpson, smiling politely."
Homer: “Thanks to your gloomy music, my kids no longer have hope for a future I can’t possibly provide.”
Billy: “Thanks! We try to make a difference.”
sadgassum for days
Before the walls fell.
666 lol
When you said 'rat in a cage' will pay off I was hoping there will be C A G E progression at the end
That would be such a weird modulation lmao
cool chord progression ngl
Okay, C# A G E, then
Chamberlain is such a great drummer.
The lack of cymbals and the pattern accentuating the vocals are very keith moon inspired here.
He is a drummer that doesn't try to fit a pre defined beat to a song, he just constructs movements to fit. Honestly doing that is what has always separated the good from the great. Chamberlain elevates what would otherwise be just okay music, into something honestly quite special. I have always been impressed with his abilities.
YYYEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!
To me, they sound exactly like the drums in the intro of Metallica's "Enter Sandman," which is another fantastic example of snare hits being used only for punctuation/emphasis while the toms hold down the groove (and build up the tension)
There's actually an interview with the drummer in the band (if I remember correctly) that explains the title of the song. I thought way more people knew why it was called a bullet with butterfly wings. It's actually a phrase that was used commonly in the 90s among music producers, it simply means a song that rises through the charts like a bullet, but has a melodic chorus like butterfly wings. The drummer explains in the interview that their producer asked them to make a "bullet with butterfly wings" and the lead singer got upset and said they'd make whatever they wanted. So to spite him, they made a song containing melodic verses but a heavy chorus. To drive the point home, they called it "bullet with butterfly wings". Didn't work as intended though, producer loved it
Ironic how despite Corgan's rage at the producer's request, he still did exactly what the producer wanted... Like a rat in a cage
@@danwillreview As a long-time, hard core pumpkins fan, I want to point out that I'm 99% sure this is a made-up story. Beyond the unlikeliness of such a story being unheard of in the fan community, Billy and Flood didn't have a combative studio relationship at all, and why would Billy be against a melodic chorus song that did well on the charts? ...not to mention that the chorus is plenty melodic compared to the verses.
I'd like to say I remember what the real meaning of the title is, but I think the reason I don't is that its real meaning is relatively boring-for example, a phrase he came up with where he liked the contrasting juxtaposition and thought it was appropriate for the song's theme. So, yeah, either he has never explained it, or the explanation was forgettable.
@@marvinlear5848 Actually there was discomfort per Flood at some level, at least there definitely was tension that occurred making the album. I remember the Pumpkins were being interviewed about the album on Chicago radio right hot after it was done in '95, and when asked about how it was working with Flood, there was a highly pregnant pause by all members, and the statement then popped by either James or WPC, prob Billy (it's amazing I remember quote but not sure who said it) , "he's one of those English whips" Stated wryly. And then another pregnant pause. Plus Billy is an irritable type that wouldn't be liked to be told what to do. So there's circumstantial evidence that the title story above at least could be true
@@Cheerleaderperson That's not particularly damning evidence, but it adds an interesting counterpoint. And I admit what is not "combative" for Billy Corgan might be combative for others; it's relative.
Nevertheless, I've heard both Billy and Flood talk about recording with each other over the years, and whatever dustups they had, it must not have been worth mentioning, because they didn't. Also, who would've wanted a chart topper more than Billy Corgan? And if this phrase was so common in the '90s, why has it never come up in 25 years? Nothing in the story adds up! haha
ruclips.net/video/qk9uKBazec8/видео.html
I didn't mention it earlier, but another problem I had with the story was that it doesn't sound like Flood's personality to even make such a request (of a melodic chorus chart topper, as if Billy needed cajoling to accomplish that at least once out of the 28 songs on MCIS). The video in the above link makes that pretty clear.
I think the reason they decided in the beginning to have the band enter after the completion of the word "vampire" rather than on the "pire" is that, in natural speech, "pire" is the less-stressed syllable in the word "vampire", so having the band enter on "pire" would've emphasized the wrong syllable and run counter to the natural rhythmic accent of the word which is generally a no-no in lyrics. Okay now I'm gonna watch the rest of the video. My two cents as a lyricist regarding that decision.
Finished the video and I only have one thing to say.
ruclips.net/video/azhgpelu0vY/видео.html
Well, that and the part about the interrupted four chord loop and then it's eventual breaking free at the near-end of the song was a neat analysis.
"The Rumba Clave isn't all that common in rock..." *draws the rarest Magic card of all, the Black Lotus* :D Amazing little detail there.
"If I add a snare... it sucks the life out of it."
I see what you did there.
The fact that people apparently don't remember the title of this song anymore makes me feel old. On the plus side, this analysis is great. You hit on so many things that I always intuitively understood as a listener, but that I don't have the music theory to articulate. Like the tension between the melody and the chords in the bridge -- I could never have told you how that works, but I absolutely hear it.
Made me feel old too, the idea that people don’t know the name of this song is so foreign to me - everyone I knew in high school LOVED this song
Feels like this is the case for a lot of songs where the title isn't part of the chorus or the lyrics at all.
I’m 19, been listening to this song for years and know the title, think most do lmaoo
Well at least some of us old people still remember the name of the song. Although when my wife & I saw them recently, she didn’t understand why so many people were wearing “zero” shirts 🤦🏻♂️
Obviously the song is called “whale wars theme song”
back in the day we used to call it “the world is a vampire” like an emily dickinson poem
Finally! Studying Emily Dickinson at school pays off, it helps me understand a youtube comment! So worth!
Transatlanticism?
@@louieo.blevinsmusic2011 indeed
@@caseyhamm8822 good taste.
@@caseyhamm8822 hell yeah transatlanticiscm is beautiful
There's an old quote from Billy Corgan explaining how he would use a sort of free association two or three steps removed from the actual song to come up with titles:
"Say you write a song about a chandelier, and the chandelier gives off light. And the light is the color red and red reminds you of the color your not supposed to wear around a bull. So you name the song 'Cow.'"
"Despite all my rage, I am still just Nicholas Cage"
"Despite all my beans, I am still just a rat in some jeans"
Nic in a cage perhaps?
Do you have my apartment bugged?
Despite all my rage I’m still just a rabbit nick cage
Despite all my rage, I am still just Nicholas Cage.
And someone would say, I never made a spelling mistake.
Despite all my rage, I am still just Nicholas... BEEEES! NO NOT THE BEES THEY'RE IN MY EYES!
Wow. Cory, your analysis adds layers to the song that I never suspected. Whether the Pumpkins intended them or not is irrelephant. They are there now.
Oh man, when you drew the cow for the interrupting third bar I almost died
Ayyyyy
Moo!
This is my kids' favorite joke
i don't get it :(
@@salty_3k506 A somewhat common knock-knock joke among children.
"Knock knock!"
"Who's there?"
"Interrupting cow!"
"Interru-"
"MOOOOO!"
[Apologies for telling you this a year later.]
I can't get over your nails, I am sure your aware that they are long but my eyes are constantly drawn to that long nail. Maybe I'm being stupid but wowzers, I give this a nail out of music.
Like honestly I can deal with unkempt nails but please just trim that thumbnail. I love the content, but my eye keeps getting distracted by it.
I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure it's for playing guitar.
@@romanjacobs6902 please just use a pick then
@@bradenculver7457 its a very common thing for playing fingerstyle guitar, its not disgusting bro ur just weird
@@Alex-tf7cs I get that it's useful but if u r telling me it isn't gross I'm gonna disagree
The nails add to the “world is a vampire” motif. 🧛🏼♂️
Is that why? I was going crazy trying to remember if he had them in previous videos.
@@jacobpeterson3947 they use they/them pronouns and have had long nails for a while because they like their nails that way
@@ceilidh169 you know i always just kinda assumed they were a classical guitarist
@@ferret8001 wrong hand, nails go on the right hand, unless the slight chance he plays lefty, which is pretty uncommon
@@stevesmith7339 12tone goes by they, not he.
And they have long nails on both hands so I ain't gonna feel bad about that mistake
Damn, dude. Seriously. I’ve always loved this song, and admittedly, that scream is most of it. I want to say that I’m wondering how much of the note that they don’t play, but still hit, is actually overtones giving us a Ghost Note... I love your content, and always love seeing your new videos!
PS: Thank you for the surprise Theremin!
Interesting interpretation of the snare part! It's like it personifies the thrashing against the cage, but in the end becomes the bars of a new one as he's defined by and therefore ultimately limited to that struggle. I've been listening to this song for most my life, and playing drums almost as long, and I never really thought of it that way before!
I love that you drew the parasol bicycle from The Prisoner when you said "His struggle to break free". I also love that you talk about claves in a song that you don't think uses them. You are a wonderful freak my friend.
12:40 sounds like a rewind, which is actually a genius way to make the unevenness sound good AND have that unsettling mood (think of skipping records in horror scenes)
To me the song title "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" was a description of a tool in suicide as being beautiful to the rat (person) who is trapped in the cage (depression) because it's an escape. The entire songs lyrics basically describe the feelings of someone suffering from severe depression.
It has nothing to do with suicide, and everything to do with how the music industry treats artists.
@@chewiebacca8850 I love watching two people who have no context or insight reveal the inner meanings of songs they didn't write. Always so informative. It never occurred to me that works of art could only have one meaning. Good to know, and thanks for your insight. /s
@@chewiebacca8850 @Davis Phillips you're both right. When this was written Billy corgan was suffering from severe depression and sick of being bled dry by the music industry. He wrote the entire album by himself with no input from the other band members as he couldn't take the infighting nor the pressure of having to push through making another album, hence the 'can you fake it for just one more show'
This is now one of my favorite videos ever! I could watch one of these for basically every Pumpkins song. Something I’ve always loved about the Pumpkins (especially on Siamese Dream) is how they can be super heavy but not necessarily dreary or metal sounding (think Geek USA for example) but can also be very major sounding yet still heavy (Cherub Rock is a perfect example of this). And then when you get into all the later songs with all the different sounds, styles, etc, yeah I could definitely watch an endless number of these videos about the Pumpkins 😍
Yup°!!!
This is the first time I've watched your channel, and that was an incredible breakdown of the song. I've never examined it so closely and seen the way the music tells the story as much as the lyrics do. Thank you for this video, and I'll be looking forward to seeing many more!!
This brings me back to my college days so fricking hard.
I was completely broke but I still scraped together enough for this CD.
Ha! You drew Name Explain! I love it!
Am appropriate shout out, of sure.
Funny how you talk about Jimmy Chamberlain matching the vocals. There’s a video where he’s talking about Tonight Tonight and how he likes to read the lyrics when writing his drum parts.
Interesting. Would you mind to give some keyword for searching this video on youtube ? Thanks in advance
@@Christian-NaitSirC ruclips.net/video/vH_pvOmuPfY/видео.html
@@jamlemon thanks a lot
Remember seeing this on audio tape in a music shop back when I was little. One of my few memories from a place we didn't live in for that long before moving again. It was quite striking, obviously, to stick in my memory like that.
I love your delivery . The way you are discussing the theory along with the literary merits of the song, all the while lightening the mood with doodle jokes , well, its masterful . Thank you .
"It's a dark and hollow freedom, but it's freedom nonetheless."
Considering Billy Corgan's antics in the last few years, this rings especially true.
This was so well done!!!
I've been writing songs for...damn, I'm old! And the Pumpkins are my favorite band, so this was perfect for me!
Thank you so much for making and sharing this!!
And now I'm going to have to listen to Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.
That record has a lot of ups and downs. There's about 15 really good songs on it and some drek.
Not a bad way to spend around two hours.
@@swissarmyknight4306 I tend to prefer the first disk.
Mellon Collie is my favorite record of all timeeeeeee
ill represent ✊
If you want the full experience listen to Mellon Collie then listen to The Aeroplane Flies High box set. It's a lot of B-sides and demos along with the singles. Their B-sides and demos are just as good as the released stuff.
Awesome! From the moment I first saw your videos and later became a patron,(and suggested Tonight, Tonight for analysis) I've been waiting for an SP song. Worth the wait! Thank you!
Me: dang this is a good video about a good song that I’ve only heard once
Also me: dang his fingernails are long
*their
It’s like a frigging coke nail!
this song was a big part of my youth... damn, I'm getting old.
also @@byebyecitybyebye ??
@@ideitbawxproductions1880 12tone goes by they/their pronouns, which the initial comment goofed up on
@@ideitbawxproductions1880 12tone goes by they/them, not he/him.
This song was my most listened to song for a long time. I'd listen to it on repeat. I think I listened to it like 130 times or something like that in a period of probably 2 months. My old music app (I think it was just the old Samsung Music set-up from like 2014) kept track of each listen. It was miles above anything else.
This is one of my favorite songs. THANK YOU for doing an analysis on it.
A drum beat without snare! Interesting how sticking to only toms completely changes the sound, I never would have picked up on that listening to it
It's something you didn't notice but you sure felt it. Totally fits into the quiet -> build -> release dynamic common in Grunge
SP are probably my all-time favorite band, and it's great to see some serious analysis of one of their classics. And here is my stab at the meaning of the title: a butterfly is a classic symbol of one's self expression coming into it's own or one that sort of gets at the same thing that the ugly duckling fable tries to, right? But while Corgan has proven himself quite adept at making pretty songs, just as often his self expression takes the form it does in this song, as a noisy, violent outburst, like a gunshot, and he is left wondering if he has brought anything of value into the world or just brought attention to his own negative outlook, you know, like a rat thrashing about at its cage. More likely, he just thought it sounded cool, though. One of the fan favorites is called "Mayonaise," for Pete's sake, so I don't think all their song titles had deep meanings.
THEM FINGERNAILS THO
My reading of the song has always been more about the boundary between rage and despair. Rage presumes the existence of a solution and directs us that an all out, immediate effort must be successful due to the unacceptability of a situation. Despair presumes there is no solution to a horrible solution, and directs us to preserve our energy towards things we can do something about, even if it is just palliative.
The chanting "And I still believe that I cannot be saved" strikes me as someone is consciously trying to remind themselves they can't escape a bad situation, while their emotions still drive them to lash out as if there is one. It's a final battle between the two. The rage only ends when there is no more fuel left for it: through death, exhaustion, etc. Only a total shutdown ends the feud between rage and despair.
This song is such a classic! The breakdown on how the music reinforce the themes is awesome and really drives home why the song works so well, bravo
Love the Name Explain shoutout!
Great work, as always! I am continually amazed with your insightfull analyses. The bridging of music theory, semantics and emotional expression is great on this one! Really nice job!
I love this song, but a big part that plays in that is the relatability of the end of the song. I know the exact experience and I know that others have too where you get so unimaginably angry at something that go from loud to quiet as you try to suppress the anger but doing so only makes you think about it more making it build up to a new level that the volume of your anger breaches what you thought was the cap. I think it shows that emotion perfectly from the buildup of anger to the suppression to the inevitable explosion of emotions.
I think it's less about not letting your anger define you and more about the hopeless indignation of knowing how much is wrong with the would without the ability to effect it in a way that feels meaningful. No matter how angry we are at the way things are we are individually powerless to front meaningful change.
This was the most enjoyable analysis I’ve seen / heard in a long time. Good work!
The isolations underscoring your point were awesome.
I've watched so many of your videos (I subscribe, like, etc) and I cannot thank you enough for making me a tiny bit smarter (I can only retain about 1% of your great info).
But how is it I have not noticed those nails before.
To me, the Bb chord loop with no Bb could also be interpretted as that stable loop you mentioned. It's the normal that everyone has accepted, and Corgan's voice is the only thing highlighting the problem with it. The world isn't alright, we just need people who can raise the objections. And the marching pattern of the snare could then represent the constant battle. He has to keep shouting, keep raging, just to stay outside the cage. And that's the catch, even outside the cage of normallity, Corgan is still trapped. He's trapped in the fight to stay out.
Maybe this is just because of my rather literal interpretation of the music video. The miners are desperately clawing at the walls to escape the pit they're in. The pit that represents a life of pure toll and hard work with no reward. And Corgan, who is free of the mud and physical work, is himself trapped in the position he's put himself. He's expected to just be a showman, an entertainer. He still can't escape the labels that he's assigned. He has to 'fake it for just one more show,' faking happiness, or energy, or whatever else is required of him.
This is absolutely remarkable. Makes so much sense and presented in a manner that a non-musician (me) can follow. LOVE SP and would love to see more of this type of exposition with Soma, Porcelina, and such.
Now I know why teenage me related to this song so much without actually understanding it. 26 year old mystery solved!
I just found your channel and I wanted to say this vid is so beautifully made! And the little doodles really do help with explaining an easy concept in a visual way other then written music. Thank you!
C/W Suicide
"Bullet with Butterfly Wings" always struck me as a reference to suicide - The whole thing is about how trapped he feels and how difficult life is, and the butterfly wings (usually associated with beauty, change, and freedom) are both a positive spin on a violent thing - the bullet that changes you, that helps you escape. Super dark reading, but not uncommon territory for the Smashing Pumpkins.
Not to mention Today from just the album before has direct references to self harm. Thematically not out of place at all
I 👍
Brilliant. Brilliant song, even more brilliant translation. Love your work, man.
thumbnail a lethal weapon
Great analysis, my favorite video of yours so far.
Dang, I was hoping you'd shed some light on about 1:46 in the song where a second high pitched guitar comes. I always loved that part. Well done still! I wish Billy Corgan could do a "reacts" type video to this.
A M A Z I N G. I've always loved that song since I was a moody teenager when it first came out but I have never connected to how deep it truly goes. I love your break downs of songs.. Thank you for your knowledge and in depth research....
Don't think we didn't see the Metapod pun you made. It's things like that that keep us coming back ;). Great vid, man!
Just wanted to say that i appreciated the Bill Cipher reference in your doodling! (And as always I appreciate your analysis
I always thought that the title for this song made sense. A bullet is an image of violence; an object commonly associated with death, war, and explosive energy. A butterfly is gentle; associated with beauty, delicacy, and the symbolism of how short their lives are.
Even if it's often referenced as a meme, "War never changes" is a quote that resonates true in a vampiric world.
Giving a bullet - a violent, explosive object - the wings of a butterfly - a delicate, beautiful sight - essentially is a metaphor for covering ugly with a façade of happiness. "Despite all my rage, I'm still just a rat in a cage." The cage is a protective barrier between the people on the outside from the violent, disgusting being held within it.
As someone who's suffered from anger issues their whole life, I think it's safe to say that you can't cover ugly with any kind of barrier. Eventually those barriers break, and there's no stopping the beast inside from getting loose. It's a bullet with butterfly wings; it's anger.
amazingly well thought out video, makes me appreciate the genius of this song even more
I think the title is about how some might miss the point of the subject matter because they think it's just a pretty song. This same sentiment is shared by both Nirvana and Muhammad Ali. "He's the one who likes all our pretty songs, and he likes to sing along, and he likes to shoot his gun, but he knows not what it means." "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." Within the course of this song, Billy uses at least five different vocal styles. As a metal vocalist myself, I can recognize the different ways to utilize the voice. I was classically trained in choirs, but I've also studied linguistics, so I know where certain sounds are made in the mouth and throat. When I sing this song, I have to remember which vocal styles belong where. It's quite the challenging song to perform. Kudos to Billy for crafting such a masterpiece of vocal performance.
A bullet with butterfly wings is a violent thing superficially beautiful, like a song about rage and resignation being cathartic and seemingly resolved.
It might also be the bittersweet release of death, hopefully dying the cause, but all too often another body in the mill with no more significance than a crack and a squelch.
I swear I learn more about structure and music theory from this channel than I have from any lessons or research of my own. Keep it up
One of the most interesting analyses of a song I've ever heard, love this!
Your videos are always insightful and fun :)
Be careful as you rage against the machine (sorry) because you run the risk of being imprisoned BY your rage. I like this interpretation and I think it's a valuable lesson for those of us living in the early 2020s. Without getting too political, there are plenty of reasons to feel like we're in cages and some very valid reasons to be enraged by that, but there is a danger of getting trapped in that rage and building our own cages with it. Thank-you!
something i find interesting with the rhythm in the prechorus is that the hits last increasing durations (3 eighths, 4 eighths, 5 eighths) before the two quick hits (both 2 eighths each) which gives it an imbalanced feeling and also a sense of rhythmic tension and release
16:05 Drawing a Metapod for the word "Metaphor"
Have I just not noticed you doing this all this time
Do you think you could go over something by They Might Be Giants? Your analyses are quite interesting!
I was just thinking that I'd love to see him analyze "Stuff is Way." It confuses me every time I listen to it, but in a good way?
Omg yes. I'd love to hear an analysis of something like "Kiss Me, Son of God" or honestly any of their stuff
Such amazing songs! I tend to focus on the brilliant lyrics, but the music is also amazing.
I'd vote for anything on Lincoln: Ana Ng, They'll need a crane, Lie Still Little Bottle...
@@tiddlypom2097 omg yes Ana Ng, I changed my mind that's the one I want 🤣
They will put it on the list to consider if you support 12Tone on Patreon. It is logical to support the people who pay subscription to keep this awesome channel happening.
🎶😎
The chorus will always be one of my favorite drum beats ever...those little cymbal hits, man. GOD do they scratch an itch. lol
Fantastic analysis, as usual. Very well done. I learned a lot. Thanks!
Lol at the NameExplain doodle
Takes me back to 1995 when my roommate listened to this song on repeat for hours. Thanks for breaking it down!
you didnt mention it but on the final chorus where the chord loop is completed, because its missing that extra 2/4 bar, the lyrics are cut off at the word cage so Billy only sings "Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a - despite all my rage...". Hes broken free from his cage, so theres no need to finish that line. Its a common trick, especially in rock, to continue a chorus line like this where the lyric that would fall on beat 1 is omitted so that the loop can continue to build toward a resolution at the end of the chorus, but this usually happens at the cost of the lyrics making sense. its such a clever use of the trick to actually bring that into the story of the song.
That was a fantastic analysis. Really great!
Oh wow, that was one scary good drawing of an Exciting Keith you did there at 0:21 seconds in. Maybe Patrick will see this and give a thumbs-up.
Damn that's good. I've always loved this song but to hear that it has so much depth and meaning really makes me appreciate it that much more.
new subscriber here! Thank you for this awesome breakdown. I love and understand music theory but I also love pop music devices. You mix your discussion up nicely
The bullet is violence, the butterfly wings are either innocence or rebirth. The juxtaposition expresses frustration - a desire to tear everything down, paired with the realization that even if you could it wouldn't accomplish anything
"Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage" and outside of the cage he's still just a rat in a rage
Great video for a great song !
Hope you explain a Mars Volta song one day, I never understood anything about Omar's playing !
Cheers
"The world is a vampire" is the answer.
The next line explains why it's the answer. So it makes sense how it goes from resolved to unresolved. It follows the same pattern of effect->cause as the lyrics.
Ive always been a fan of backwards period stuff. When done well, it just feels like a constant, floating build, rather than a series of resolved thoughts. And it can just set you up, and get you accustomed to the float, and then send you crashing into a chorus, for more power.
Oh hey, it's the first one of these for a song that I have actually listened to all that much; also, funnily enough, it was playing at the grocery store while I was shopping the other day
damn, better than any grocery store I've ever been to lol
I'm always a bit weirded out when anti-establishment music like grunge is played as supermarket music. Reminds me that the culture machine can absorb and co-opt any rage or protest thrown at it
There's a Black Mirror episode on this
What an awesome analysis. The song tells a deeper story than I knew. excellent
Bit late to the party, but when combined with the imagery from the music video, there is room to make an argument that All Quiet on the Western Front (original movie) was being referenced, since Paul is killed by a sniper while reaching for a butterfly at the end of the film. My personal head cannon is that the song was a reaction to the pointlessness of war (the early 90s bring such hits as the first gulf war, the Rwandan civil war/genocide, the Bosnian civil war) and the title is a reference to one of the greatest anti war films of all time. The music video and its trenches and mud being further reference to that film about trench warfare. I have no evidence of this beyond coincidence, but it does kind of hold up.
2:06 cursed
That game with kick, toms and snare is similar to Radiohead's Let Down. It starts with kick and toms and changes to snare to level up the drama
Despite all my rage, I am still just an interrupting cow.
Interrupting cow, who?
Beautiful analysis like always 👏
LOVED this song growing up, this was such a great presentation of it!
0:13 who herd him say a scroll though the comments of this video and then scrolled into the comments lmao I can't be the only one that did this lol
In a way the answer and then question stucture can sound more natural, it's really clear up front what you're saying, then the question acts as more of a twist.
This is a pretty cool way to do crazy things with the questions, like chromatic stuff, you understand it's context going into it. It can also be a great way to really launch you into a new phrase.
His thumbs nail should've been the thumbnail
"despite all my rage i am still just a rat in a cage"
and "bullet with butterfly wings" both somewhat express this violence, that cant really have an effect.
its rage caged like a rat, and a bullet thats harmless like a butterfly.
both express this force and emotion thats powerless to actually be expressed and have an impact.
I saw Smashing Pumpkins on their last tour a few year years ago. Hands down the best show I've ever seen. More than just awesome music. The production, the set, the lighting, everything was a complete work of art. They're coming back through next month and I'm so stoked.
7:16 "long gaps between syllables" *draws London Underground sign*. Nice touch :)
"The world is a Vampire" just like a Bullett with Butterfly wings; it's beautiful and mysterious but it's 100% set on killing you. No matter how much you rattle your cage and express your rage it just doesn't care. It will kill you all the same, without thought or care as that's it's nature.
That's why the song is called "A bullet with Butterfly wings." Cheers.🤙
Brilliant analysis.