Bullet for Narcissus
Writers - Tennant/Lowe
First released - 2024
Original album - Nonetheless
Producer - James Ford
Subsequent albums - none
Other releases - none
From the moment I first read this extraordinarily provocative title, I strongly suspected that it might have something to do with former U.S. President Donald Trump, who has very often been described as an extremely narcissistic personality. Sure enough, that turns out to be the case. It's sung from the imagined perspective of a Secret Service agent who grudgingly accepts that he may have to " take a bullet" for a despicable, power-mad politician.
It probably goes without saying how dismayed the Boys are about Trump, whom they have lumped with Vladimir Putin (another public figure they're known to despise, as evidenced by their song "Living in the Past," among other public pronouncements) as "ghastly supposed strongmen" informed by "stupidity and hostility." Trump in particular has often been described in the media—by his opponents, of course—as a "narcissistic" personality who, as the song puts it, "only cares for number one" (that is, himself). References in the lyrics to people believing he's "heaven-sent," to his being "mean," to "accusations he denies," to his running make-up, and to how he "fakes reality" all leave little doubt as to the target of these barbs. (Trump used to host a "reality" TV show, after all.)
Knowing that both his own life and that of the vile person whom he's assigned to protect hinges upon his constant alertness, the narrator says, "I've got eyes in the back of my head," looking for "anything suspicious." (Neil delightfully rhymes that latter word with "Narcissus.") But he knows all too well that, despite his precautions (including a bullet-proof vest), he may have to give his life to protect a man he personally detests.
Neil and Chris don't like being characterized as ironic, but there's certainly a lot of irony going on here.
Annotations
- Narcissus – In ancient Greek myth, Narcissus was a man known for his physical beauty. But he rejected all advances, believing himself too beautiful for any who approached him for love. But one day, upon seeing his reflection in a pool of water, he became so entranced by his own appearance that he refused to leave the side of the pool. He remained there until his death, destroyed by his own vanity. This myth provided the origin of the term "narcissism," which refers to a thoroughy self-centered personality.
- When I say that the title of this song is "provocative," that's no mere hyperbole. It's a U.S. federal crime, potentially punishable by up to five years in prison, to threaten the life of a current or former President, even if done so casually or in jest. Of course, a song about the risks faced by a bodyguard certainly does not constitute a "threat" against Donald Trump. So our musical heroes are quite safe from that perspective. But that wouldn't always have been the case in all times and places. For instance, in Tudor England, it was considered a treasonable act even to imagine the death of the monarch. If someone could be demonstrated to have, in speech or writing, "imagined" the death of, say, Henry VIII, that person could find their neck on the chopping block—or far worse, suffering the terrible "traitor's death" of being hanged, drawn, and quartered if they're weren't fortunate enough to belong to the upper nobility. Indeed, a song like this comes dangerously close to imagining Trump's death. A few hundred years ago it would've been literally unthinkable, at least from a legal perspective in the Boys' native England—assuming, that is, Donald Trump were king.
List cross-references
- This song doesn't appear in any of my lists.
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