Bullet with Butterfly Wings by The Smashing Pumpkins
Bullet with Butterfly Wings by The Smashing Pumpkins

Bullet with Butterfly Wings

The Smashing Pumpkins * Track #6 On Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

Download "Bullet with Butterfly Wings"

Bullet with Butterfly Wings by The Smashing Pumpkins

Release Date
Mon Oct 23 1995
Produced by
Alan Moulder & Flood & Billy Corgan
Writed by
Billy Corgan
About

“Bullet with Butterfly Wings” won a GRAMMY in 1997 along with a slew of other awards. It remains one of Smashing Pumpkins highest charting and most recognizable songs, being used in countless movies and television shows.

The song acted as the lead single off the sprawling, mega-successful album, M...

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Bullet with Butterfly Wings Lyrics

[Verse 1]
The world is a vampire
Sent to drain
Secret destroyers
Hold you up to the flames
And what do I get
For my pain?
Betrayed desires
And a piece of the game

[Pre-Chorus]
Even though I know
I suppose I'll show
All my cool and cold
Like ol' Job

[Chorus]
Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage
Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage
Someone will say, "What is lost can never be saved"
Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage

[Verse 2]
Now I'm naked
Nothing but an animal
But can you fake it
For just one more show?
And what do you want?
I wanna change
And what do you got!
When you feel the same?

[Pre-Chorus]
Even though I know
I suppose I'll show
All my cool and cold
Like ol' Job

[Chorus]
Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage
Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage
Then someone will say, "What is lost can never be saved"
Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage!

[Middle Eight]
Tell me I'm the only one
Tell me there's no other one
Jesus was an only son, yeah
Tell me I'm the chosen one
Jesus was an only son, for you

[Chorus]
Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage
Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage
And someone will say, "What is lost can never be saved"
Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage!

[Post-Chorus]
Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a…
Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a…
Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage

[Bridge]
Tell me I'm the only one
Tell me there's no other one
Jesus was an only son, for you

[Outro]
And I still believe that I cannot be saved
And I still believe that I cannot be saved
And I still believe that I cannot be saved
And I still believe that I cannot be saved

Bullet with Butterfly Wings Q&A

Who wrote Bullet with Butterfly Wings's ?

Bullet with Butterfly Wings was written by Billy Corgan.

Who produced Bullet with Butterfly Wings's ?

Bullet with Butterfly Wings was produced by Alan Moulder & Flood & Billy Corgan.

When did The Smashing Pumpkins release Bullet with Butterfly Wings?

The Smashing Pumpkins released Bullet with Butterfly Wings on Mon Oct 23 1995.

What did The Smashing Pumpkins say about "Bullet with Butterfly Wings"?

Billy Corgan told Guitar World a little bit about the history of “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” in 1997:

Believe it or not, the original riff from this song came to me during one of the Siamese Dream recording sessions. Somewhere, I have a tape of us from 1993 endlessly playing the “world is a vampi...

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What does the music video represent?

The video for “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” was directed by Samuel Bayer, who also directed the iconic masterpiece, A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Although he’s directed music videos for many artists, including David Bowie and The Rolling Stones, he says that this Pumpkins video is what he’s the most p...

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Why is it called "Bullet With Butterfly Wings?"

Freud had this concept that each of us has a psychic bullet, that if it can be removed we can be psychically healed.

-Billy Corgan via Rock 103.5 Chicago

This may not fully answer the question, but it gives us some insight into the title as well as the lyrical content.

Are there other versions or alternate takes of this track floating around?

Yes, indeed. Check out one of the earliest demos of the track here.

What do the liner notes say about this song?

Billy Corgan wrote in the reissue album’s liner notes:

The original rats in yer cage' chorus was
born of the boredom sitting around at
one of those overly dry BBC sessions, the
thump riff that opens the song a funny
remnant of the very first Siamese Dream
recording session. There were always lots o...

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