“Bane” is an intense, moody trip which features a classical choir lamenting about selling one’s soul and quoting Jesus during his crucifixion. Naturally, its subject matter is… a soft drink.
It gets a little more complicated than that, examining childhood arrogance, greed, and the human propensity...
[Intro: Spoken]
Cold and sizzling
[Verse 1]
I sold my soul
I sold my soul
For a sip at school
For a sip at school
A swimming pool
A swimming pool
Ice cold black fuel
Ice cold black fuel
[Verse 2]
I'll dive in
Swimming and drinking
And when my parents tell me to come in
I'll just ignore them and keep on drinking
Cola, cola
Fizzy cola
[Refrain]
Yeah, you
In the middle of the night, I get a craving and I wake up for you
[Verse 3]
Thirsty one looks stunned
Dumbfounded by the sizzle of the bubbles on the tongue
Sixty-six times underwater somersault
Pool cool, cooling by the side of the swimming pool
The rules don't apply to you 'cause you've got the buzz
Sixty-six times underwater somеrsault
[Verse 4]
Thirsty one looks stunned
Dumbfounded by thе sizzle of the bubbles on the tongue
Sixty-six times underwater somersault
Cut the queue, climb the scaffold to ride the flume first
Slap a bigger boy so hard he wakes up on the floor
Sixty-six times underwater somersault
[Refrain]
Yeah, you
In the middle of the night, I get a craving and I wake up for you
[Bridge]
My God, my God
Why hast thou forsaken me?
My God, my God
Why hast thou forsaken me?
[Outro]
Yeah, you
In the middle of the night, I get a craving and I wake up for you
Bane was written by Thom Sonny Green & Gus Unger-Hamilton & Joe Newman.
Bane was produced by Charlie Andrew.
My first connection with being successful at something was swimming. I used to swim competitively when I was really young. So I think I have a lot of strong connections with chlorinated pools. That’s maybe where it starts. The song is sort of about fizzy drinks and being addicted to drinking Coke.
...
It’s a microcosm of the whole album, in that it’s sort of three tracks in one. It’s got very catchy riffs; it’s got deep, dark, musical, experimental sections; it’s got a big chorus; it’s got the whole swimming pool thing [the song’s setting]. It just felt like a meal in itself.
— Gus Unger-Hamilto...