Similar to most of Beck’s songs on the album and surrounding material, a good deal of this song is sample-based. The drums in the chorus and drum breaks come from Pretty Purdie’s “Soul Drums”. The drumbeat during the verses comes from Them’s cover of James Brown’s “Out of Sight”. The guitar riff was taken from another Them cover, of “I Can Only Give You Everything”. However, Beck plays this riff on the guitar, rather than sampling it.
The music video was directed by Mark Romanek.
Devils Haircut
Beck Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And everywhere I look, there's a dead end waiting
Temperature's dropping at the rotten oasis
Stealing kisses from the leprous faces
Heads are hanging from the garbageman trees
Mouthwash, jukebox, gasoline
Pistols are pointing at a poor man's pockets
Got a devil's haircut in my mind
Got a devil's haircut in my mind
Got a devil's haircut in my mind
Got a devil's haircut in my mind
Love machines on the sympathy crutches
Discount orgies on the dropout buses
Hitchin' a ride with the bleedin' noses
Comin' to town with the briefcase blues
Got a devil's haircut in my mind
Got a devil's haircut in my mind
Got a devil's haircut in my mind
Got a devil's haircut in my mind
Something's wrong 'cause my mind is fading
Ghetto-blastin' disintegrating
Rock 'n' roll, know what I'm saying?
Everywhere I look, there's a devil waiting
Got a devil's haircut in my mind
Got a devil's haircut in my mind
Got a devil's haircut in my mind
Got a devil's haircut in my mind
Devil's haircut in my mind
Devil's haircut in my mind
Devil's haircut in my mind
In Beck's song "Devil's Haircut," he depicts a world that is deteriorating and corrupted. The lyrics describe the singer's unrelenting feelings of hopelessness and frustration as a result of his encounters with people in bleak circumstances. Using a loose, flowing repartee and his unique musical style, he speaks of a society that is gradually descending into despair.
The singer sees everything with skewed, blurry eyes, attempting to discern between reality and looks that deceive. He finds himself confronted by dead-ends at every turn, whether it be in the form of the barren landscape or the emptiness of human lives ravaged by addiction and depravity. Beck talks about how the world is falling apart as the temperature dips, and the oasis decays from within, exemplifying the complete and utter loss of hope.
The singer reflects on the desecrated vintage jukeboxes, surrounded by mouthwash and gasoline, everything he comes across is a symbol that exemplifies decay. The people share the same characteristic as the objects, going through life with their faces deadened or their sockets ripped out. The image of pistols pointing at a poor man's pockets reveals how the world is continuously eroding, to the point where there is nothing left.
The song can be interpreted as a reflection of the world's despair, where everything withers away, leaving behind empty carcasses in its wake. Beck's Devil's Haircut is a memorable presentation of the world's fall from grace, serving as a potent reminder of the complacency that leads to society's ultimate depletion.
Line by Line Meaning
Something's wrong 'cause my mind is fading
I'm feeling off lately and can't seem to focus
And everywhere I look, there's a dead end waiting
I can't find a positive spin on anything around me
Temperature's dropping at the rotten oasis
Even in the most unlikely of places, things are getting worse
Stealing kisses from the leprous faces
Even in this kind of environment, I'm still desperate for human connection
Heads are hanging from the garbageman trees
Things are so bad that corpses are literally everywhere
Mouthwash, jukebox, gasoline
Everything around me is dirty and dangerous
Pistols are pointing at a poor man's pockets
Even people who have nothing are being attacked by those who have even less compassion than money
Smiling eyes ripping out of his sockets
Things are so violent and oppressive that people's eyes are being ripped out of their skulls
Got a devil's haircut in my mind
I feel trapped by the darkness of the world around me
Love machines on the sympathy crutches
People are desperately relying on false emotions to feel good
Discount orgies on the dropout buses
Even sex is cheap and meaningless in this world
Hitchin' a ride with the bleedin' noses
I'm surrounded by those who are struggling and hurt
Comin' to town with the briefcase blues
Even those who seem successful are carrying around their burdens
Ghetto-blastin' disintegrating
The world is falling apart and nobody's doing anything about it
Rock 'n' roll, know what I'm saying?
This music is one of the few things that helps me cope with everything around me
Everywhere I look, there's a devil waiting
It feels like evil is lurking around every corner
Devil's haircut in my mind
I can't escape the feeling that the darkness around me is consuming me
Devil's haircut in my mind
Devil's haircut in my mind
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ted Wright, Philip Michael Coulter, Tommy Lee Scott, Beck Campbell, John King, Michael Simpson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@WiloPolis03
How does Beck's music stubbornly refuse to ever get old? This slaps every time
@eionlovejoy586
Fire 🔥
@MrKarmapolice97
Right!, this still sounds fresh as fuck and it’s fucking 26 years old
@WiloPolis03
@@MrKarmapolice97 I meant get old as in I can listen to it over and over again, but yeah I think Beck's goofiness preserves his music from being dated
@avalonjustin
Still sounds cool to me. Groovy.
@ArcadeDreamsDoc
The Dust Brothers production! Always timeless
@jonmcdaniel8492
Nobody knows this but Beck is a time traveler who collects interesting noises and words and then collates them in alphabecktical order.
@Lyndanet
Punny bunny
@markymark3489
This is facts.
@user-jy7jj1cp9k
Look I just made seventy 🎉