bad guy
“bad guy“ is a song by the American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish and the… Read Full Bio ↴“bad guy“ is a song by the American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish and the fifth single from her first studio album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?. It was released on March 29, 2019, by Darkroom and Interscope Records. The song was described by media as electropop, dance-pop, and trap-pop with minimalist instrumentation. In the lyrics, Eilish taunts someone for being tough while suggesting that she is a more resilient bad guy than he is.

Eilish wrote "bad guy" with her brother and the producer Finneas O'Connell. Another version of the song, a collaboration with the Canadian singer Justin Bieber, was released on July 11, 2019.

Upon release, "bad guy" received mostly positive reviews. It topped the US Billboard Hot 100 and 16 other international charts including in the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, it ended the record-breaking 19-week run of "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus. "Bad Guy" has received several certifications, including a tenfold platinum award from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and a Diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The song received several awards, including Record and Song of the Year at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.

Dave Meyers directed the music video, which depicts Eilish involved in several activities such as wild dancing, suffering a nosebleed and sitting on the back of a man doing push-ups. Reviewers noted the video for its camp elements and eccentric imagery.

"bad guy" was simultaneously issued as the record's fifth single. The song was co-written by Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell, with the latter also produced the track and Eilish providing additional production. It was mastered by John Greenham and mixed by Rob Kinelski, both of whom also served as studio personnel. In August 2019, the single was made available for pre-order on cassette and scheduled to ship in October; selected cassettes were signed by Eilish. Additionally, a flexi disc was similarly released for pre-order to ship in the following 4–6 weeks. Each of the two releases came with a digital single delivered via email for US customers.

Upon the release of When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, "bad guy" debuted at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending April 13, 2019, as Eilish's first top ten entry on the chart. It later occupied number two for a total of nine weeks, before ultimately reaching number one on the week ending August 24, 2019. "bad guy" ended the record-breaking 19-week run of "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus. At 17, she further became the first artist born in the 2000s to achieve this feat and the youngest since then-16-year-old Lorde topped the ranking with "Royals" in 2013.

Internationally, "bad guy" reached number one in Australia, Canada, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Norway, and Russia. The song has been awarded multiple certifications, including a tenfold platinum award from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and a Diamond one from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), becoming the first song from an female artist born this century to go Diamond in the US. "bad guy" was the best-performing global single of 2019 with combined sales and track-equivalent streams of 19.5 million units according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). By 2022, "bad guy" was streamed over 2 billion times worldwide through Spotify, her first song to do so.

bad guy
Billie Eilish Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

White shirt now red, my bloody nose
Sleepin', you're on your tippy toes
Creepin' around like no one knows
Think you're so criminal
Bruises on both my knees for you
Don't say thank you or please
I do what I want when I'm wanting to
My soul? So cynical

So you're a tough guy
Like it really rough guy
Just can't get enough guy
Chest always so puffed guy
I'm that bad type
Make your mama sad type
Make your girlfriend mad tight
Might seduce your dad type
I'm the bad guy, duh

I'm the bad guy

I like it when you take control
Even if you know that you don't
Own me, I'll let you play the role
I'll be your animal
My mommy likes to sing along with me
But she won't sing this song
If she reads all the lyrics
She'll pity the men I know

So you're a tough guy
Like it really rough guy
Just can't get enough guy
Chest always so puffed guy
I'm that bad type
Make your mama sad type
Make your girlfriend mad tight
Might seduce your dad type
I'm the bad guy, duh

I'm the bad guy, duh

I'm only good at being bad, bad

I like when you get mad
I guess I'm pretty glad that you're alone
You said she's scared of me?
I mean, I don't see what she sees
But maybe it's 'cause I'm wearing your cologne

I'm a bad guy
I'm, I'm a bad guy
Bad guy, bad guy
I'm a bad

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Billie Eilish’s song “bad guy” center around the idea of embracing a persona that is not typically viewed as likable or admirable. Eilish’s voice takes on a sarcastic tone as she portrays herself as a “bad guy” with a bloody nose and bruises on her knees. She sings about her willingness to do whatever she wants without saying thank you or please, and encourages her listeners to embrace their own inner “bad guy” as well. The lyrics also incorporate a sense of power dynamics, as the singer expresses her enjoyment in letting her partner take control while still maintaining her own agency.


The chorus serves as a sort of taunt, as the singer addresses an imaginary “tough guy” who is trying to keep up with her. She describes herself as the “bad type” who might even seduce his dad, and reminds him that she is, in fact, the bad guy. The repetition of this line further reinforces the idea of embracing an unconventional or unappealing identity.


Overall, the lyrics to “bad guy” celebrate the idea of rejecting societal expectations and embracing one’s own individuality, even if it does not conform to the norm.


Line by Line Meaning

White shirt now red, my bloody nose
I've got a bloody nose and my white shirt is stained red


Sleepin', you're on your tippy toes
You're trying to sneak around carefully while I'm sleeping


Creepin' around like no one knows
You're trying not to be noticed as you move around


Think you're so criminal
You're acting like a criminal, but you're not as sneaky as you think


Bruises on both my knees for you
I have bruises on my knees from doing things for you


Don't say thank you or please
You're rude and don't show any gratitude


I do what I want when I'm wanting to
I make my own decisions and don't care about what others think


My soul? So cynical
I have a cynical personality


So you're a tough guy
You act tough


Like it really rough guy
You like things to be rough


Just can't get enough guy
You're insatiable


Chest always so puffed guy
You're overly confident


I'm that bad type
I'm the type of person that you probably shouldn't mess with


Make your mama sad type
I'm the type of person that would make your mom upset


Make your girlfriend mad tight
I'm the type of person that would make your girlfriend jealous


Might seduce your dad type
I'm the type of person that your dad might find attractive


I'm the bad guy, duh
I'm the person who is being referred to as the 'bad guy,' obviously


I like it when you take control
I enjoy it when you take the lead


Even if you know that you don't own me
Even though you don't actually own me or have any control over me


I'll let you play the role
I'll let you act like you're in charge


I'll be your animal
I'll be your wild and untamed creature


My mommy likes to sing along with me
My mom enjoys singing with me


But she won't sing this song
She won't sing this particular song with me


If she reads all the lyrics
If she reads the lyrics to this song


She'll pity the men I know
She'll feel sorry for the men that I associate with


I'm only good at being bad, bad
I'm only good at being a bad person


I like when you get mad
I actually enjoy it when you get upset


I guess I'm pretty glad that you're alone
I'm kinda happy that you're single


You said she's scared of me?
Someone told you that she's afraid of me?


I mean, I don't see what she sees
I don't know why she would be scared of me, I don't see it


But maybe it's 'cause I'm wearing your cologne
Maybe she thinks I'm you because I'm wearing your cologne


I'm a bad guy
Like I said before, I'm a bad person


I'm, I'm a bad guy
Just in case you didn't hear me the first time, I'm a bad guy


Bad guy, bad guy
I'm the bad guy, plain and simple


I'm a bad
Still a bad guy




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Billie Eilish O'Connell, Finneas Baird O'Connell

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found

Sophie

Lov love It ❤️

Cléo

Eu amo música

yes

I'm a bad-

Yo

it's ya boi

yes

What the funk does she mean here? there is no actual explanation she literally just ends it on 'Bad', bad whAT! bILLIE! ANSWER ME PLEASE I JUST WNAT TO KNOW THE DEEPER MEANINGS OF THIS SONG SO i CAN UNDERSTAND YOUR COMPLEX BRSIN. (that's brain crossed with prison ;))

Yours
and forever as such,
Yes

yes

Make your girlfriend mad tight

Yo this is actually mad disrespectful vro, my girlfriends front bottom is too tight and she had to get surgery to loosen it and I really don't appreciate this kind of disrespect in my young clean Christisan neighborehood. She feels really really seriously insecure about the whole thing and I would appreciate an email from willy eyelash herself

Yours Truly,
Yes.

yes

Ur mum gey

maribel

nice this

Chiomaifesi

Nice one,Allow me to download from the site

Jalon Desheers

Jalon
Desheers

Comments from YouTube:

@JaneDoeWIM

this is fokken aaawesome, but did ya listen to STAS CHEKIROV - PAGER ???

@Nuhuhhhh111

The only reason I go and search this song up is because of the I'm the bald guy comment

More Comments

More Versions