Machine Gun Etiquette
Damned The Lyrics

The lyrics of "Machine Gun Etiquette" by The Damned appear to touch upon themes of rebellion against societal expectations and the music industry's commercialized version of punk rock. The repeated phrase "second time around" suggests a sense of repetition, as if the band has already been through this cycle of success and backlash before. The lines "Don't you wish that we were dead" could be interpreted as a reference to the phrase famously spray-painted on a London wall in 1976 after the Sex Pistols' explosive appearance on television: "God Save the Queen, she ain't no human being." The sentiment expressed in both cases is one of frustration and disillusionment with the institutions of power.

The singer claims that they no longer are "getting pushed around" and have "gone underground," perhaps indicating a retreat from the mainstream punk scene. They then assert that "it's time for you to see what the Love Song did for me," which could be a reference to The Damned's own song "Love Song" that was a commercial success, but caused contention amongst punk purists who accused them of "selling out." The final lines, "really famous stinking rich, straight up there without a hitch," seem to be a tongue-in-cheek nod to the band's own status as punk pioneers who, despite their apparent antipathy towards commercialism, had huge success in the late '70s and early '80s.