Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, satirizing the Reagan Administration and the American establishment in general, as well as popular culture and even the punk movement itself. Several stores refused to stock their recordings, sparking debate about censorship in rock music. Jello Biafra became an active campaigner against the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), culminating in an obscenity trial in 1985-1986 which resulted in a hung jury.
The group released a total of four studio albums and one EP before disbanding in 1986. Following the band's dissolution, Jello Biafra continued to collaborate and record with other artists including D.O.A., NoMeansNo and his own bands Lard and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, as well as releasing spoken word performances and becoming an activist with the Green Party.
In 2000, Jello Biafra lost an acrimonious legal case initiated by his former Dead Kennedys band mates over songwriting credits and unpaid royalties. In 2001, the band reformed; various singers have since been recruited for vocal duties.
Stealing People's Mail
Dead Kennedys Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We ain't going to the game
We ain't going to the disco
Ain't gonna cruise down Main
We're stealing people's mail
Stealing people's mail
Stealing people's mail
Stealing people's mail
On a Friday night
Drivin' in the mountains
Winding 'round and 'round
Rummage through your mailboxes
Take your mail back to town
And we got license plates, wedding gifts, tax returns
Checks to politicians from real estate firms
Money, bills and cancelled checks
Pretty funny pictures of your kids
We're gonna steal your mail
On a Friday night
We're gonna steal your mail
By the pale moonlight
We got grocery sackful after grocery sackful
After grocery sackful after grocery sackful
After grocery sackful after grocery sackful
Of the private lives of you
People say that we're crazy
We're sick and all alone
But when we read your letters
We're rolling on the floor
And we got license plates, wedding gifts, tax returns
Checks to politicians from real estate firms
Money, bills and cancelled checks
We cut relationships with your friends
We're gonna steal your mail
On a Friday night
We're gonna steal your mail
By the pale moonlight
We better not get caught
We'll be dumped in institutions
Where we'll be drugged and shocked
Till we come out born-again Christians
Stealing people's mail
Stealing people's mail
Stealing people's mail
Stealing people's mail
On a Friday night, n-n-n-night
The Dead Kennedys’ song “Stealing People’s Mail” is a satirical take on the voyeuristic nature of society. The band is describing a group of people who are not interested in partying or following social norms, but instead, they are focused on stealing other people's mail. In each verse, they describe the action of rummaging through people's mailboxes and taking their mail back to town. The chorus repeats the phrase “Stealing people’s mail” with an increasing sense of excitement and urgency as the song goes on.
The lyrics of the song reveal the types of things that the mail thieves encounter when stealing people's mail. They find license plates, wedding gifts, tax returns, checks to politicians from real estate firms, money, bills, cancelled checks, and pretty funny pictures of kids. The songwriters, Jello Biafra and East Bay Ray, make a point to show that the mail thieves are not looking for any specific information, nor do they have an agenda. They are simply looking for something to do on a Friday night, and this includes violating people's privacy.
Overall, the song's message is a warning about the nature of society and the darker side of human behavior. In a world where people are increasingly willing to share their private information online, the band is suggesting that there will always be individuals willing to exploit this vulnerability for selfish reasons.
Line by Line Meaning
We ain't going to the party
We have no intention of attending any party
We ain't going to the game
We have no intention of attending any game
We ain't going to the disco
We have no intention of going to the disco
Ain’t gonna cruise down Main
We have no intention of driving down Main street
We're stealing people's mail
We're stealing mail from people's mailboxes
On a Friday night
This is happening on a Friday night
Drivin' in the mountains
We're driving in the mountains
Winding 'round and 'round
We're driving on winding roads
Rummage through your mailboxes
We're searching through your mailboxes
Take your mail back to town
We're taking your mail back to town
And we got license plates, wedding gifts, tax returns
We found license plates, wedding gifts, tax returns in your mailboxes
Checks to politicians from real estate firms
We found checks to politicians from real estate firms in your mailboxes
Money, bills and cancelled checks
We found money, bills, and cancelled checks in your mailboxes
Pretty funny pictures of your kids
We found pretty funny pictures of your kids in your mailboxes
We're gonna steal your mail
We intend to steal your mail
By the pale moonlight
This is happening by the pale moonlight
We got grocery sackful after grocery sackful
We have a lot of mail
Of the private lives of you
The mail we've stolen contains information about your private lives
People say that we're crazy
Some people believe that we're insane
We're sick and all alone
Some people believe that we're sick and alone
But when we read your letters
When we read your mail
We're rolling on the floor
We're laughing uncontrollably
We cut relationships with your friends
We've cut off your relationships with your friends
We better not get caught
We shouldn't get caught
We'll be dumped in institutions
If we get caught, we'll be institutionalized
Where we'll be drugged and shocked
In the institution, we'll be given drugs and electric shock therapy
Till we come out born-again Christians
We'll only be released from the institution when we become born-again Christians
On a Friday night, n-n-n-night
This is happening on a Friday night
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: KLAUS FLOURIDE, JELLO BIAFRA, EAST BAY RAY, DARREN HENLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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on This Could Be Anywhere
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