Formed in 1987 by performance artists Jim Marcus and Van Christie, Die Warz… Read Full Bio ↴Formed in 1987 by performance artists Jim Marcus and Van Christie, Die Warzau (originally referred to as Die Warzau Synfony) has operated on the fringes of industrial music, creating a unique sound. An everpresent and important part of Die Warzau's appeal is the sociopolitical lyricism and emotive vocals of Jim Marcus.

Originally signed to Chris Parry's Fiction Records, the band released Disco Rigido in the late 1980s (distributed in the United States by Atlantic Records), which featured "Welcome To America", "Land of the Free" and "I've Got To Make Sense". Though the album falls solidly into the EBM genre, it contains hints of the experimentation and genre-bending that later recordings would feature (e.g. "Y Tagata en Situ").

A second album, Big Electric Metal Bass Face, built on the foundation laid with Disco Rigido and upped the ante with excursions into funk (listen to "Funkopolis" as well as the live take of "Coming Down"). Contributors to the band at the time included Chris Vrenna and James Woolley, who both served time in Nine Inch Nails during the mid-Nineties.

Marcus and Christie then teamed up with Jane Jensen to form Oxygiene 23, and released an album ("Blue") on Fifth Column Records.

Engine, a 1995 release on WaxTrax!, was a huge jump forward and found critical acclaim for its decimation of genre boundaries. Die Warzau could no longer be simply pigeonholed into the "industrial" category, as their music became more organic, rounder on the edges yet still retaining their trademark knack for insistent rhythm and pure, unrefined electronic noise. "Liberated" and "All Good Girls" became trademark songs for the group. Fellow WaxTrax! act Sister Machine Gun "inherited" an unused song from this period ("Hole In the Ground"), which they included on their Burn album.

Die Warzau as a group then went on hiatus for a number of years, with Marcus and Christie working on other projects--Jim Marcus founded the pure funk group Everplastic while Van Christie worked on Eco-Hed.

By 2005, though, the duo had reconvened and released Convenience (on their Chicago-based Pulseblack Records). A continuation of the path they started on with Engine, songs like "Radiation Babies", "Kleen" and "Linoleum" further blur any genre lines and leave something truly original. More output is expected from the group in 2006, including a collaboration with funk pioneer George Clinton.

My Pretty Little Girlfriend
Die Warzau Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Can it really be too bad - is it terror like you've never seen
Can't you even see through that - you know I've seen her in a magazine
You shut your eyes when you do that - in the back of your Chevrolet
Or in the back of a pickup truck with your pretty little girlfriend
Pretty little girlfriend

You're my pretty little girlfriend

Never living in the fast lane, fast lane - you know your car don't run that fast
Never thinking that the girl may even now maybe live up her past
You know you've seen her in the movies - or maybe not, you know you've never been
You know - you know she's on the street tonight hanging out with a new friend
Pretty little girlfriend

You're my pretty little girlfriend

Back it up in a makeup case and there's flowers from another friend
The rented lives and the fantasies of hundreds of other men
Why do you even stay all night, you can have what you want and more
If it's easy then it's too right - too right - danger evens up the score
For my pretty little girlfriend

You're my pretty little girlfriend

Bring your pretty self to me - in the dark, no one can see your eyes
No indiscretion can move me - I can learn to love your lies
You hold your head up like a movie queen, in temptation like you've never been
You can have anyone you want, so take it all little girlfriend

You're my pretty little girlfriend

Overall Meaning

The song, "My Pretty Little Girlfriend" by Die Warzau, is a dark and mysterious exploration of a relationship with a woman who may not be all that she seems. The opening lines suggest that there is something menacing about this woman, and that the singer has seen her in a magazine. The implication is that she may be a model, or perhaps even a victim of sex trafficking or some other kind of exploitation. Either way, the singer seems to be warning the listener not to be taken in by her beauty, and to be wary of any danger that she might represent.

As the song progresses, it becomes clear that the woman is not what she seems, and that the singer is deeply conflicted about his feelings for her. He describes her as his "pretty little girlfriend," but also acknowledges that she lives a life of fantasy and illusion, surrounded by rented lives and the fantasies of other men. There is a sense of danger and urgency in his voice, as he pleads with her to come to him in the dark, where nothing can be seen, and where he can learn to love her lies.

Throughout the song, there is an undercurrent of darkness and menace, as if the relationship between the singer and his girlfriend is fraught with danger and uncertainty. The music echoes this sense of unease, with a haunting melody and driving beat that conveys a feeling of urgency and desperation.

Line by Line Meaning

Can it really be too bad - is it terror like you've never seen
Is the situation really that terrible? Is it causing you immense fear?

Can't you even see through that - you know I've seen her in a magazine
Can't you see beyond the facade? You do realize she's just a model in a magazine, right?

You shut your eyes when you do that - in the back of your Chevrolet
You close your eyes and pretend everything's fine, while engaging in questionable activities in the back of your car.

Or in the back of a pickup truck with your pretty little girlfriend
You indulge in sexual activities with your girlfriend in the bed of a pick-up truck.

Never living in the fast lane, fast lane - you know your car don't run that fast
You never live life in the fast lane, because your car isn't capable of it.

Never thinking that the girl may even now maybe live up her past
You never consider that your girlfriend may still be engaging in promiscuous behavior from her past.

You know you've seen her in the movies - or maybe not, you know you've never been
You claim to have seen her in the movies, but in reality, you've never been there.

You know - you know she's on the street tonight hanging out with a new friend
You know for a fact that she's prostituting herself on the street, with a new client for the night.

Back it up in a makeup case and there's flowers from another friend
She keeps her makeup in a case, along with flowers from other men who have given them to her.

The rented lives and the fantasies of hundreds of other men
Her life is nothing but a facade, constructed of lies and fantasies created by the hundreds of men in her life.

Why do you even stay all night, you can have what you want and more
Why do you bother staying all night, when you know you can get what you want and more from anyone else?

If it's easy then it's too right - too right - danger evens up the score
If everything comes too easy, there must be a catch. In this case, the danger of the situation will make everything even out in the end.

Bring your pretty self to me - in the dark, no one can see your eyes
Come to me looking your best, because in the darkness, no one can see the truth about you.

No indiscretion can move me - I can learn to love your lies
Nothing you do will surprise or shock me, because I have learned to love your lies and accept them as truth.

You hold your head up like a movie queen, in temptation like you've never been
You act like a movie star, confident and alluring, despite experiencing temptation like you never have before.

You can have anyone you want, so take it all little girlfriend
You have the power to have anyone you want, so take advantage of it, my pretty little girlfriend.

You're my pretty little girlfriend
You may be promiscuous and deceitful, but you're my pretty little girlfriend, and I love you all the same.

Contributed by Noah I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS