Though his popularity has fluctuated through the years, many of Pop's songs have become well-known, including "Lust for Life", "The Passenger", "Real Wild Child", "Candy" (a duet with Kate Pierson of The B-52's), "China Girl", "Nightclubbing", "Search and Destroy" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog".
In 2010, The Stooges were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Pop was the lead singer of The Stooges, a late 1960s/early 1970s band that featured brothers Ron and Scott Asheton and Dave Alexander and was highly influential in the development of hard rock. The debut album was produced by the Velvet Underground's John Cale. The band's "I Wanna Be Your Dog" is a garage punk standard.
Raw Power was first released in1973, perhaps the first record that could truly be called punk. It was the confluence of The Stooges ages, hormones, creativity, ability, experience, tastes, lack of supervision, contempt for authority and ambition that has made Raw Power one of the most influential albums of all time.
The Stooges were infamous for performances in which Pop leapt off the stage (hence, the "stage dive"), smeared raw meat or peanut butter over his chest and cut himself with broken bottles. A glimpse of the vibrating intensity of Iggy live can be seen in the Ramones movie "End of the Century." Guitarist James Williamson became a key collaborator, a partnership documented on the 1978 album Kill City.
In 25 years as a solo artist, Pop's best-known songs have included the thumping Lust for Life, to be heard on the soundtrack of the find-a-vein, shoot-it-up movie Trainspotting, I'm Bored and The Passenger (the latter based on a poem written by Jim Morrison). David Bowie played a key role in reinvigorating Pop's post-Stooges career and was a collaborator on the albums Lust for Life and The Idiot. Iggy may be under-rated as a songwriter. Bowie and Tina Turner covered his "Tonight". Bowie also put out his own version of "China Girl," while Grace Jones covered the icey "Nightclubbing".
Eat or Be Eaten
Iggy Pop Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I gotta go out and catch a mouse
I can't be wrong so I gotta be right
It's eat or be eaten
Something's hungry like a hunter
And it's probing like a finger
That's the part that's so appealing
It's the beat that dominates
Each breath you draw
Each step you take
Strike or be stricken
Eat or be eaten yum yum yum yum
Eat or be eaten
Your skills are highly specialized
But still that girl can magnetize
You sense the hunger in her eyes
It's beat or be beaten
There's no softness in her eyes
A weird dull glint is in her eyes
With a stubborn will to tantalize
Like some cheap devil in disguise
And it's troubling me
Hell it's nervy that's what it is
Eat or be eaten
Beat or be beaten
Strike or be stricken
The night is dark the night is pulp
Tilt back your head and take a gulp
Of air that's screamed a thousand times
The main thing is to victimize
It's just the night for a conquering tribe
Oh, it's just the night for a conquering tribe
Eat or be eaten
Beat or be beaten
Faster than the arrow flies
Or the man who smiles while he lies
It's just the night for a conquering tribe
And the girls are calling in her yellow dress
That girl is calling in a yellow dress
She says eat eat eat here boys
Eat eat eat here boys
And then...
The song "Eat or Be Eaten" by Iggy Pop is filled with metaphor and has a gritty feel to it. The song explains a scenario where the singer is hungry and all he has is his surroundings which leaves him no choice but to chase after a mouse for food. He emphasizes that it is eat or be eaten, which means that it is a dog-eat-dog world out there, and you have to act according to it. The song’s central idea is that in this world, you have to fight for every single thing that you want.
The lyrics contain several metaphors such as “something’s hungry like a hunter,” and “the night is dark, the night is pulp,” as both these phrases have a different meaning, and they add to the gloomy ambiance of the song. The song also talks about a girl who attracts his attention, but he senses a strange hunger in her eyes, which can be deemed as dangerous. It is essential to survive in this world, but at the same time, you should be careful who you interact with as the hunger in the girl's eyes seems to be that of a predator.
In conclusion, the song "Eat or Be Eaten" is a metaphorical representation of the worldly struggles of individuals for their survival against one another. The singer of the song is portrayed within the dog-eat-dog environment where they have to act according to their basic instincts to live even for a day.
Line by Line Meaning
I got nothing to eat in this old house
I am currently experiencing a lack of edible items in my residence
I gotta go out and catch a mouse
I have no other choice but to venture out and ensnare a rodent for sustenance
I can't be wrong so I gotta be right
I must be correct and make the right decisions in order to survive
Something's hungry like a hunter
There is a pervasive, predatory hunger in the air
And it's probing like a finger
It is inspecting and exploring its surroundings with the intensity of a probing, inquisitive finger
As the drumbeat keeps things hurrying
The incessant drumming rhythm incites frantic movement
That's the part that's so appealing
This particular aspect of the situation is alluring
It's the beat that dominates
The powerful, driving rhythm takes precedence over everything else
Each breath you draw
Every inhalation taken is influenced by the overbearing pulse in the air
Each step you take
Every step made is in time with the dominating rhythm around you
Strike or be stricken
In this environment it is essential to act and strike before being attacked and defeated
Eat or be eaten yum yum yum yum
The only way to survive is to consume and not be consumed
Your skills are highly specialized
Your abilities and talents are exceptional and specific
But still that girl can magnetize
Despite this, the girl is able to attract and influence you
You sense the hunger in her eyes
You perceive an intense desire in the girl's gaze
It's beat or be beaten
Just like the overarching theme of the song, it is a matter of survival of the fittest
There's no softness in her eyes
The girl's eyes do not convey tenderness or empathy
A weird dull glint is in her eyes
Instead, there is a bizarre, flat gleam present in them
With a stubborn will to tantalize
She has an unwavering desire to lure and tease
Like some cheap devil in disguise
She seems like a deceitful, lowly demon in human form
And it's troubling me
This causes a great deal of distress and uneasiness
Hell it's nervy that's what it is
It is nerve-wracking and unsettling
The night is dark the night is pulp
The night possesses a sinister quality, and appears thick and oppressive
Tilt back your head and take a gulp
It is suggested to drink deeply and fearlessly
Of air that's screamed a thousand times
To inhale air that has been forced out in agony countless times
The main thing is to victimize
The primary objective is to overpower and subdue others
It's just the night for a conquering tribe
This is the ideal time for a powerful, dominative group to assert their reign
And the girls are calling in her yellow dress
The women are beckoning in their eye-catching, vivid garments
That girl is calling in a yellow dress
The particular girl is summoning in her bright, distinctive clothing
She says eat eat eat here boys
Her demand is straightforward: consume and indulge
Eat eat eat here boys
The repetition highlights the urgency and importance of the request
Eat or be eaten
The brutal reality of this environment is in the repeated phrase
Beat or be beaten
The imperative to emerge victorious at all costs is reinforced
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: IGGY POP, ROBERT DUPREY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
R Robinson
on Livin' On The Edge Of The Night (edit)
Here are corrections to incorrect lyrics - outrageously, stupidly incorrect: The first line is, "ILL WIND off the river". (And that's ill, not I'll.) The second line is, "smoke stacks fade to BLACK". Second verse: "I've made my bed but I can't REST my head". And "so much COULD be misunderstood". Bridge: "WELL maybe it's just my life". An artist crafts his work meticulously , then this is what happens to it. Disgusting.