Taken from an interview from late 1988 (on the Words and Music promo)
Read Full Bio ↴Taken from an interview from late 1988 (on the Words and Music promo)

Interviewer: "We've said before, 'Ted, Just Admit It...' is not about Ted Bundy the mass killer, but you did use..."
Perry: "It was just a coincidence. We found a piece of tape that had a voice on it and it just happened to be his voice too. Which is another real, real big coincidence. And then I found out that he was a killer so that really threw me."
Interviewer: "Now, the big line in that song is the repetition 'sex is violent, sex is violent.' Is that the way you feel?"
Perry: "Yeah. And love is like hate. It's kind of-- everything is relative. Don't you think?"
Interviewer: "Does every action have its reaction? Does every yin have its yang? Is that part of it?"
Perry: "Yeah, I would say so, but that's not really the angle of thought that I'm thinking of. I'm thinking that there's all these fine lines that separate things; let's say good and evil, right? And sex and violence have a very fine line that sometimes are crossed."

Ted Just Admit It...
Jane's Addiction Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Camera got them images
Camera got them all
Nothing's shocking
Showed me everybody
Naked and disfigured
Nothing's shocking
And then he came
Now sister's

Not a virgin anymore
Her sex is violent

The T.V.'s got them images
T.V.'s got them all
It's not shocking!
Every half an hour
Someone's captured and
The cop moves them along
It's just like the show before
The news is
Just another show
With sex and violence

Sex is violent
Sex is violent
Sex is violent
Sex is violent
Sex is violent
Sex is violent
Sex is violent!

I am the killer of people
You look like a meatball
I'll throw away your toothpick
And ask for your giveness

Because of this thing!
Because of this thing!
Because of this thing!

That's in me
Is it not in you?
Is it not your problem?

A baby to a mother
You talk too much
To your scapegoat

That's what I say
He tells you everyone is stupid
That's what he thinks!

Snapshots
Make a girl look cheap
Like a tongue extended
A baby's to a mother

Sex is violent!
Sex is violent!

Sex is violent!
Sex is violent!

Overall Meaning

The song "Ted Just Admit It..." by Jane's Addiction is a commentary on the prevalence of sex and violence in media and society. The opening lines, "Camera got them images, Camera got them all, Nothing's shocking," refer to the idea that shocking and taboo images are no longer shocking or taboo because they are ubiquitous in media. The next lines, "Showed me everybody, Naked and disfigured, Nothing's shocking," build on this point to suggest that we have become numb to graphic images and that the media has desensitized us to violence.

The song then shifts to a more personal story, depicting a situation where a woman's sexual experience has turned to violence. The lines "Now sister's Not a virgin anymore, Her sex is violent," suggest that society's view on sex has contributed to this assault. The reference to the TV in the following lines, "T.V.'s got them images, T.V.'s got them all, It's not shocking!" emphasizes that the problem is larger than one individual's experience and that the media perpetuates harmful ideas about sex.

The chorus repeats the message that "sex is violent," emphasizing the idea that our society's acceptance of violence in media and culture has contributed to this problem. The lines "I am the killer of people, You look like a meatball, I'll throw away your toothpick, And ask for your giveness" are a critique of the society that creates violent individuals and then vilifies them for their actions.

Line by Line Meaning

Camera got them images
The media has access to every image.

Camera got them all
The media has access to all images.

Nothing's shocking
Nothing is shocking in the media.

Showed me everybody
The media shows everybody.

Naked and disfigured
Everybody is shown naked or disfigured.

Nothing's shocking
Nothing is shocking in the media.

And then he came
He arrived to change things.

Now sister's not a virgin anymore
She has lost her purity.

Her sex is violent
Her experience of sex is violent.

The T.V.'s got them images
The media has access to every image.

T.V.'s got them all
The media has access to all images.

It's not shocking!
It shouldn't be shocking anymore.

Every half an hour
The news updates every thirty minutes.

Someone's captured and
Someone is apprehended and restrained.

The cop moves them along
The authorities remove them.

It's just like the show before
It's just the same as the previous program.

The news is
The news is just another program.

Just another show
It's just another program.

With sex and violence
It's full of sex and violence.

Sex is violent
Sex can be violent.

Sex is violent!
Sex is violent!

I am the killer of people
I am the destroyer of people.

You look like a meatball
You don't look very appealing.

I'll throw away your toothpick
I will take this small and insignificant item from you.

And ask for your giveness
And seek your forgiveness.

Because of this thing!
Because of this thing I did!

That's in me
That is a part of me.

Is it not in you?
Do you not have it too?

Is it not your problem?
Is it not your issue too?

A baby to a mother
A baby is to a mother.

You talk too much
You talk excessively.

To your scapegoat
To the person you blame for everything.

That's what I say
That's my point.

He tells you everyone is stupid
He believes that everyone is unintelligent.

That's what he thinks!
That's his viewpoint.

Snapshots
Photographs.

Make a girl look cheap
Make a girl appear low in value.

Like a tongue extended
Like a tongue protruding out.

A baby's to a mother
A baby is to a mother.

Sex is violent!
Sex is violent!

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: ERIC ADAM AVERY, PERRY FARRELL, DAVID NAVARRO, STEPHEN PERKINS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS