American Dream
LCD Soundsystem Lyrics

Wake up with somebody near you
You wake up in a bed next to someone you barely know

And at someone else's place
This isn't your home

You took acid and looked in the mirror
The drug you took causes hallucinations and you see yourself in a different way

Watched the beard crawl around on your face
You spend time observing the little things you would normally overlook

Oh, the revolution was here
You feel like you're part of something bigger than yourself

That would set you free from those bourgeoisie
You feel like you've escaped the wealthy elitists who control society

In the morning everything's clearer
Morning has arrived and with it, clarity

When the sunlight exposes your age
The light reveals the truth of how old you really are

But that's okay
You're at peace with it all

And that's okay
You accept the way things are

Grab your clothes and head to the doorway
It's time to leave

If you dance out, no one complains
You can leave in a carefree manner

Find the place where you can be boring
You want to find a place where you can be yourself and not have to prove anything to anyone

Where you won't need to explain
You don't want to have to justify yourself to anyone

That you're sick in the head and you wish you were dead
You're struggling with mental health issues and feel very low

Or at least instead of sleeping here you prefer your own bed, come on
You'd rather be somewhere familiar and comfortable

You just suck at self-preservation
You have trouble taking care of yourself on your own

Versus someone else's pain
You'd rather focus on fixing someone else's issues than your own

So you feel drained
You're emotionally exhausted

And insane
You feel like your mind is cracking apart

And insane
You're so crazy it needs to be said twice

He was leather and you were screaming
You were at a wild show where people were getting hurt

Swinging chains against the stage
You were part of the chaos

And you couldn't know he was leaving
You didn't realize that others were moving on from this kind of behavior

But now more will go with age, you know
As people grow older, they'll want to move on from this kind of excitement

So get up and stop your complaining
You need to pull yourself together and act like an adult

You know that you're the only one who's been destroying all the fun
You've been ruining things for yourself and possibly others

Look what happened when you were dreaming
You're realizing how unrealistic your lifestyle is

Then punch yourself in the face
You feel like you need to wake yourself up by hurting yourself

So you kiss and you clutch but you can't fight that feeling
You have a desire for intimacy but can't shake the feeling you won't find what you're looking for

That your one true love is just awaiting your big meeting
You believe there's someone special out there waiting for you

So you never even asked for names
You're too caught up in your own head to ask about people's identities

You just look right through them as if you already came
You're disinterested in other people's existence

It's a drug of the heart and you can't stop the shaking
You're addicted to the feeling of love and can't help but feel nervous about it

'Cause the body wants what it's terrible at taking, oh
Your intuition is leading you to repeat the same mistakes

And you can't remember the meaning
You've forgotten the reason you even started down this path

But there's no going back against this california feeling
You've been changed irrevocably by your experiences

Dream
This is like a dream you don't want to wake up from

(Sha-bang, sha-bang)
This is an onomatopoeic sound indicating something exciting happening

American dream
This lifestyle is part of the larger American dream

(Sha-bang, sha-bang)
More excitement is happening

American dream
The song is describing the American lifestyle

(Sha-bang, sha-bang)
Feels like fireworks or an explosion of emotions in a rapid sequence

American dream
Emphasizes the concept of chasing the American dream by describing what it looks like in practice