Shot Down
Vitamin X Lyrics


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Shot down in forty-two (1942)
Shot down in sixty-eight (1968)
Shot down in ninety-one (1991)
When I was looking at the
Barrel of a fucking gun

I'm just another casualty
Casualty of this society

They shaved my head
They say I look like a man
Now I gotta kick some ass
In a foreign land
Yeah, I'm off to die, I'm off to war
I guess you won't see my face no more

Casualty, casualty, casualty of this society




Yeah, I'm off to die, I'm off to war
I guess you won't see my face no more

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Vitamin X's song Shot Down are a commentary on the repeated violence and destruction caused by war throughout modern history. The words "shot down" refer to the many soldiers who lost their lives in different wars over the years, culminating in the singer looking death in the face when he is faced with a gun pointed at him. Throughout the song, the singer grapples with the reality of being sent off to die in a foreign land, forced into a situation he had no control over. He feels like just another casualty of the society he was born into, where war and violence seem to be inevitable.


The second verse of the song focuses on the physical transformation that the singer underwent when he joined the military. His head was shaved, and he was made to look like a man. This metaphorically represents the stripping away of his individuality and transformation into a faceless warrior, a tool of war who no longer has any say in his own fate. He is off to war, where his chance of survival is uncertain, and he accepts that he may never return home, no longer able to show his face to the society that sent him off to die.


Overall, the lyrics are a statement about the cold, senseless nature of war and the devastating impact it has on those who are caught up in it. The singer is just one of many casualties of the society that produced and perpetuated such conflict, robbed of his individuality and sent to die for someone else's cause.


Line by Line Meaning

Shot down in forty-two (1942)
Recalling the moment of being shot down during the year 1942


Shot down in sixty-eight (1968)
Recollecting the moment of being shot down in 1968


Shot down in ninety-one (1991)
Remembering being shot down in 1991


When I was looking at the Barrel of a fucking gun
Reflecting on the frightening moment when staring down the barrel of a gun


I'm just another casualty
Feeling like a victim, one among many others who have suffered a similar fate


Casualty of this society
Believing that society is responsible for the suffering and loss


They shaved my head
Having undergone a significant transformation, likely due to military service


They say I look like a man
Enduring an identity crisis and feeling disconnected from the self


Now I gotta kick some ass In a foreign land
Being tasked with a violent mission in an unfamiliar territory


Yeah, I'm off to die, I'm off to war I guess you won't see my face no more
Coming to terms with the reality of probable death in war and absence from loved ones


Casualty, casualty, casualty of this society
Reiterating the belief that society perpetrates harm on individuals




Contributed by Micah E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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