Shot Down
Yeah Yeah Yeahs Lyrics

The lyrics of Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Shot Down" are a combination of sexual desire and feeling alive. The singer is describing their attraction to someone who they find incredibly beautiful ("she's so fly"), and is expressing their heightened physical response to being near them. They begin by saying they feel shot down from "real high", which indicates a sense of being overwhelmed or humbled by someone else's power. The reference to being an "old coat on a hot day" suggests an urgent need to shed their skin and escape the uncomfortable situation they are in, before they lose control.

The chorus repeats the phrase "sex for me" multiple times, emphasizing the importance of this physical connection to the singer. They are almost pleading for the other person to satisfy their desires, saying they would rather be "buried alive" than go without. The bridge section has some slightly confusing lyrics, but the overall sense is of wanting to escape from reality and take a risk with this person. They "switch from the eighty" (presumably meaning a car) and suggest they are going to take the other person on a crazy, adrenaline-fueled ride.