Television

Song details

Bad Religion original
Yes
First released
1994
First release
Stranger Than Fiction (album)
Songwriter
Brett Gurewitz

Lyrics

Television

Television, television, television, television... Oh yeah! I want to bask in your golden light, Submerge in electric waves, I need my connection to the world outside. The world outside is buzzing like an angry wasp in summer, The candidates are running, and soon the son of God is coming, Crackle mental convolutions tune in to the revolution, Whereby everyone's included so we'll never have to be alone. Every atom of my body, blood and sinew, bone and fibre, I can't distil you from my blood, You're a hungry germ inside of me. You're my lover, you're my heroine, My conscience and my voice, And I know now that I have learned to let you in I will never have to be alone. I'd take after my mother but she's from a different generation, I prefer my big brother, he's so gentle and understanding, And I learn what I can from him by the television light, So that when I'm all alone, I know everything's gonna be alright.

Versions & recordings

Grouped by recording

2

Song statistics

Archive coverage at a glance

58release versions
#98

98th most featured song

20documented shows
#155

155th most played song

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Song Interpretations

What do you think this song is about? Share your interpretation and explain your reasoning.

2

legacy memberAug 15, 2007 · edited Date unknown

I also think that it is about how TV is used to completely detach from the world instead of actually interacting with the people around you and the line, 'the world outside is buzzing like an angry wasp in summer' proves that this desensitization causes life to become merely petty and annoying. The lines about the mother/brother are also about how people tend to disregard their parents and such just because they are…

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I also think that it is about how TV is used to completely detach from the world instead of actually interacting with the people around you and the line, 'the world outside is buzzing like an angry wasp in summer' proves that this desensitization causes life to become merely petty and annoying. The lines about the mother/brother are also about how people tend to disregard their parents and such just because they are 'from a different generation' and supposedly don't understand them and their problems and so they turn to people who are closer to them-like the brother. Which is not really necessarily a good choice either, as the guidance is learned 'by the television light' and thus maybe filtered and/or not genuine.
legacy memberJul 11, 2004 · edited Date unknown

This song is about the current US crisis of people getting their sense of reality from TV. We now spend more time in front of a monitor or TV than with our children (not that I have a children), reading, or educating ourselves (and I do educate myself, alright?). When Brett says 'submerge in electric waves,' he probably meant electromagnetic waves (or light, as we commonly call this phenomenon). Brett says that nowad…

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This song is about the current US crisis of people getting their sense of reality from TV. We now spend more time in front of a monitor or TV than with our children (not that I have a children), reading, or educating ourselves (and I do educate myself, alright?). When Brett says 'submerge in electric waves,' he probably meant electromagnetic waves (or light, as we commonly call this phenomenon). Brett says that nowadays the TV has become everyone's drug and conscience and the addiction can't be 'distilled' from you. It's a part of you now. Standing in front of the TV, apparently, has become the new family meetings, except that real issues are not discussed, but only how the show goes or what happened to your favorite soap opera character.