Lunchbox (song)

"Lunchbox"
Song by Marilyn Manson
Album	Portrait of an American Family
Released	July 19, 1994
Recorded	August–December 1993 at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida, Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles, California, The Village Recorder and Pig
Genre	Hard rock
Length	4:32
Label	Nothing, Interscope
Writer	Marilyn Manson
Composer	Daisy Berkowitz, Gidget Gein
Producer	Marilyn Manson, Trent Reznor

Lunchbox is the second single and the third track of the 1994 release Portrait of an American Family.

Information

• The song was inspired by a piece of legislation dating back to 1972, which makes it illegal to have metal lunchboxes in schools. It tells the story of a school age child who is bullied and uses his own lunchbox as a weapon in retaliation, waiting for the day he can "grow up to be a big rock & roll star" who is never intimidated by others.
• The earliest recording of this song dates back to the band's After School Special cassette tape, released in December 1991.
• The album version of "Lunchbox" samples the song "Fire" by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown.
• During the Dead to the World tour the line "I wanna be a big rock and roll star" was often sang with updated lyrics "I wanna be Antichrist Superstar".
• Sections of the song were used as an outro to Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) during the Rape of the World tour. Once Tim Skold left the band however, it was replaced with Rock 'n' Roll Nigger.

Versions

Studio

Title	Release	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
Lunchbox	Portrait of an American Family Lest We Forget – The Best Of Lost & Found Lunchbox	4:32	1993	July 19, 1994
Lunchbox	After School Special	4:49	1991	December 1991	Demo version
Lunchbox	Live as Hell Refrigerator	4:55	1991–1992	January 17, 1993	Demo version
Lunchbox (Highschool Drop-outs)	Lunchbox	4:34	1994	February 5, 1995	Radio edit
Lunchbox	The Manson Family Album	4:26	1993		Lacks opening sample and guitar

Live

Title	Release	Type	Length	Recorded	Released
Lunchbox	Dead to the World	Video			February 10, 1998
Lunchbox	The Last Tour on Earth	Audio	8:35	Grand Rapids, Michigan	November 16, 1999
Lunchbox	Guns, God and Government World Tour	Video	9:02		October 29, 2002

Remix

Title	Release	Length	Remixed by	Released	Notes
Next Motherfucker (Remix)	Lunchbox Sweet Dreams Tourniquet	4:48	Charlie Clouser	February 5, 1995
Brown Bag (Remix)	Lunchbox	6:19	Charlie Clouser	February 5, 1995
Metal (Remix)	Lunchbox	5:25	Charlie Clouser	February 5, 1995

Media

Album Release

The Last Tour on Earth Release

Music video

Manson face to face with the boy

The music video directed by Richard Kern on September 19, 1994, features a boy being bullied by two older students. The boy goes home, fed up with the way he is treated, and shaves his head and prepares for any future retaliation against the bullies with his metal lunchbox. The boy later goes to the rollerskating rink where Marilyn Manson is performing. The boy gives Manson his lunchbox, which Manson lights on fire and parades around. The video ends with the boy staring into the burning lunchbox. It is one of the few music videos where Manson performs without wearing makeup.

Lyrics

   on we plow
   the big bully try to stick his finger in my chest
   try to tell me, tell me he's the best
   but I don't really give a good goddamn cause
   i got my lunchbox and I'm armed real well
   i got my lunchbox and I'm armed real well
   i got my lunchbox and I'm armed real well
   i wanna grow up
   i wanna be a big rock and roll star
   i wanna grow up
   i wanna be
   so no one fucks with me
   i got the pencils in my pocket, try to put me down
   wanna go out, gotta get out
   to the playground, gonna throw down at the playground
   i wanna go out
   next motherfucker gonna get my metal
   next motherfucker gonna get my metal
   next motherfucker gonna get my metal
   next motherfucker gonna get my metal
   pow pow pow, pow pow pow, pow pow pow, pow pow pow
   i wanna grow up
   i wanna be a big rock and roll star
   i wanna grow up
   i wanna be
   so no one fucks with me