Editing Mechanical Animals (song)

{{Disambiguation|the song|the album|Mechanical Animals (album)|the tour|Mechanical Animals (tour)}}

{{Song
| Name        = Mechanical Animals
| Cover       = MechanicalAnimals.png
| Artist      = [[Marilyn Manson (band)|Marilyn Manson]]
| Album       = [[Mechanical Animals]]
| Released    = September 14, 1998
| Recorded    = 1997–1998 at the White Room, Westlake Recording Studios in West Hollywood, California and Conway Studios
| Genre       = Alternative rock, space rock, south rock
| Length      = 4:33
| Label       = [[Nothing]], [[Interscope Records|Interscope]]
| Writer      = [[Marilyn Manson]]
| Composer    = [[Twiggy Ramirez]], [[Zim Zum]]
| Producer    = Michael Beinhorn, Marilyn Manson
}}
"'''Mechanical Animals'''" is the third track on the 1998 release ''[[Mechanical Animals]]''. It was partially inspired by a North Dakota boy who killed himself. His father found him dead with Manson's ''[[Antichrist Superstar]]'' on repeat in his CD player. The father blamed Manson for his son's suicide and called ''Antichrist Superstar'' the "hand grenade" that led to the tragedy.<ref>{{cite web |last=Nelson |first=Chris |url=http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/350008/19980605/index.jhtml |title=Senate To Investigate Lyrics And Warning Stickers |work=''VH1'' |publisher=MTV Networks (Viacom) |date=1998-06-05 |accessdate=2011-06-11}}</ref> The song is a concrete example of [[Marilyn Manson|Manson]]'s consistency with wordplay.

== Appearances ==
=== Albums ===
* ''[[Mechanical Animals]]''

== Versions ==
* "Mechanical Animals" <small>— Appears on ''Mechanical Animals''.</small>
* "Mechanical Animals" (Live) <small>— Appears on the various artists compilation ''Return of the Rock Vol. 2'' and the Japanese import of ''[[Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)]]''.</small>

== Lyrics ==
     We were neurophobic
     And perfect
     The day that we lost our souls
     Maybe we weren't so human
     If we cry we will rust
     And I was a hand grenade
     That never stopped exploding
     You were automatic and
     As hollow as the 'o' in god
     
     I am never gonna be the one for you
     I am never gonna save the world from you
     But they'll never be good to you
     Or bad to you
     They'll never be anything
     Anything at all
     
     You were my mechanical bride
     You were phenobarbidoll
     A manniqueen of depression
     With the face of a dead star
     And I was a hand grenade
     That never stopped exploding
     You were automatic and
     As hollow as the 'o' in god
     
     I am never gonna be the one for you
     I am never gonna save the world from you
     But they'll never be good to you
     Or bad to you
     They'll never be anything
     Anything at all
     
     This isn't me I'm not mechanical
     I'm just a boy
     Playing the Suicide King

== Personnel ==
* [[Marilyn Manson]] – vocals
* [[Twiggy Ramirez]] – acoustic and rhythm guitars, bass
* [[Zim Zum]] – rhythm and lead guitar
* [[Madonna Wayne Gacy]] – piano and other keyboards
* [[Ginger Fish]] – drums

== Trivia ==
* The lyric "You were my mechanical bride" is a direct reference to Marshall McLuhan's critical study of popular culture ''The Mechanical Bride''.
* The lyric "I'm just a boy playing the Suicide King" has often been misinterpreted as Manson advocating suicide. The lyric is actually colloquial slang (and used on the song as such) referring to playing card ''The King of Hearts'', whose face always feature the King impaling his head with a sword. Such an action can be seen in a diagram underneath the Mechanical Animals lyrics in the album booklet. 
* Furthermore, the same lyric refers to an incident in 1997 where a father found his son had comitted suicide while [["Antichrist Superstar"]] played on a loop.

== References ==
<references/>

[[Category:Mechanical Animals era]]
[[Category:Marilyn Manson songs]]
[[Category:Songs from Mechanical Animals]]