The Nobodies
"The Nobodies" is the third and final single of the fourth album Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death). The song was inspired by the Columbine massacre which took place on April 20, 1999. Also, the title was taken from statements made by Mark David Chapman, John Lennon's assasin, stating that he "felt like a nobody."
Contents
Appearances
Albums
Singles
- "The Nobodies"
Versions
- The Nobodies — Appears on Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death).
- The Nobodies (Acoustic Version) — Appears on Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) UK version.
- The Nobodies (Live) — Appears on the the "The Nobodies" single.
- The Nobodies (Live) — Appears on the Guns, God and Government World Tour DVD.
- The Nobodies (2005 Against All Gods Mix) — Appears on the Against All Gods EP.
- The Nobodies (Burn 36 Remix) — Appears on the Against All Gods EP.
- The Nobodies (Stephane K Rock Dub Remix) — Appears on the Against All Gods EP.
- The Nobodies (Wormwood Remix) — Appears on the From Hell Soundtrack.
Music video
The music video begins with children being watched by two oddly dressed, elderly characters with peculiar headsets on. The children seem to be memorized by a television showing nothing but static, however their guardians turn it off. Manson is seen in many forms throughout the video, including a devil-like costume in which he appears in when indoors. As the chorus hits, one of the children finds a concealed passageway leading to a snowy forest area where Manson dressed as a tree-like humanoid (as depicted on the single's cover) is singing with the rest of the band behind him. Manson and the children's oppressors begin to have some sort of confrontation as the setting returns back indoors; he pours money from a hollow deer head and scatters it on the floor as the pair kneel down to gather it (this seems to be a trap of Manson's, as when they are kneeling, root-like objects begin to drag them away). Another variation of Manson is later seen, it is similar to the tree-like appearance, though lacking branches and possessing exposed feet in contrast to them being connected to the ground. During the conclusion of the video, Manson and the children are waiting by a machine that is being fed the bodies of the victims of Manson's trap by using the long branches to bring them in. The machine transforms them into a grotesque pie, which the group then begins to eat at a dinner table. The music video has appeared in three forms: the original video, the Against All Gods Remix version (which is nearly identical to the original, however, any scenes of the band members, other than Manson himself, have been replaced with different footage), and the Burn 36 Remix version, which is interspersed with scenes of the movie From Hell. The video was directed by Paul Fedor.
Analysis
The video itself seems to contain a vast amount of symbolism. It attempts to expose the controlling and aggressive behavior of the media and religion, a common theme throughout the "Holy Wood" era. The "elderly characters" have costumes that seem to be parodying that of religious figures, and dominate the lives of the depraved children. When the children are discovered to be missing, these characters begin to search for the children using guard dogs and are seemingly intimidated by Manson (this scene can be seen as a possible display of how sheer hostility is used to control and instill fear in others). Upon Manson's appearance, they immediately bend down to kiss his ring and are easily pleased by his donation of money (a sign of their greed and obsession with riches). Manson acts as the savior of the children, shielding them inside his cloak and destroying their tyrannical guardians. The video slightly corresponds with the lyrics of the song (both dealing with media violence), though bears no references to the Columbine High School Massacre, which serves as the primary example of this violence in the lyrics.
Lyrics
Today I am dirty
and I want to be pretty
Tomorrow, I know that I'm just dirt
We are the nobodies
we wanna be somebodies
when we're dead,
they'll know just who we are
Yesterday I was dirty
wanted to be pretty
I know now that I'm forever dirt
We are the nobodies
we wanna be somebodies
when we're dead,
they'll know just who we are
Some children died the other day
we fed machines and then we prayed
puked up and down in morbid faith
you should have seen the ratings that day...
Trivia
- An acoustic version of the song is featured in the Michael Moore film Bowling For Columbine.
