Disposable Teens by Marilyn Manson

Album: Lest We Forget (The Best of Marilyn Manson) (2000)

Charted: 12

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Songfacts®:

This is a song about teenage rebellion ("Survived abortion. A rebel from the waist down!"), which is something Marilyn Manson would support. It also demonstrates how, in these modern times, kids can question religion ("I never really headed one true god, but the god of the people I hated!"). >>
Suggestion credit:
Craig - Guildford, England
The line, "Only a rebel from the waist down" may come from George Orwell's book 1984 when Julia and Winston have just slept together in the field where they believe there is no one watching or listening and Julia tells Winston he is only a rebel from the waist down because he is willing to go against The Party and Big Brother in that he'll have sex with her, but does not live the life of a rebel. One of the themes of his novel is also the ease in the disposal of human life... they just mold them into what they want, and then get rid of them if they decide they don't think the person fits in the dystopian society. >>
Suggestion credit:
Meg - Boston, MA
Samuel Bayer, who also directed Manson's "Coma White" and "Rock Is Dead," helmed the video.

Comments: 21

John from Ca“I never hated the one true God, but the god of the people I hated.” Is talking about his problem with organized religion and how modern Christianity has turned God into an in intolerant asshole. Jesus I the New Testament brought forth a loving, forgiving God but modern Christians seem to prefer the angry, vengeful God of the Old Testament.
Stukka63 from St. Augustine, Fla.Love to see a Brian Warner vs. Alice Cooper battle.
Idk Cooper did some twisted shjt live that would never happen today.
But Marilyn Manson rocks it out.
Kathy from Columbus, GaThis song is a satire of rebellious teenagers. Many teens try to "go against the man" by being different for the sake of difference, and try to conflate being a rebel with being a revolutionary.

"And I am a black rainbow" starts the song by giving a statement which might make an individual seem "deep" and "misunderstood". As one might say, they appear dark on the outside, but that is simply because the multiple colors of their personality clash when mixed together.

"And I'm an ape of god" implicitly shows that they believe evolution to be true and god to be false. Since the literal interpretation of the Judeo-Christian story of origins is false, F*CK GOD!

"I've got a face that's made for violence upon" shows their willingness to use violence against 'the man'. This is a more explicit example of trying to confuse rebellion with revolution.

"And I'm a teen distortion" is an expression of them being outside of what is considered a 'normal' teen. If the image of a normal teen was in an ordinary mirror, their image would be in a smoked, broken, warped mirror.

"Survived abortion" tries to make it sound like they've overcome a great feat. "Survive" usually implies some sort of effort, but not being aborted takes no effort by yourself whatsoever. The societal push towards keeping the pregnancy, the society the teen is fighting against, is the one that influenced his mother to have him in the first place.

"A rebel from the waist down" is a reference to 1984. During a thought process in which the main character, Winston, observes how uninterested his lover, Julian, is in causing a revolution and is willing to be a sexual rebel working within the status quo, he is prompted to tell her that she is "a rebel from the waist downwards." This, along with sticking with the idea of confusing rebellion with revolution, can also be seen as teens taking a pro-choice stance, sex positive, or gay/lesbian/bi/straight tolerance as their way of being different.

The "yeahs" are the encouragement and affirmation from their peers.

"I wanna thank you mom / I wanna thank you dad / for bringing this f--kin world to a bitter end" shows an extreme narcissism and egomania present in some teens. Teens who think they are going to singlehandedly overturn the world.

"I never really hated one true god / But the god of the people I hated" exemplifies teens who take a position to oppose the stance someone they dislike takes. They aren't an atheist because they philosophically went through all of the propositions that believing in god consists of, but because they can't possibly be wearing the same belief the conformist is!

"You say you wanted evolution / The ape was a great big hit" is where Manson starts voicing his opinion towards teens. He says that most people already accept evolution, and you're rebelling against a minority when taking evolution as your edgy position of the day.

"You say you want a revolution, man / And I say that you're full of s--t" is when Manson shows that he doesn't believe that rebellious teenagers want actual change.

The repetition of "We're disposable teens" expresses that the type of mindlessly rebellious teenager is garbage, and could easily be rid of.

"The more that you fear us / The bigger we get" says that teenage rebellion is only encourage and made more attractive by authorities trying to shove it down

"Don't be surprised when we destroy all of it" says that teenagers usually get over their anti-conformist fad, and don't be surprised when they move on and grow up.
John from Jc, OrThe 'I never hated one true God, but the God of the people I hated', MAY be from Aleister Crowley.

Crowley states... 'I did not hate Jesus and God, I hated the the Jesus and God of the people I hated' It ties in with how Manson thinks and the lyrics of the song... I just discovered this while reading 'a biography of Led Zeppelin'
R from Holland, NetherlandsIt's ; "I never really hated one true god , but the god of the poeple i hated!".

This PROBABLY(!) refers to how poeple are clinging on to their god , he doesnt hate the "god" thing , but he hates it how poeple are so terribly religious to their "Allmighty god"
Jack from Sydney, AustraliaWRONG WRONNG WRONG!!!!!! you are allwrong this entire song is mansons retaliation to him being blamed for the columbine massacre. instead of denying it and trying to deflect the blame, he embraced it, its kinda his way of doing things
Amy from Nunyabiz, Althis song's great.
Mathew from Montreal, Canadathe song goes "I never really hated one true god, but the god are the people I hated"
Rachael from Milwaukee, WiI don't like how there's a huge debate of meaning for this song. It could mean many different things, and if you like the song and what the lyrics mean 2 you then i think marilyn did his job. thats it. end of story.
Eraclio from Santa Rosa, CaI think its not mocking teenage rebels but those who present themselves as rebels, those who say yah Anarchy and (deleted) God, hes saying he never hated a one true god but the god the people created, and most of those who call themselves rebels are still comforming to a different side of society, the ones that are truely disposable

"You said you wanted evolution
The ape was a great big hit
You say you want a revolution, man
And I say that you're full of sh*t"

u say u want a revolution but all u do is sit wear ur black clothes and p*ss all over any1 who walks by if u want a revolution go out and try to make a difference you sir are disposable

thats what i got out of it
Alex from East Hartford, CtTo correct the statment made earlier about 1984, it was Winston who said this to Julia, thats crucial because Julia was the true rebel in 1984, " "Your only a rebel from the waist downwards,"he told her."-Pg. 129 1984-- But in addition i believe the song is about 1984 because as in the book the people are disposable according to Big Brother. Another theme in the Book is a man named Goldstein who everyone believes to be an anti big brother terrorist, however the truth is, he does not exist. i think manson is relating this idea to god, and how "I never hated a one true god, but the god all the people hated"...Goldstein (god) doesnt exist but everyone hates him, so i hate him to( The song is being told as if manson is a "Disposable Teen")
And the children in the book 1984 are spies they are used freely by the government and Julia said that she had sex with lots of the governments inner party members while she was 16.
So manson just basically used refrences from 1984 and conveyed them into life as we know it now. However i believe he was trying to make the point that were becoming like the book 1984.
-Alex
Nikola from Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgariaand The ape WAS a great big hit
just be yourself ;)build your own religion!!! "i woke up today and wish for tomorrow i don;t want to be like anyone else"
Simon from AdelaideI would have to agree with Andrew.And maybe "the god of the people" that he hates is money??? Well just a thought anyways.
Daivd from Aberdeen, NcI always took it as how society treats it's teenagers and youth. The problems that teens have are often written off as childish or insignificant, even though they could be very serious. Society's ignorance leads to tradegies, such as the Columbine shootings. In this sense, this song is also a response to those who said Manson was to blame for the former, when in actuality, he prevents things like that because he gives those teens something to relate to. It shows those that might be considering suicide or homicide that at least someone out there gets it, even though they are "disposable" to most of society.
Ellie from Winchester, Englandthis song is all about how teenagers have the pressure on them to choose their path in life and have their own religion ect. but manson is saying that he wants to be a rebal not the child most parents want and also by saying that he feels like a teen distortion he feels as though he is the only rebal left as all the other kids are the type parents want.
Ronnie from Huddersfield, EnglandMr Manson claims to have been abducted by aliens on several occasions
Tristen from Milwaukee, WiRebel from the waist down is a reference to sex.

and if you look closely the whole never really hated the one true god... kinda says that he never hated god but he hates who god is depicted by the people...or totally on the flip side hejust totally hates god. lol . he does concider him the antichrist....guys this isnt a super hidden meaning. he's giving the views of teenagers in our world today...totally reaches the teans who are rejected and in a sense consider themselves disposable.

this song speaks to me too.
Jake from Houston, TxI think he says "a one true God". Hard to hear, but whatever.

Anyway, the thing that rises out of the water is one of the beasts Eziel (I think that was his name) speaks of in the bible. "It arose from the water, and had large iron teeth that it used to crush its enemies..."
Andrew from Hamilton, CanadaYes, this song is about teenage rebellion, but I think Craig missed something here... This is a sarcastic, antagonistic song that mocks these rebellious "Disposable Teens", all while making it appear to support them! And it's "I never really HATED the one true god..." Once again, Manson is mocking these uninformed, 'atheist' and so-called 'enlightened' teens. These teens are "Full of sh*t!"
Peter from Nowhere, BosniaA rebel from the waist down is a refrence to George Oreslls 1984 where Winston Smith describes his lover Julia as only a rebel from the waist down (i think ?)
Summer from Midilothian, Txthis song speaks many truths 4 me

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