The Beautiful People

Album: Antichrist Superstar (1996)
Charted: 18
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Songfacts®:

  • This song is a description of the way you need to survive in capitalistic society. It deals with Manson's personal struggle of being a wormboy (or middle class loser) to being a famous rock star. He's making a link between the American media and Nazi propaganda, as well as the need to to be physically perfect because of the hyper-reality we are brainwashed by.

    It's also about the rock star looking down on the worms that make him what he is - this need to be more then a worm is what made him a star. The average rebel can relate to the song because Manson is making ugly fashionable, which is easier to achieve than the perfection we see on other CD covers and on MTV. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Mac - Cape Town, South Africa
  • The phrase "The Beautiful People" came into vogue in the '60s, entering the popular lexicon in 1967. That year, a book by Marilyn Bender called The Beautiful People: a Candid Examination of a Cultural Phenomenon - the Marriage of Fashion and Society in the '60s was published, which is where Manson got the title to this song.

    The phrase quickly became used as a demeaning identifier, as any grounded individual would certainly object to being classified a "beautiful person." The Beatles used it incisively in their song "Baby You're A Rich Man," and many journalists picked up the phrase. We found this from a 1967 NME article on Dave Davies of The Kinks, where the author responds to a comment from Davies that he likes to stare at the moon and let his mind wander: "Before anyone reads into that remark that Dave has joined the beautiful people perhaps I should mention that his version of a 'beautiful person' is someone who plays football."
  • Manson wrote this song with his guitarist, Twiggy Ramirez.
  • The "Antichrist Superstar" is a character Manson took on to make people question their belief in God. It is a play on "Jesus Christ, Superstar," which was the name of a Broadway play.
  • The music video uses jarring imagery and motion effects to create a very uncomfortable feeling - really the antithesis of what is traditionally beautiful. Manson appears in various elongated states with different barbs and contraptions disfiguring his body.

    The clip was directed by Floria Sigismondi, who also did Manson's "Tourniquet" video. It was nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards: Best Special Effects, Best Art Direction, and Best Rock Video.
  • Radio stations usually play an edited version that says "every other hater" rather than "every motherf--ker." >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Nick - Paramus, NJ

Comments: 73

  • AnonymousMore control from narcissistic views. Nice opinion author.
    Serving in the military being all over the world has made me realize the most people in America are not good people.
  • ChezitacosytI just love how hypocritical this guy is being. This song is apparently mentioning Nazi stuff, but mister Manson is a NAZI FETISHIZER.
  • AnonymousWow, another successful puppet from the entertainment industry trying to tell me what the entertainment industry is supposed to be like. The decadence will be total when we listen to the social demands of mentally ill drug addicts, unbalanced and wealthy fetishists.
  • Psychotiq from Nj F--k Darwin, ugly people haters, beautiful people are all going to die OLD and UGLY.
  • Lj Kar from MarylandThis song is pro-fascist. Y’all are giving him too much credit. He sees himself as a beautiful person and is a social Darwinist who admittedly admires Hitler. Read some of his interviews.
  • Hdjdjdjdjd from TexasHow does it deal with nazi propaganda
  • Skroge Alvarez from Houston TxWe look beautiful on the outside but in the inside we are ugly ass mofos
  • Me from Nyironically manson didnt date no ugly chicks and is rich....getting by in a capitalistic society is better than a socialist one.....and he isnt giving away 90% of his wealth.....why not.....lol
  • Novus Ordo Seclorum from Hutchinson, Ksi also notice a lot of referrence in the video to how mankind has progressed but we still act as puppets like sheep being hearded by the shepherd. maybe it means that there were great minds but most of us follow the lead of the alpha, much like animals do. also, logan, from indianapolis, a lot of people think michael was a weirdo.......which he is but he made some good songs, just sayin
  • Novus Ordo Seclorum from Hutchinson, Ksit think he is also reffering to the simplistic and instinctive nature of most people, they act like animals.....rather than the superior beings we are supposed to be
  • Jasmine from Oklahoma, Oki love this song and video!!!
  • Logan from Indianapolis, InMARILYN MANSON!! is awesome even tho ppl think hes a wierdo!! this song is really good!! and i also like Tainted Love!!
  • Jo from Huntly, New ZealandThis is a beautiful song, although I do like 'Dried Up, Tied And Dead To The World' a bit better.
  • Lin Lin from Pinson, Almake your own def. of beauty
  • Torque from Camden, NjThe song is practically pointing a finger at the people who think of themselves as beautiful.All of the conceeded people are being recognized as the losers in this song.
  • AnonymousI love his version of "This Is Halloween" from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas"...he looks creepy, but I could listen to him sing all day; kinda like Riff Raff from The Rocky Horror Picture Show lol.
  • Brittany from Florissant, Momarilyn manson is the sex. i love him.
  • Frazzx from Belle River, OnThe beat is a ripoff from L'America by The Doors it starts at 1 minute into the song
  • Leslie from Prospect Heights, Ilmarilyn manson scares the crap out of me.
  • Phil from Melbourne, AustraliaJust watched the clip again and it has some really depraved sexual undertones that fit in well with the lyrics and have nothing to do with politics. Who ever made the clip must have been on something really good.
  • Phil from Melbourne, AustraliaYes Great song but there IS something really disturbing about the video clip, if you really watch it .
  • Avery from Bucksport, Meto me this song is about all the "popular" people out their and how mean and unrully they can be and this is a song for all the "Dorks" and how much they hate the "popular" people for judging them on the outside and the "popular" people not taking a chance to get to no people for whats on the inside!! but this song is my fave by Manson.
  • Cortney from Grand Junction, Cogod this song is so true about todays society
  • Tonya from Sharon Grove, Kyim only 15 and acordding to my "mother" this was the very first song i heard. And i love this song but my monkey and cylclops is better
  • William from Louisville, Ky"Capatilism has made it this way, some old fashioned fascism will take it away". I'm guessing he means fascism is bad for capatilism?
  • Liquid Len from Ottawa, CanadaMarilyn Manson regrets being misunderstood as pro-Bush :

    http://www.metalunderground.com/news/details.cfm?newsid=19519
  • Liquid Len from Ottawa, Canada"The only people that hate bush are the stupid hippies/liberals/communists who criticize him for crap that couldn't be done better by anyone else."
    Yeah, and the only people that accuse priests of molesting little boys are those that hate the baby jesus. It's true!
  • Yoseph from Cupertino, CaIts not just that. Everything about Marilyn Manson is confusing. BUT he writes awesome music so thats okay.
  • Mario from Houston, TxWhile I wouldn't call myself a Manson fan (due to the fact that the majority of them that I've met are "high schooler rebels" and silly kids) I gotta say that this song is very good as are many of them. Guy's got a good head on his shoulders and knows how to speak well.
  • Chris from Uhhhh, VaThe only people that hate bush are the stupid hippies/liberals/communists who criticize him for crap that couldn't be done better by anyone else. Manson isnt a poser rebel who hates bush to be cool (wannanbe punks). Manson is a genius
  • Guess from North Andover, MaMarilyn Manson confuses me. At his concerts he's always like, "kill God". But when he's interviewed he always saying that President Bush is doing a good job, and Bush is obviouslly a Christian.
  • Scotty from Greenville, NcI just wanted to say, I like the song and what it says, but I had to clear up the previous poster's confusion.

    John Wayne Gacy raped and killed people, but never ate anyone. I think you're confusing him with Jeffrey Dahmer.
  • Sam from Austin, TxHey...uh, Marilyn from Buffalo I think that Mr. Manson is trying to be "strange" and "weird" so when people call him that i think he would take it as more of a compliment, oh and no one cares if your antichrist or goth. By the way this song kicks arse!!
  • Cassy from Paris, FranceI love this song, even if it isn't my favourite song.
  • Zoloft from Milton, WvMusically, this song shares many similarities with the 1979 disco hit "Knock On Wood" by Amii Stewart.
  • Tracey from Kingston, CanadaWelln tyler the things i like about this song is that the way they throw in special affects and how the background music is hard core rock....rock on dude
  • Tyler from Buffalo, Nywhat does everybody like about this song?
  • Tyler from Buffalo, Nythis is a cool song everybody loves it its ok to me but i got 2 admit i love how he sings wrong and trees plus i like "hey you what do u see?
    something beautiful? something free?
    hey u are you trying to be mean? u live with the apes man its hard to be clean" thats the best part
  • Tracey from Kingston, CanadaI think this song is awesome me and my cousin chris love it and this is the song i only like about Marilyn Manson how about you guys?
  • Chris from Edmonton, Canadamanson is awesome and he is very intelligent and not wierd i can name 20 people wierder than him
  • David from Lakeview, NcTo Martin from Brisbane: He actually does write some of the music. Not on this song, though. Twiggy Ramirez wrote the music to this one. And not writng the music doesn't mean he's not a musician. The lyrics are an important part of his catalogue, and the voice is an insturment.
  • Joey from Nowhere Land, Camy brother saw Marilyn Manson at Ozfest like 3 years ago or something like that and said he's extremely entertaining to watch at a concert.

    I can imagine, I'd like to see him perform one day
  • Daniel from Edinburgh, Englandthis song is a reference also to the murder of sharon tate where charles manson had "How does it feel to be one of the beautiful people?" written in blood on her door... originally a line from the beatles' white album, which is commonly known to have in part inspired manson to kill/ order the killings
  • Mike from Maryland, GaBeauty corrupts us all and makes us believe that happiness and Popularity is only avilable to the "Beauitiful People". Everyone wants to be perfect and loved....
  • Mike from Maryland, GaNow Marylan is a Genuise. He grew up in a house hold filled with his parents fighting and violence. he believed the only way to get out was through music. His music is for that reason it opens your eyes and it sets you free.
  • Nate from Santa Cruz, CaBy far one of my favorite songs of all time. I believe that he was trying to ephesize the point that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that the majority of people behold beauty in a vastly different way from himself. Examples: "it's all relative to the size of your steeple" ~ "Hey. You. What do you see? Something beautiful and something free?"
  • Kenny from Ubly, MiKieran from Essex, Mr. Manson is not goth. He dresses outlandishly because it's a way of separating him from his image. Most people would not recognize him without the makeup, but with the makeup, he's an icon, and people remember him. That's what he's going for.
  • Dan from Santa Clarita, Camost of what is being said follows my beliefs of this songs meaning... but coming from really close to hollywood, i think its about how everyone seems to want to see gorgeous people, someone with an image, not someone who is unattractive to the masses. they dont want to be shocked.
  • Brett from Adelaide, AustraliaOh just to let you know, all the people that say rumours like (must say following in a high-pitched retard voice) "Marilyn Manson cut off his ear and fed it to children, Marilyn Manson threw a puppy into the crowd and made them tear it into bits, Marilyn Manson took out some ribs and a bit of spine to suck his own c***" GROW UP PEOPLE Marilyn Manson is weird yeah but he is not THAT disturbed so anyone who believes that kind of crap should go get a reality check.
  • Daniel Roberto DÃ?az from Panama City, OtherManson is often described as a follower and ordained minister of the Church of Satan. This, however, is not strictly true; he was appointed as honorary Reverend by late founder Anton LaVey. Unlike being an ordained minister, a Reverend of the Church of Satan is one who is revered by the Church for some reason ' regardless of their connections to it ' while a priest or minister is one who dedicates their life to preaching the religion to others. Nevertheless, some fans still refer to him as the Rev. Marilyn Manson, a title that appears in the credits of Antichrist Superstar.
  • Kieran from Essex, Englandhe's not weird or strange he's a goth there are millions of them it's just this one makes awesome music
  • Jake from Houston, TxSomething about your appearance and not your inner beauty I believe.
  • Wil from Kc, KsPlay this song and the 80's classic song "Mexican Radio" and you can see that much of the music from "Mexican Radio" was taken for "Beautiful People".
  • Masha from Amsterdam, NetherlandsI think the only reason he behaves like a lunatic, is so he won't be taken seriously. If he isn't taken seriously, he can say anything he wants without making people repeat him and turn against the government etc. If he dressed and behaved normal, there's no way he would be sold.
  • Ville from Chicago, IlGreatest Musician...Ever
  • Claire from Oak Ridge, TnI think this song had a pretty creepy video with a factory where they mass- produced freaks.
  • Liz from Inthewall, PaI don't think he's disturbed. If you ever listen to him in an interview, he's an intellegant person. He just dresses differently, but the man has some amazing vocals!
  • Marilyn Manson from Buffalo, NyWhy do you think he is weird?Just because him and I are antichrist,goth and really cool doesn't give you the right to call him "Weird" or "Strange!"
  • Dee from Indianapolis, InI'm by no means a big fan of his, but he does have some songs worthy of listening to and liking. This was the 1st song of his that I ever heard and liked it from the get go. It starts off in a way that gets your blood flowing and just increases as it goes. I always crank it up and get into it when I hear it. I feel he has issue with many areas of society, and I don't agree with his ideas, but give him kudos for some good songs. Music and what the muscian is trying to get across can be seperated if you have the ability to distinguish this.
  • Sara from Edmonton, Cai think marilyn is strangely disturbed but i am fascinated by his lyrics..his image..and he is extrememly charming when not on stage.. i am oddly attracted to him and cant explain why..he brings a point across in his songs..i admire his need to be different. i WANT to be his lover
  • Martin from Birmingham, EnglandIf you look at the song, and then read up on history i think this song is heavily influenced by nazism. The beautiful people is a link between the aryan 'perfect race' that Adolf Hitler set out, and what people conceive as the perfect person now. Its possibly drawing links between America now and Nazi Germany IMO
  • Ken from San Diego, CaThis could definitely be...my favorite. I really can't tell though, because all of his songs rock!
  • Hassan from Nyc, NyI really like this song, I think it's my favorite out of all the merylin manson songs!
  • Avadia from Nagoaka, JapanMarilyn Manson is an extremely wierdo person but his music on the other hand is somewhat alright.
  • Ty from Niagara Falls, CanadaIn my mind, the music is so aggressive and hard that it makes you want to stand up and fight, while the lyrics instruct you as to what you need to fight against. Manson's a pretty intelligent guy when you hear him interviewed.
  • Ross from Balloch, ScotlandTo me this song is about those who have been classed as freaks and been shunned by society rising up to take their rightful place in the world.
  • Andrew from Hamilton, CanadaThis song is an attack on the world's political systems and politicians. Capitalism tends to put down people who are not 'beautiful' or 'strong'. Adam, the main character in Manson's Antichrist trilogy, knows this and uses the people's angst against this political system to his advantage. "Hey, you, what do you see? Something beautiful and something free?" This cynical line is directed to the supporters of capitalism and politicians involved in it. The "apes" refer to the lower classes, victims of capitalism or the 'ugly'; the beautiful people want nothing to do with them. "Hate every motherf***er that gets in your way" is directed to these lower classes; Adam is attempting to start a revolt against the beautiful people and implement a fascist regime, with him as ultimate leader and eventually the Antichrist.
  • Letizia from Woodland, WaLove the song completely someting I could live and die listening too. My BF loves Marilyn Manson I heard the song and couldn't get it out of my head.. Personally I think that the song describes how some people try to get out of societies criticism but just get in the S*** themselves..
  • Brian from Pittsburgh, PaI would think Dope Show is more about being priviledged and getting away with it. I always thought Beautiful People was about capitalism and the american male obsession with penis size... "It's all relative to the size of your steeple"...or could be a knock on Churches who believe the bigger their following the better the church is...this is a common belief among Catholics (coming from a Catholic friend)...who knows...he's a very weird guy...
  • Louis from London, EnglandI like the video, there's something very disturbing about weirdos on stilts
  • Loki from Nottingham, EnglandA remix version of this was used for the WWE smackdown music
  • Nick from Paramus, NjOk, here's what I get out of this song. I'v put this meaning on other sites and I'm putting it on this one.

    I think he's saying that you have to be "beautiful" in order to get a better deal in the world. Like, when a cop pulls someone over and gives them a ticket. But when a cop pulls over a hot chick and she comes on to him he lets her go. Or how about when you're working your job and you've been trying really hard and getting nowhere, but the one that's sucking the boss's c*** gets the promotion. I think it's especially significant in the world of pop music where they seek out the people who have the looks and don't take any regard to the talent they have, that might be what Manson's expressing in the song.
  • Jared from Norwalk, OhExtremely... *pause* odd person, Marilyn Manson has something to say in this song. I have to say that this song is another one of my favorites.
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