Time To Pretend
by MGMT

Album: Oracular Spectacular (2007)
Charted: 35
Play Video
  • I'm feelin' rough, I'm feelin' raw
    I'm in the prime of my life
    Let's make some music, make some money
    Find some models for wives
    I'll move to Paris, shoot some heroin and fuck with the stars
    You man the island and the cocaine and the elegant cars

    This is our decision to live fast and die young
    We've got the vision, now let's have some fun
    Yeah, it's overwhelming, but what else can we do?
    Get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute?

    Forget about our mothers and our friends
    We're fated to pretend
    To pretend
    We're fated to pretend
    To pretend

    I'll miss the playgrounds
    And the animals and digging up worms
    I'll miss the comfort of my mother
    And the weight of the world
    I'll miss my sister, miss my father
    Miss my dog and my home
    Yeah, I'll miss the boredom
    And the freedom and the time spent alone

    But there is really nothing, nothing we can do
    Love must be forgotten, life can always start up anew
    The models will have children, we'll get a divorce
    We'll find some more models, everything must run its course

    We'll choke on our vomit and that will be the end
    We were fated to pretend
    To pretend
    We're fated to pretend
    To pretend

    I said yeah, yeah, yeah
    Yeah, yeah, yeah
    Yeah, yeah, yeah
    Yeah, yeah, yeah Writer/s: Andrew Vanwyngarden, Ben Goldwasser
    Publisher: BMG Rights Management
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 13

  • George from Texas, United States Wish I could find a good clean recording of time to pretend it by MGMT, it has too much bass seems and very distorted sound quality.
  • Sean from Lake Forest, IlI always thought of the song as a big metaphor. The beginning verse is them as teenagers with dreams of becoming rock stars. They would imagine all the luxuries they would get. The island itself is a metaphor for childhood. The island is their home. It was a simple life, but they had dreams of leaving the island and exploring the possibilities that may await them. They also explain their fear for a future of boredom, so they dream about becoming rock stars so they can experience life in a new, exciting way.
    The second verse would be them as adults becoming stars and realizing how much they will miss the life they had before on the island. They would miss the simplicity that it once provided them, but they knew they had to follow their dreams. It would be like they were on a boat departing from the island (their childhood) and they would look back at the island and remember all the good that it brought to them.
    I may be over analyzing this a little.
  • Matt from Mays Landing, NjI watched this video while i was stoned, and I saw some of the subliminal messages that they had put into the video. This song is all about doing drugs, and the phrase "TIme to Pretend" is talking about how they are going onto a LSD trip.
  • Brittany from ???????, Ohthis song is purely mocking the rockstar lifestyle. With such phrases as, "well choke on our vomit" and Lets make some music make some money find some midels for wives." The theme is hard to look past!!
  • Jon from Enumclaw , WaI freaking love this song!
  • Ekah from Sundsvall, SwedenHaha or... it could even be Bon scott, the singer of Ac/Dc who dide choking on vomit, or it's just that there's over 3 rockstars who have died that way that they chose it ^^
  • Ben from Ocean City, NjOr even John Bonham perhaps? Not sure who their big influences are, just a thought as he went the same way. R.I.P. both of them ;[
  • Braedan from Melbourne, Australia"We'll choke on our vomit and that will be the end"
    could this be a reference to Jimi Hendrix death prehaps?
    any thoughts?
  • Julia from Buenos Aires, ArgentinaOne of the song's first feature in TV was on the last episode of the show Skins. And it ROCKED.
  • Bill W from Wexford, IrelandHas the part "well mover to paris, shoot some heroin, and f**k with the stars" a reference to Jim Morrison perhaps????
  • Eric from Manhattan, NyThis song is about mocking the "live fast, die young" lifestyle. It shows how there are more important things in life like family, love and friends, not something like killing yourself and living life in the fast lane. That's why they end it with "we're fated to pretend". Pretending about the lifestyle almost like a kid pretends. Maybe that's why this band is neo-psychedelic. ACID
  • Jose from Guadalajara, MexicoThe song is heard during the opening credits of the movie 21.
  • Francia from Caracas, --This is such a great song!
see more comments

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