Solving The Mystery Of Foster The People & Pumped Up Kicks

Foster the People

That is Foster the People in the picture.

More on Foster the People later, but first I have to say that when I moved to Texas, late in the previous century, I was not much of a fan of the current pop music.

I listened to the radio on the drive from Washington to Texas, having to find new stations as I drove along. When I crossed the border into Texas I found I could only find Christian and Country radio stations.

I never had listened to much Country Music before. I did not know, at the time, that a lot of it now sounded like old style rock and roll. By the time I got to Fort Worth I was sort of a Country Music fan.

Being a fan of Country Music soon faded.

And then a few years ago I discovered myself finding a lot of new pop tunes to be quite good.

Pumped Up Kicks

For a couple months now there has been a song on the radio that I found myself liking. But I could not understand the lyrics. Nor did I know who sang the song. Or what the name of the song was. The DJs never seemed to identify it.

Then yesterday I thought to Google "American Top 40." That led me to a Top 40 Charts website.

On the chorus of the song that had been vexing me I thought I'd made out the words "Pumped Up Kids."

On the Top 40 Chart I saw a song in the #6 spot called "Pumped Up Kicks." From a group called Foster the People.

I Googled "Foster the People" to learn via Wikipedia that...

"Foster the People is an American indie pop band formed in Los Angeles, California in 2009. Members Mark Foster (vocals, keyboards, piano, synthesizers, guitar, programming, percussion), Mark Pontius (drums and extra percussion), and Cubbie Fink (bass and backing vocals) formed the band while in their mid-twenties. The band is best known for its song "Pumped Up Kicks", which reached number one on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart, number 3 on the Rock Songs tally and number 3 for 8 consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100."

So, now I knew the name of the song that have been vexing me and who's song it was.

That left the words to the song and what the song was about as the remaining mystery.

I Googled "Pumped Up Kicks Lyrics" and learned that there are a lot of websites where you can find the lyrics to songs.

Below are the Pumped Up Kicks lyrics and below that is a YouTube video of the song who's name I did not know and who's words were mostly a mystery to me. I may now know the words to this song, but I still am not sure what it is about...

"Pumped Up Kicks"

Robert's got a quick hand.
He'll look around the room, he won't tell you his plan.
He's got a rolled cigarette, hanging out his mouth he's a cowboy kid.
Yeah, he found a six shooter gun.
In his dad's closet hidden with a box of fun things, and I don't even know what.
But he's coming for you, yeah he's coming for you.

[Chorus]
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks you'd better run, better run, outrun my gun. All the other kids with the pumped up kicks you'd better run, better run, faster than my bullet.

Daddy works a long day. He'll be coming home late, he's coming home late. And he's bringing me a dark surprise. 'Cause dinner's in the kitchen and it's packed in ice. I've waited for a long time. 
Yeah the sleight of my hand is now a quick-pull trigger,
I reason with my cigarette, And say your hair's on fire, you must have lost your wits, yeah.

[Chorus]
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks you'd better run, better run, outrun my gun. All the other kids with the pumped up kicks you'd better run, better run, faster than my bullet.