Lamb of God

"Lamb of God"
Song by Marilyn Manson
Album	Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)
Released	November 13, 2000
Recorded	1999–2000 at the Mansion in Death Valley, California
Genre	Industrial rock, art rock
Length	4:39
Label	Nothing, Interscope
Writer	Marilyn Manson
Composer	Twiggy Ramirez
Producer	Marilyn Manson, Dave Sardy
External links	Search ISRC Search at Musicstax

"Lamb of God" is the twelfth track on the 2000 release Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death). The song is Manson's observation on how mass media treats and reports tragic death as a form of public entertainment in the hunt for ratings. Specifically, the song criticizes the press' canonization of people who have attained fame or infamy within their lifetime, after their death, into 'martyrdom' and the cult-of-personality celebrity worship America reciprocates in response. To expound the point, Manson make allegories to martyred assassination icons Jesus Christ ("it took three days for him to die [just so] the born again could buy the serial rights"), John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy ("the camera will make you god, that's how Jack became sainted") and John Lennon ("nothing's going to change the world", a line from The Beatles song "Across the Universe" and "there was Lennon in the happy gun", a reference to the White Album anti-gun song "Happiness is a Warm Gun"). Ironically, the latter song contains the lyric "I know no one can do me no harm because happiness is a warm gun" as Lennon's assassin, Mark David Chapman, would later look for his own happiness in a warm gun.

Appearances

Albums

• Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)

Versions

• Lamb of God — Appears on Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death).

Lyrics

    There was Christ in the metal shell
    there was blood on the pavement
    The camera will make you god
    That's how Jack became sainted
    
    If you die when there's no one watching
    Then your ratings drop and you're forgotten
    But if they kill you on their TV
    You're a martyr and a lamb of god
    Nothing's going to change
    Nothing's going to change the world
    
    There was Lennon in the happy gun
    There were words on the pavement
    We were looking for the lamb of god
    We were looking for Mark David
    
    If you die when there's no one watching
    Then your ratings drop and you're forgotten
    But if they kill you on their TV
    You're a martyr and a lamb of god
    
    Nothing's going to change the world
    Nothing's going to change
    Nothing's going to change the world
    Nothing's going to change
    The world
    
    It took three days for him to die
    The born again could buy the serial rights
    Lamb of god have mercy on us
    Lamb of god won't you grant us
    
    Nothing's going to change the world
    Nothing's going to change
    Nothing's going to change the world
    Nothing's going to change
    The world
    
    If you die when there's no one watching
    Then your ratings drop and you're forgotten
    But if they kill you on their TV
    You're a martyr and a lamb of god
    Nothing's going to change the world

Trivia

• The song features some similarities to the Radiohead song "Climbing Up the Walls", from their album "OK Computer", released in 1997.
• Before playing "The Fight Song" in Los Angeles, California on December 20, 2004, Manson sang a handful of lines from both this and "Little Child", however this is the only time the song has been heard live.