Suicide Blonde by INXS Lyrics Meaning – A Dive Into Love, Loss, and Transformation
Lyrics
You’ve got a death wish
Suicide blonde
Suicide blonde
Suicide blonde
Suicide blonde
Suicide blonde was the color of her hair
Like a cheap distraction for a new affair
She knew it would finish before it began
Wow baby I think you lost the plan
You want to make her suicide blonde
Love devastation, suicide blonde
You want to make her suicide blonde
Love devastation, suicide blonde
She stripped to the beat but her clothes stay on
White light everywhere but you can’t see a thing
Such a squeeze
A mad sad moment
Glory to you
Glory to you
Take me there
Take me there
Got some revelation
Put into your hands
Save you from your misery like rain across the land
Don’t you see the color of deception
Turning your world around again
You want to make her suicide blonde
Love devastation, suicide blonde
You want to make her suicide blonde
Love devastation, suicide blonde
You want to make
You want to make
You want to make her suicide blonde
You want to make
Aww
That’s the story
You want to make her suicide blonde
Love devastation, suicide blonde
You want to make her suicide blonde
Love devastation, suicide blonde
Love devastation
You want to make her suicide blonde
Love devastation, suicide blonde
INXS’s pulsating track ‘Suicide Blonde’ isn’t just a stampeding soundtrack of the early ’90s, it’s a cultural signpost that embodies the era’s recklessness, glamour, and hidden despair. With a kinetic harmonica driving the melody and Michael Hutchence’s indelible vocal charisma, the song transcends its own era to speak on the universal themes of self-identity and the destructive power of love.
Beyond the glittering facade of the song’s catchy hook lies a deeper narrative. It’s a song that’s just as much about personal transformation as it is about relationship dynamics, and as its hypnotic refrain echoes, it invites listeners to peel back its layered meanings. What remains is a compelling examination of the allure of danger and the inherent risks in the transformation we undertake for love.
The Allure of Destruction: The ‘Suicide Blonde’ Identity
The term ‘Suicide Blonde’ is an evocative metaphor for self-imposed transformation, particularly one that’s undertaken for the gaze and satisfaction of another. The song conjures images of a woman who dyes her hair—the ‘color of her hair’—as a means of reinventing herself for a transient affair, aware of its fleeting nature.
This makeover, while seemingly superficial, hints at the deeper yearning for change and the risks that come with it. Being ‘suicide blonde’ is a wilful act of self-destruction, a transformation undertaken with the knowledge of its potential to devastate.
Love Devastation: When Affections Lead to Downfall
Hutchence croons ‘love devastation’ like a siren’s warning, suggesting the overwhelming force of love and its capacity to destroy. The song delves into the idea that pursuing someone’s affection can lead to self-compromise and devastation, as one morphs into the ideal image projected by their lover.
The repetition emphasizes the relentless pursuit to make the other person fit an idealized mold—’You want to make her suicide blonde.’ It’s not just about physical change, but the disintegration of one’s original identity through the symbiotic poison of love and desire.
A Dance of Deception: The Charade of Appearances
Amid the lyrical narrative is a scene of disconcerting masquerade: ‘She stripped to the beat but her clothes stay on.’ This depicts a visceral dance of deception where genuine intimacy and truth remain obfuscated. The external show is on display, but the reality remains clothed, hidden from view.
The ‘white light everywhere’ bathes everything in glaring brightness, yet ‘you can’t see a thing,’ indicating the blinding effect of infatuation and the confusing, often deceptive stage of appearance versus reality.
Revelation and Recovery: The Song’s Hidden Meaning
There’s a moment in the song that stands apart from its frenzied ethos: ‘Got some revelation / Put into your hands.’ It veers into the realm of salvation, one of revelation—a potential turning point. But it’s quickly followed by ‘Don’t you see the color of deception,’ which throws the listener back into the chaotic churn of deceit.
This fleeting moment of clarity suggests that there’s hope for escape from the self-destructive cycle. Yet the song leaves it ambiguous whether the protagonist seizes this moment of revelation or continues to be swayed by the deceptive allure of transformation.
Memorable Lines: Echoes of a Strained Psyche
‘Wow baby I think you lost the plan,’ rings out as an emblematic line of the song, capturing the essence of a journey gone awry. The plan, whatever it might have been—self-reinvention, capturing love, starting anew—has gotten lost in the chaos.
This line resonates as the realization of a plan derailed by the external forces of desire and the internal struggle for identity. It speaks broadly to the human experience of plans falling apart when faced with the complications of relationships and the impulses of our own natures.
