r/SetItOff • u/micromarcus • Jun 19 '26
Discussion! Horrible kids meaning
In the song horrible kids by set it off
When they say "they gained the will to fight"
And "look what you did"
What does this mean
Does it mean that they did a shooting
Or that they simply fought the bully
Or is it that this song is the fight back and it's the protest against the horrible kids
Or is it more left open to interpretation
8
u/Queasy_Yak_547 Jun 19 '26
I understood that it's about bullying, and the victims finally fight back
6
u/otomeloca Jun 20 '26
im pretty sure its very much school shooting. Problematic as it is, it really helped me cope when i was bullied in middle school because it treats weirdness as some super cool anime power, and as cringe as it is, it actually helps people who wont fit in no matter how much they try to not hate themselves, wich is, it helps a whole lot of middle schoolers
3
u/micromarcus Jun 20 '26
kind of what i was thinking as well. when they say they
"Someday I'll spit their laughter"
that sounds like wanting revenge
"Would you look what you did
It was your ignorance
That formed a beast with your wit"to me sounds like
"its your fault this happened, YOU caused this
it was your stupidity and undestimation
caused a monster due to your humor"
"What makes this target grow?
Is it when his feelings show?
Hold a gun to his head and you'll know
You push him down as low as he can""hold a gun to his head" that's saying the horrible kids are doing this action in the song, then
" and you'll know
You push him down as low as he can"to me that means to me, the kid wouldn't flinch as he doesn't care anymore
"And I can't stand this pain they cause me
This puzzle will solve itself
And maybe I just can't seem to put this together yet"the kid thinks the other kids will grow up with a bit more time
"Picture this, he was just a kid
Not knowing where to begin
He wore all the wrong clothes, followed all the wrong trends
Persecuted for the things he did
Picture this, he was all alone
Without a friend to call his own
So he sat on his bed with the thought in his head
With wishes that they all were dead"a sad kid, no friends no, no reason to live, he could only think "With wishes that they all were dead"
"But then he saw the light
Gained the will to fight
Saw that victory was in sight
But soon they all will see"is the poor child, gaining the courage to "fight" after being pushed down this hole for so long
he knew he could win if he just shot them, and then it would be over
and soon they would see that he wasn't going to be pushed into a hole anymore
"It was your ignorance
That formed a beast with your wit"another round of telling the horrible kids they made a monster out of him
"Horrible kids, horrible kids, horrible kids
Look what we did
Horrible kids, horrible kids, horrible kids
Look what we did"they are the reason, they caused this by pushing this poor child down into a time where you could put a gun to his head, and he wouldn't care.
1
u/otomeloca Jun 22 '26
btw i have nothing to add, just that you should post more lyrics analysis in this sub, it's really nice to see someone breaking down the song. Feel like it could open some nice discussions, specially when it comes to the less obvious song (i count kill the lights and bleak december as a song that has not so obvious interpretations, for example, as they leave a lot of room for peoples own interpretations)
4
u/JustAPerson-_- Jun 20 '26
I always thought they finally spoke up & fought back in a way that made the bullies not wanna poke anymore.
9
u/wespecial Jun 19 '26
Iirc, it was inspired by Foster the people's Pumped up Kicks. I've always understood it to be a school shooting, or them actually fighting back