Lunchbox

by

Marilyn Manson

Edit

"Lunchbox" is the second single from Marilyn Manson's debut album, Portrait of an American Family.

In the credits of CD booklet from the Portrait of an American Family album, Lunchbox contains elements from the song "Fire" by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown.

Inspired by a piece of legislation dating back to 1972, which makes it illegal to have metal lunchboxes in schools due to children using their own lunchboxes as weapons, the song references Manson as a youngster who is pushed around by bullies; waiting for the day he can "grow up to be a big rock & roll star". Manson has stated that the song was inspired by the story of one of his heroes, Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe.

The "Highschool Drop-outs" version is an edit of the album version which removes the profanity.

A music video was also made for the song, directed by Richard Kern. This music video is one of three that displays Manson without makeup. It features the band playing in a skating rink, intertwined with footage of a boy being picked on by other kids until he snaps and becomes a rebel, cutting his hair and dreaming of being a rock star. The boy takes his lunchbox to the skating rink in the end of the video and gives it to Manson, who proceeds to light it on fire. This scene may symbolize Manson as the protagonist, the child who became the rock star, and no one will pick on him anymore, as said in the lyrics. Another possibility is that the young boy is Manson himself, giving the lunchbox to his rock star self, and Manson's setting it on fire is symbolic of achieving his goal of becoming a rock star, thereby being out of the reach of bullies.