Oh my gosh, you won’t believe the influence behind this song! It was actually inspired by Elvis Costello’s “Watching the Detectives.” How cool is that?
So, let me break down the meaning of the song for you. It’s like a little story about this guy and girl who are in love, but the girl’s name is Anesthesia, which is also a metaphor for drugs. And there’s this line where he says, “I’ve got a little gun, here comes oblivion.” Now, get this, the little gun could be an actual gun, or it could be a syringe for shooting up drugs. It’s like this crazy metaphor that works on three different levels. Mind blown!
But wait, there’s more! The line “1234567 all good children go to heaven” actually comes from a Beatles song called “You Never Give Me your Money.” And get this, it originally came from a children’s counting rhyme from way back in 1899. But here’s where it gets really wild. Charlie Manson, yeah, that guy, used to quote that exact sentence to his followers. He even made them write it in blood after they went on a killing spree. Can you believe it?
Now, there’s this part in the song where they mention a “delivery man.” Well, it turns out that this guy named Steven Parent was unfortunately at Sharon Tate’s house when Manson’s “family” showed up. They actually killed him before going inside and killing everyone else. It’s like this crazy coincidence, but Brett, the lead singer, swears there’s no intentional Manson reference in the song.
Oh, and did you know that Anastasia, the name in the song, was also the daughter of a Russian tsar during the 1917 revolution? Some people think she actually survived and lived in secret. There was even a woman in the 1970s who claimed to be Anastasia, but DNA testing proved she was actually executed with the rest of her family. It’s like this whole mystery, you know?
And get this, they intentionally spelled “Anesthesia” the American way, not like the British term “Anaesthesia.” How cool is that attention to detail?
Now, let’s talk about the lyrics. In the first verse, instead of saying “delivery man,” Greg, the lead singer, usually sings “bau.” I don’t know why, but it’s just a little quirk they have.
This content was originally written by the badass contributors of thebrpage.net, the best superfan resource and website that exists for any band, let alone the best band in the whole entire world. I’ve been lurking on that site for over 20 years and if you’re into Bad Religion as much as I am, I’m sure you’re familiar. If you are not, go there right now and never come back to this site again. You should, and I totally understand.
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