This next song, honestly, is not funny at all, but, uh, it helps me sleep at night
[Chorus]
Art is dead
Art is dead
Art is dead
Art is dead
[Verse 1]
Entertainers like to seem complicated
But we're not complicated
I can explain it pretty easily
Have you ever been to a birthday party for children?
And one of the children won't stop screaming?
'Cause he's just a little attention-attractor
When he grows up to be a comic or actor
He'll be rewarded for never maturing
For never understanding or learning
That every day can't be about him
"There's other people, you selfish asshole!"
I must be psychotic, I must be demented
To think that I'm worthy of all this attention
Of all of this money you worked really hard for
I slept in late while you worked at the drug store
My drug's attention, I am an addict
But I get paid to indulge in my habit
It's all an illusion, I'm wearing makeup
I'm wearing makeup, makeup, makeup, makeup
Art is dead
[Bridge]
So, people think you're funny
How do we get those people's money?
I said, art is dead
We're rolling in dough while Carlin rolls in his grave
His grave
His grave
[Verse 2]
The show has got a budget
The show has got a budget
And all the poor people way more deserving
Of the money won't budge it
'Cause I wanted my name in lights
When I could have fed a family of four
For forty fucking fortnights
Forty fucking fortnights
[Refrain]
I am an artist; please, God, forgive me
I am an artist; please, don't revere me
I am an artist; please, don't respect me
I am an artist; feel free to correct me
About
This piece is Bo’s reflection on the state of art in the modern world, and how the commercialization of art and profit-driven industries have hijacked and monopolized creative expression. The song is about the idea that the need for attention is a vice and an addiction that is, unlike other vices and addictions, not only tolerated, but encouraged in the modern world. The song ends with the narrator telling the audience not to worship or revere him because he is just a person, not worthy of their praise.
On the CD recording, Bo introduces the song with the quip, “this song is honestly not funny at all, but it helps me sleep at night”. This is a reflection of Burnham’s guilt towards his own career – by writing this song he relieves the guilt that indulging in the creative industry causes. Burnham writes this in the hopes that, by informing the audience of the true nature of his show and the industry it belongs to, he will be less guilty of the moral crime he is accusing himself of committing.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 3.WHAT’S FUNNY
- 5.MEN & WOMEN
- 7.Ironic
- 12.RANT
- 14.ART IS DEAD
- 16.OH BO