When dealing with heartbreak one can often feel a sense of damnation and overwhelming pain as if there is no light at the end of the tunnel. This often results in self-medication or even obsessive behavior which shows later in the song. With the overwhelming sense of self-loathing and depression the singer shows that he feels he deserves nothing better than what he is feeling at the moment.

An allusion to deceptive appearance. Something can look beautiful, even royal considering Elvis was the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll) but when coupled with the word “hell” which is always associated with damnation and horrid imagery it can be deceiving. The singer alludes to the person in question being deceptive in appearance.

An allusion to how someone’s mouth can control them. Almost Biblical in nature.

But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. — James 3:8 (KJV)

the jawbone is the primary bone used for chewing and manipulating food and without it someone would talk awkwardly as well. The jawbone basically hold’s one’s mouth together and ability to speak intact.

As long as I got my suit and tie…

The writer is dressed up like a king dealing with his own inner demons, creating unimaginable turmoil.

Instead of the murder fantasy the writer was obsessed with earlier he finds himself in the midst of an epiphany. Perhaps two wrongs don’t make a right and he’s found a better answer in his love for Ivy.

The singer finds himself in a fantasy that involves hurting the ones who hurt him first. Again, self-serving justice is prevalent. If he can wrong those who have wronged him all will be right with the world.

bang bang

In the film “For the Love of Ivy”. Ivy Moore and Jack Parks fall in love and at the end of the film Parks overcomes his attachment to bachelorhood and asks for Ivy’s hand in marriage. Showing she really is the one

How columbine-esque. This is an allusion to a corrupted justice. By murdering everyone who has ever done him wrong, the singer becomes satisfied and feels as though he has better served the world.

A drastic change from the original Gun Club line:

I was hunting for niggers down in the dark

“For The Love of Ivy” deals with many racial issues that are spoken of in several Gun Club songs, not just this one. Jeffrey Lee Pierce, lead singer of The Gun Club was very interested in the plight African-American’s had to deal with during the 1960’s and that was often incorporated into his music with and without The Gun Club.