US teacher plays gun violence song ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ during a school shooting threat: ‘You better run, better run faster than my bullet’
- TikTok user @bmoneyhoney420, who lives in the US, shared video of the incident on TikTok last week
- She said the school had a ‘shooting threat’ when her teacher played the Foster the People song in class
- Lyrics to the song tells the story of a school shooter who sings: ‘You better run, better run faster than my bullet’
- TIkTok commenters found the choice funny and the video has gone viral
An American high school teacher played the song ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ — an upbeat tune sung from the perspective a school shooter — while their school was under a shooting threat.
TikTok user @bmoneyhoney420 captured the questionable choice last week, writing on TikTok: ‘Our school had a shooting threat and they were announcing it and my teacher started playing THIS.’
She zooms in on a projector screen, where the album artwork for ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ by Foster the People can be seen.
An American high school teacher played the song ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ — an upbeat tune sung from the perspective a school shooter — while their school was under a shooting threat
TikTok user @bmoneyhoney420 zooms in on a projector screen, where the album artwork for ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ by Foster the People can be seen
In the audio for the video, it’s difficult to hear the song, which appears to be playing quietly in the background.
What can be heard is the PA announcement, in which a woman seems to be calling several names to come to ‘attendance.’
Commenters have explained that this is used in some schools as a code word for lockdown.
‘Most schools teach a certain name that lets everyone know about the lockdown without telling the intruder,’ wrote one.
Meanwhile, the teacher appears to have pulled up the Foster the People song on their computer to play for the class.
The 2010 song includes the chorus: ‘All the other kids with the pumped up kicks / You better run, better run, outrun my gun / All the other kids with the pumped up kicks / You better run, better run faster than my bullet’
The 2010 song includes the lyrics: ‘Yeah, he found a six shooter gun / In his dad’s closet, in a box of fun things / And I don’t even know what /But he’s coming for you, yeah, he’s coming for you.’
The chorus famously continues: ‘All the other kids with the pumped up kicks / You better run, better run, outrun my gun / All the other kids with the pumped up kicks / You better run, better run faster than my bullet.’
Lead singer Mark Foster has insisted that the song, which sounds upbeat despite its subject matter, was written to urge an end to gun violence.
‘That song was written from a place of wanting us to do something about gun violence, wanting legislation to be passed that can limit our resources because it feels like these mass shootings are becoming common now,’ he told CNN.
He said the song tried to get inside the head of a psychotic person.
While some people might be horrified that a teacher would play the song when there was an actual shooting threat, TikTok commenters found the choice funny
‘You can also think about it like Dostoyevsky when he wrote “Crime and Punishment” or Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood” or Vince Gilligan writing “Breaking Bad,” the character Walt … it’s like your protagonist also happens to be the enemy in a way. It’s illuminating a situation but from an interesting point of view,’ he said.
While some people might be horrified that a teacher would play the song when there was an actual shooting threat, TikTok commenters found the choice funny.
‘LMAOO YOUR TEACHER WRONG FOR THAT,’ wrote one.
‘They passed the vibe check,’ wrote another, while a third insisted the teacher must be Gen Z.
‘Your teacher understood the assignment,’ quipped one more.