Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: rock-n-roll
Song Meaning of “Shooting Blanks” by The Bones
Shooting blanks is a song of emotional frustration and disillusionment. It speaks to the theme of trying to make meaningful connections with other people but feeling rejected and isolated. The song’s narrator talks about feeling like their words and actions are empty and have no impact, as if they’re “shooting blanks.” They feel like they’re talking to a wall with no one to hear them, and their efforts to reach out become increasingly vain. Deep inside they feel like what they are doing is pointless and that no matter what they do or say in the moment, it’s all for nothing. The chorus of the song sums up this emotion of futility, saying:
“I’m shooting blanks, nothing ever gets through.
No matter what I do, its all just a waste of time.
Chasing a fool’s dream, I keep spinning my wheels.
Shooting blanks, I’m just shooting blanks.”
Ultimately, the song speaks to the all-too-common feeling of being resigned to a life of solitude and feeling like nothing we do can ever change that. It’s a vulnerable and honest song that speaks to a universal emotion.