Billy Idol: White Wedding Meaning

Song Released: 1982

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White Wedding Lyrics

Hey little sister what have you done
Hey little sister who's the only one
Hey little sister who's your superman
Hey little sister who's the one you want
Hey little sister shot gun!

It's a nice day to start again
It's a nice day for a...

1. 1TOP RATED

   geckogirl63

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   Dec 25th 2008, 12:14 report

   
   

   Billy Idol said in an interview this was about his little sister getting pregnant and the betrayal he felt that all innocence in his life was gone.

   
   
   
   

2. 2TOP RATED

   anonymous

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   Dec 8th 2006, 22:24 report

   
   

   Someone requested this song, so here goes.
   
   Billy Idol is singing about a girl ("hey little sister"), and when I heard this song it seemed kind of menacing the first time, like he's sort of threatening her. He asks her what she has done, who her man is, etc. Then he says "Shot gun!" This is, in the context of the song, a reference to a "shotgun wedding", which means that the girl in the song apparently got pregnant as a result of her relationship with this guy and now they have to get married. He then sings, "It's a nice day to start again... It's a nice day for a white wedding" with a particular sneering, almost venonmous emphasis on "white wedding". A white wedding is where the bride is still a virgin. This bride apparently isn't really, and that's why he's mocking her.
   
   Then he sings "Take me back home/ There is nothin' fair in this world/ There is nothin' safe in this world/ And there's nothing sure in this world/ And there's nothin' pure in this world". This leads me to the conclusion that he loved this girl, but while he was gone she found another man and now she's marrying him cause she's pregnant with his baby.

   
   
   
   

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   anonymous

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   Nov 19th 2012, 12:26 report

   
   

   Haha you guys are disgusting. I love how corrupted all of you are. First thing you think of is incest. NO! Morons. It is about his little sister getting pregnant before getting married. Which was not as common as it is these days....It was looked down upon. Hence the remark of purity being gone.

   
   
   
   

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   anonymous

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   Jul 31st 2012, 20:21 report

   
   

   When I was little I always thought he was being racist like no black people at his wedding

   
   
   
   

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   anonymous

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   Jun 22nd 2012, 05:39 report

   
   

   I heard an interview with Billy, years ago & he said his sister had just got married because she was pregnant, he wasnt against the marriage because they'd been together a while and in the news the same time was a story about a couple in the US with several kids & the outrage because it turned out they were brother & sister & the 2 things got entwined in his head & white wedding was the result. Perhaps the book his writing will clear up the true meaning behind the song.

   
   
   
   

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   lotusu

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   Jun 10th 2012, 20:38 report

   
   

   Incest. End of story.

   
   
   
   

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   anonymous

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   Apr 11th 2012, 18:26 report

   
   

   He's saying don't do anything out of obligation because the reason you might feel 'obligated' in the first place may not really be your fault, don't dwell on any mistakes you've made in the past,again'cos the reasons for those mistakes may not be your fault, but find something or someone in life that motivates/inspires you.

   
   
   
   

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   anonymous

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   Dec 22nd 2011, 23:16 report

   
   

   After hearing the song for many many times, I think it's about a new beginning.
   When everything fails (there is nothing ... in this world), you start again.
   In VH1 Storytellers, Billy Idol ends the introduction saying: "so you better look for something left in this world"...

   
   
   
   

9.  

   anonymous

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   Nov 30th 2011, 20:36 report

   
   

   Do all of you realize your own various interpretations expose your own thoughts - Conscious or Subconscious? It's based on how you relate to the lyrics. I'd bet the most of you who have interpreted as being drug related, have some sort of history with drugs. I don't think I've got to elaborate upon how twisted some other interpretations are... Incest? Is that what's really in your mind?
   I think most those who've replied to this, are really just so caught up in Idols image that they can't imagine his lyrics would have any meaning that doesn't fit in with his sick, twisted, badass reputation.
   I must hold to the traditional belief that in this song, he is being quite straitforward. His little sister got pregnant, and had to marry the father. He wasn't around as much as he would have liked, and now finds blame in himself.
   I can say, I know exactly how that feels.
   Just heard the news last night.
   Now excuse me while I go get my shotgun.

   
   
   
   

10.  

    anonymous

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    Nov 28th 2011, 03:08 report

    
    

    I was told this song is about his sister killing her self with a shotgun. When he says white wedding he means go live your life as in not a funeral. When he says I haven't been there so long it meaning was she got lonely and her life was going bad and he wasn't able to go save her from killing herself. It makes sense because he starts talking about how there's nothing pure in this world and all that yes it does make the song twisted but none the less its a great song. This is my view for this song not drugs or marriage.

    
    
    
    

11.  

    anonymous

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    Oct 18th 2011, 06:11 report

    
    

    i knew billy during the 80's and he "shot-gunned" a lot of drugs back then. timothy leary introduced us at the troubador in hollywood, and he could barely talk he was so high.

    
    
    
    

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    anonymous

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    Apr 17th 2011, 02:37 report

    
    

    The song is about Billy Idols sister and guys starting to notice her and he is warning her of their alterior motives. About the things they will say and do to get in her pants.

    
    
    
    

13.  

    anonymous

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    Mar 27th 2011, 02:22 report

    
    

    I see it completely differently. To me, it's about humanity screwing up this world so bad that the only way to fix it would be to "start again". So much of it seems to be metaphorical, and the goes waaaay beyond subjects like a messed up sister or cocaine addiction.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
    
    
    
    

14.  

    anonymous

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    Feb 13th 2011, 18:38 report

    
    

    White Wedding in my opinion is a Christian song. It asks who is the only One.
    Who is your Superman. Theres nothing left in this world..It's a nice day to START AGAIN!! Shot gun just means a decision you have to make to proclaim Jesus as Lord and Savior. It's a daily choice you make as a Christian..so "It's a nice day to start again"....White Wedding just means make yourself pure and proclaim Jesus you Lord and Savior.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
    
    
    
    

15.  

    anonymous

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    Dec 27th 2010, 12:52 report

    
    

    All art is open to interpretation...it only depends upon how YOU see it! I know for sure, though that it was written about his little sister's pregancy and "shotgun" wedding. I'm sure that Billy has many meanings in this song, since he is a brilliant lyricist. No incest here people!

    
    
    
    

16.  

    Manchac7

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    Sep 20th 2010, 23:47 report

    
    

    The song White Wedding is about a drug addict falling off the wagon although the video conveys an anti-marriage message. The phrase 'white wedding' is slang for relapsing on crack cocaine. Crack is the 'little sister' to cocaine which make users feel euphoric or like 'superman'. 'Shotgun' is the act of exhaling crack smoke into another person's mouth.
    In 1982 a video openly condoning drug use would never be shown on MTV. Billy Idol just starting to gain mainstream popularity and wasn't about to screw it up by telling the truth.
    It's a nice day to start again. It's a nice day for a white wedding.

    
    
    
    

17.  

    HeartzHunni214

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    May 28th 2010, 11:29 report

    
    

    I think the song is about incest with a man and his little sister, because he said he's been away for so long, making me think he was in the army or possibly jail. He returns, and his little sister is all grown up and forgetting that he's her brother, they have sex and the 'white wedding' is him ejaculating. Crude, but I honestly think that's the interpretation.

    
    
    
    

18.  

    wezel

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    May 4th 2010, 06:23 report

    
    

    I always thought there were incestuous overtones to this song. I also thought that Shotgun might be hinting at him threatening her....because she had gone off with someone else.
    
    The part where he says he's been gone for so long made me think he'd gone away, come ba,ck found shed been with another guy and now he was going to force her into a wedding with HIM. (Pretty twisted I guess.)
    
    Seeing what some of the others think I'm tending to revise at least part of my idea.

    
    
    
    

19.  

    Trevor98

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    Feb 11th 2010, 09:31 report

    
    

    Okay people you are not thinking outside the box here. The whole shotgun thing is only the surface.
    
    "White wedding" is reference to Cocaine. "It's a nice day for a white wedding. it's a nice day to start again" "Start again" is reffereng to someone trying to quit and relapsing.
    
    His little sister is either his actualy drug addicted trying to clean up sister or its anybody's little sister. Also it could just be reference to some groupie.
    
    Lots of guns are involved when drugs are involved.
    
    I find it hard to beilive that out of all the posts i read no one thought this..

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
    
    
    
    

20.  

    anonymous

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    Jan 11th 2010, 18:17 report

    
    

    I always thought this song had strange incestuous undertones, I thought when he said "Shotgun" he meant he got to her first, and was mocking her at her wedding knowing well enough that she is not a virgin.
    
    Though shotgun being the whole "shotgun wedding" thing makes a lot more sense and isn't as weird.

    
    
    
    

21.  

    anonymous

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    Jul 27th 2009, 21:19 report

    
    

    I heard that he made this song after his sister got with a black guy.

    
    
    
    

22.  

    DaMirrorLink

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    May 24th 2009, 07:07 report

    
    

    The song is about a marriage gone wrong, it was written for his little sister
    
    interesting note, his sister is still married to the same person