"Lump" is a song by alternative rock bandThe Presidents of the United States of America. It was released in 1995 and featured on their self-titled debut album. The song reached number one on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1995. Composer Chris Ballew said that the lyrics combined his own history of having a benign tumor in the head with a vision he had of a woman in a swamp, while employing the word "" because Ballew was fond of it. The musical part was described by Ballew as him "trying to write a Buzzcocks song". Ballew considers it his favorite composition. Later in the same year, it debuted on the Album Rock Tracks chart, and went on to hit number seven. The song is featured in the video games Rock Band 2, the Nintendo DS version of Band Hero, Just Dance and Saints Row IV. It has additionally been covered or remade by several artists such as The Johnstones and "Weird Al" Yankovic.
Description
The song gives the term "lump" to a woman that the singer imagines. In some bizarre imagery, the song describes a muddy, piranha-filled swamp and waiting in line for rotten brains. It briefly describes the woman's life in her twenties and repeats the refrain that the woman is "in my head".
Track listings
CD single
"Lump" – 2:13
"Carilyn's Bootie" – 2:17
"Candy Cigarette" – 2:02
"Twig in the Wind" – 2:54
7" single – UK
"Lump" – 2:12
"Wake Up" – 2:37
Music videos
The music video for "Lump", directed by Roman Coppola, takes place in a "boggy marsh". The video shows the band singing in a swamp as well as on the stern of a large barge in Elliott Bay interspersed with a silhouette scene of the band performing. Another video was also made for the song. This version, commonly referred to as "Lump 2", was considered too disturbing and dark to be aired on MTV. It features the band performing on a dark stage while various people lip syncthe lines "She's lump!" during the chorus. This version can be found on "Ten Year Super Bonus Special Anniversary Edition" of The Presidents of the United States of America's debut album.
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Parodies and covers
"Weird Al" Yankovic released a parody version of the song known as "Gump", a joking tribute to Forrest Gump. Notably, the last line of this parody, "and that's all I have to say about that" would later be used by The Presidents of the United States of America in their subsequent live performances of the song.
* Comedian Brian Posehn recorded a skit for his 2020 comedy metal album Grandpa Metal called "My Phone Call with Weird Al", featuring Yankovic, which references both "Lump" and "Gump", in which Posehn is trying to get Yankovic's permission to record a parody called "Trump" about president of the United States of AmericaDonald Trump, and Yankovic unsuccessfully tries to inform Posehn that "Gump" is a parody of the Presidents of the United States of America song "Lump".
ApologetiX also recorded a parody entitled "Plump".
Canadian ska punk band The Johnstones covered "Lump" on their 2008 EP SEX.
The Blackout also covered "Lump" and it features on the end of the group's album, Hope, released in 2011.
