Deadstick Lyrics – King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

Deadstick Lyrics by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard is a new english song by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. The track is released on King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard’s official YouTube channel, produced by Stu Mackenzie, and offers listeners an apocalyptic, high-stakes musical journey. With elements of psychedelic rock, existential dread, and lyrical surrealism, the song weaves a multi-vocal narrative of chaos, mortality, and distorted identity through its gripping vocal performances by Stu Mackenzie, Joey Walker, and Ambrose Kenny-Smith.

Deadstick paints the descent of a malfunctioning aircraft as a metaphor for human collapse, emotional disorientation, and impending doom. The term “deadstick”—a powerless glide with no engine thrust—anchors the song’s themes of helplessness and surrender. Through each verse, the lyrics shift from the rational thoughts of a pilot to feverish hallucinations and frantic pleas for survival. The voices represent fractured psyches and alternate perspectives in a disaster scenario, blending the physical fear of crash-landing with psychological unraveling, memory distortion, and existential crises.

Deadstick Details

Song	Deadstick
Artists	King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Produced By	Stu Mackenzie
Label	King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard
Language	English
Released Date	Apr 15, 2025

Deadstick Lyrics

[Verse 1: Stu Mackenzie]
Well there once flew a pilot high and free
Danced with the clouds, pirouette with the breeze
But I’ll sink to the mechanical beat
That pulsed at the heart of a metal machine
Thought of their partner and thought of their kids
Thought where they’re going and thought where they’ve been
But a sudden change, the routine shattered
Prepare the mind, arrange the matters

[Chorus: Stu Mackenzie]
Deadstick (Deadstick)
Deadstick (Deadstick)
I’m a bird with a broken wing
Deadstick (Deadstick)
Deadstick (Deadstick)
This nightingale can’t sing
Yeah!

[Verse 2: Joey Walker]
I wake with a retch to the smell of ammonia and my eyes start watering
A shadow of body, “Who are you?” I say, when a voice cracks like a frozen lake
“I am your child, you are my mother, and I’m sitting here dying”
I said, “I got no children, I am but a boy”
“You are mistaken,” she says
Follow me down through the wind and the earth to the edge of the forgotten sea
Save us from the hurt, tell me I’m the one, the phantom has taken everything

[Verse 3: Ambrose Kenny-Smith]
Deadstick, death wish, burning in a cockpit
Praying in the cabin, we’re all holding hands
Deadstick, death wish, lock up our phones
The propellers ain’t spinning, bein’ forced to land
Deadstick, death wish, startin’ up the engines
Blue skies are turning a darker grey
Deadstick, death wish, heading for the burning hole in the airfield I can’t locate

[Verse 4: Ambrose Kenny-Smith]
Mayday, mayday, mayday, save me
I’m in a tight spot catastrophe
Mayday, mayday, mayday, save me
I’m about to make a crash landing

[Chorus: Stu Mackenzie]
Deadstick
Deadstick
I’m a bird with a broken wing
Deadstick (Deadstick)
Deadstick (Deadstick)
This nightingale can’t sing
Yeah!

[Outro: Ambrose Kenny-Smith]
Deadstick, death wish
I can’t believe we made it out alive
Deadstick, death wish
Send me help before I die

Deadstick Lyrics Meaning

[Verse 1: Stu Mackenzie]
Stu Mackenzie opens the song with a poetic yet eerie portrayal of a pilot reminiscing on their life moments mid-flight. The poeticism of flying “high and free” contrasts sharply with the descent into mechanical failure. The verse balances serenity and dread as thoughts of loved ones and personal reflection are interrupted by sudden crisis, signaling a mental and physical emergency.

[Chorus: Stu Mackenzie]
The chorus delivers the emotional core of the track, repeating “Deadstick” as both a technical term and a metaphor for helplessness. Mackenzie’s image of a broken-winged bird and a silent nightingale illustrates the loss of control and expression, reinforcing the psychological toll of a doomed situation. The repetition underscores the inevitability and despair of collapse.

[Verse 2: Joey Walker]
Joey Walker introduces a surreal shift in tone, detailing a disorienting post-crash or near-death hallucination. The presence of an unknown figure claiming to be a dying child hints at fractured memory, generational trauma, or existential confusion. The verse blurs timelines and identities, adding a dreamlike, tragic layer to the story, where reality crumbles into symbolism.

[Verse 3: Ambrose Kenny-Smith]
Ambrose Kenny-Smith brings heightened urgency and fear, narrating the immediate panic onboard. The “deadstick” becomes a refrain tied to a death wish, and phrases like “burning in a cockpit” and “forced to land” depict escalating chaos. The verse moves fast, capturing the raw terror of a descent without guidance or safety, where passengers collectively brace for impact.

[Verse 4: Ambrose Kenny-Smith]
This section is a direct distress call, echoing real aviation emergency protocols. Repeating “mayday” reflects total desperation and the fading hope of survival. Kenny-Smith’s voice becomes the voice of everyone on board—pleading, vulnerable, and aware of the end rushing toward them.

[Chorus: Stu Mackenzie]
The second chorus returns with greater intensity, reinforcing the emotional breakdown that comes with helplessness. The symbolism of a broken-winged bird and a silenced song repeats, highlighting not only physical doom but the crushing psychological weight of being unable to change fate.

[Outro: Ambrose Kenny-Smith]
The outro serves as a sobering aftermath. There’s a stunned realization of survival, yet it’s tinged with unresolved fear and trauma. The plea for help “before I die” suggests that the danger may not be over—or that emotional scars persist beyond physical rescue.

Deadstick Official Video

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