According to Billboard, the song "Pumped Up Kicks" by the band Foster the People is written from the perspective of a psychotic kid named Robert who has plans to go through with a school shooting. When Foster the People' s anti-gun violence anthem, "Pumped Up Kicks," was released in 2010, it quickly went viral. But not everyone immediately noticed the cautionary tale about gun violence The meaning of "Pumped Up Kicks.". "Pumped Up Kicks" holds a darker meaning behind its alt-pop dance sound. Foster wrote the track from the point of view of a deeply troubled youth The "pumped up kicks" line in the title and chorus refers to trendy, expensive footwear—shorthand, in the song's ethos, for the accoutrements of the cool set. "All the other kids with the pumped up kicks," Mark Foster merrily chirps, "you better run, better run, outrun my gun.". Robert finishes with an act of patricide. Rock Mark Foster on 'Pumped Up Kicks' Eight Years Later & Why It's Time to Retire the Song "Pumped Up Kicks" was the ultimate breakthrough for Los Angeles-based alt-pop group Foster the Foster the People's 2010 smash hit "Pumped Up Kicks" was the first-ever release from the band, which started as a solo project for then-television jingle writer Mark Foster. The song sounds like an upbeat indie-pop anthem, but there's a darker truth lurking beneath the bubbly soundscape. .

what pumped up kicks is really about