Dumb Ways to Die (song)

***Dumb Ways to Die*** is a song that was published in November 14, 2012 by the Australian company Metro Trains Melbourne.

*Dumb Ways to Die* is a song commercial for train safety that was meant to be cute and funny. Since people find it adorable, humorous, and catchy it became viral. The main message of the video is that people should be careful around trains because it surely would be a very dumb way to die. Though Julie, Kayla, Kaite and Caytlin find the song very cute and even though that series wasn't Teletubby-Related, it was actually Dumb Ways-Related and it was one of the Girls' favorite songs since it came out in 2012.

## Story

The campaign was devised by advertising agency McCann Melbourne. It appeared in newspapers, local radio and outdoor advertising throughout the Metro Trains network and on Tumblr.[3] John Mescall, executive creative director of McCann, said "The aim of this campaign is to engage an audience that really doesn't want to hear any kind of safety message, and we think dumb ways to die will."[3] McCann estimated that within two weeks, it had generated at least $50 million worth of global media value in addition to more than 700 media stories, for "a fraction of the cost of one TV ad".[4] According to Metro Trains, the campaign contributed to a more than 30% reduction in "near-miss" accidents, from 13.29 near-misses per million kilometers in November 2011 – January 2012, to 9.17 near-misses per million kilometers in November 2012 – January 2013.[5]

## Lyrics

### Original version

***[Verse 1]***

Set fire to your hair
Poke a stick at a grizzly bear
Eat medicine that's out of date
Use your private parts as Piranha bait

***[Chorus]***

Dumb ways to die
So many dumb ways to die
Dumb ways to die-ie-ie
So many dumb ways to die

***[Verse 2]***

Get your toast out with a fork
Do your own electrical work
Teach your self how to fly
Eat a two-week-old unrefridgerated pie

***[Chorus]***

Dumb ways to die
So many dumb ways to die
Dumb ways to die-ie-ie
So many dumb ways to die

***[Verse 3]***

Invite a psycho killer inside
Scratch a drug dealer's brand new ride
Take your helmet off in outer space
Use a clothes dryer as a hiding place​​​​​​​

***[Chorus]***

Dumb ways to die
So many dumb ways to die
Dumb ways to die-ie-ie
So many dumb ways to die​​​​​​​

***[Verse 4]***

Keep a rattle snake as a pet
Sell both your kidneys on the internet
Eat a tube of super glue
*"I wonder, what's this red button do?​​​​​​​"*

***[Chorus]***

Dumb ways to die
So many dumb ways to die
Dumb ways to die-ie-ie... *(pause)*
So many dumb ways to die​​​​​​​

***[Bridge]***

Dress up like a moose during hunting season
Disturb a nest of wasps for no good reason
Stand on the edge of a train station platform
Drive around the boom gates at a level crossing
Run across the tracks between the platforms
They may not rhyme, but they're quite possibly

***[Final Chorus]***

Dumbest ways to die
The dumbest ways to die
Dumbest ways to die-ie-ie
So many dumb
So many dumb ways to die​​​​​​​

Be safe around trains, a message from Metro.

### Album Version

***[Verse 1]***

Set fire to your hair
Poke a stick at a grizzly bear
Eat medicine that's out of date
Use your private parts as Piranha bait

***[Chorus]***

Dumb ways to die
So many dumb ways to die
Dumb ways to die-ie-ie
So many dumb ways to die

***[Verse 2]***

Get your toast out with a fork
Do your own electrical work
Teach your self how to fly
Eat a two-week-old unrefridgerated pie​​​​​​​

***[Chorus]***

Dumb ways to die
So many dumb ways to die
Dumb ways to die-ie-ie
So many dumb ways to die​​​​​​​***​​​​​​​***

***[Verse 3]***

Invite a psycho killer inside
Scratch a drug dealer's brand new ride
Take your helmet off in outer space
Use a clothes dryer as a hiding place​​​​​​​

***[Chorus]***

Dumb ways to die
So many dumb ways to die
Dumb ways to die-ie-ie
So many dumb ways to die​​​​​​​

***[Verse 4]***

Keep a rattle snake as a pet
Sell both your kidneys on the internet
Eat a tube of super glue
*"I wonder, what's this red button do?​​​​​​​"*

***[Chorus]***

Dumb ways to die
So many dumb ways to die
Dumb ways to die-ie-ie... *(pause)*
So many dumb ways to die​​​​​​​

***[Bridge]***

Dress up like a moose during hunting season
Disturb a nest of wasps for no good reason
Stand on the edge of a train station platform
Drive around the boom gates at a level crossing
Run across the tracks between the platforms
They may not rhyme, but they're quite possibly

***[Final Chorus]***

Dumbest ways to die
The dumbest ways to die
Dumbest ways to die-ie-ie
So many dumb
So many dumb ways to die

### Teletubbies Version

***[Verse 1]***

Set fire to your hair
Poke a stick at a grizzly bear
Eat medicine that's out of date
Use your private parts as Piranha bait

***[Chorus]***

Dumb ways to die
So many dumb ways to die
Dumb ways to die-ie-ie
So many dumb ways to die

***[Verse 2]***

Get your toast out with a fork
Do your own electrical work
Teach your self how to fly
Eat a two-week-old unrefridgerated pie​​​​​​​

***[Chorus]***

Dumb ways to die
So many dumb ways to die
Dumb ways to die-ie-ie
So many dumb ways to die​​​​​​​***​​​​​​​***

***[Verse 3]***

Invite a psycho killer inside
Scratch a drug dealer's brand new ride
Take your helmet off in outer space
Use a clothes dryer as a hiding place​​​​​​​

***[Chorus]***

Dumb ways to die
So many dumb ways to die
Dumb ways to die-ie-ie
So many dumb ways to die​​​​​​​

***[Verse 4]***

Keep a rattle snake as a pet
Sell both your kidneys on the internet
Eat a tube of super glue
*"I wonder, what's this red button do?​​​​​​​"*

***[Chorus]***

Dumb ways to die
So many dumb ways to die
Dumb ways to die-ie-ie... *(pause)*
So many dumb ways to die​​​​​​​

***[Bridge]***

Dress up like a moose during hunting season
Disturb a nest of wasps for no good reason
Stand on the edge of a train station platform
Drive around the boom gates at a level crossing
Run across the tracks between the platforms
They may not rhyme, but they're quite possibly

***[Final Chorus]***

Dumbest ways to die
The dumbest ways to die
Dumbest ways to die-ie-ie
So many dumb
So many dumb ways to die

## Trivia

* Normally one would expect an I-V-vi-iii-IV-I-IV-V (C-G-Am-Em-F-C-F-G) progression in the bass, but in this song, it is done in the other parts of the harmony, with the bass being: I-VII-VI-III-IV-#IV-V-IV-I-VII-VI-III-IV-V-I (that is, C-B-A-E-F-F#-G-F-C-B-A-E-F-G-C).
* This song was censored in Russia due to various reasons, like Dippy getting his lower half bitten off by some piranhas, Stupe getting decapitated after failing to fly his plane, and Numskull's head exploding after she took off her space helmet.
* The song also appeared for a split second near the end of YouTube Rewind Style 2012 due to the popularity of it at the time.

## Eternal Links

* Tangerine Kitty - Dumb Ways To Die by TangerineKitty | Tangerine Kitty | Free Listening on SoundCloud
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJNR2EpS0jw
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QV2HAYKP7E