Arctic Monkeys, Body Paint: the lyrics & their meaning - Auralcrave (2025)

Body Paint is the second single extracted from the album The Car, up for release in October 2022. Arctic Monkeys released the song in September, and people immediately started the debate about the possible meaning of the lyrics: the lines are pretty cryptic, but a theory has spread among fans. This article will provide an analysis of the song’s message, and you’ll also find the complete lyrics at the end.

You can find the official video of the song below.

Body Paint: the song lyrics and their meaning

Body Paint is a song about deception. The lyrics say it explicitly at the beginning of the track, representing a certainty that any analysis should take into account. Many fans believe the reference is about a love partner cheating, and many lines could, in fact, be interpreted in this direction. Let’s read them together.

For a master of deception and subterfuge
You’ve made yourself quite the bed to lie in
Do your time travelling through the tanning booth
So you don’t let the sun catch you crying

The subject is a person who’s building lies and weird behaviors, apparently to hide what she’s doing. The “time traveling through the tanning booth” can represent an image of what the girl does to pursue her goals, which can both refer to being tanned or creating a time period where she doesn’t have to justify what she does or where she is. By doing this, she’s also following a lifestyle that probably doesn’t make her feel good, which could be the reason for crying.

The author seems perfectly aware of what’s going on. You can sense it from these lines:

So predictable, I know what you’re thinking

I’m watching your every move
I feel the tears are coming on
It won’t be long
It won’t be long

If you care about that person and you know she’s deceiving, you are hurt. That’s the main reason why fans believe the song is about cheating. His reaction, however, is calm: he pretends not to know it; he leaves the allusions understated. He says he wears a costume, pretending that nothing is going on. He considers that costume as a trick, so he will be able to express what he feels by writing instead of speaking to her.

And I’m keeping on my costume
And calling it a writing tool

The body paint is mentioned in the second part of the song, representing a trace of what she tried to hide: figuratively, the girl is doing something that involves her body, and afterward, she tries to cover it up. But there are things hard to hide, and the song’s author understood what she does behind the lies.

Straight from the cover shoot
Still a trace of body paint
On your legs and on your arms and on your face

We don’t have any official confirmation about the meaning of the lyrics, but surely Body Paint describes a situation where one part lies, and the author understands that something is wrong. Fans still have room for a personal interpretation of the song’s details.

Read other popular song lyrics and their meaningon Auralcrave

The complete lyrics

For a master of deception and subterfuge
You’ve made yourself quite the bed to lie in
Do your time travelling through the tanning booth
So you don’t let the sun catch you crying

So predictable, I know what you’re thinking

My teeth are beating and my knees are weak
It’s as if there’s something up with the wiring
You can poke your head behind the mountain peak
Don’t have to mean that you’ve gone into hiding

So predictable, I know what you’re thinking

I’m watching your every move
I feel the tears are coming on
It won’t be long
It won’t be long

Straight from the cover shoot
Still a trace of body paint
On your legs and on your arms and on your face

And I’m keeping on my costume
And calling it a writing tool
And if you’re thinking of me
I’m probably thinking of you

There’s still a trace of body paint
On your legs and on your arms and on your face
There’s still a trace of body paint
On your legs and on your arms and on your face
There’s still a trace of body paint
On your legs and on your arms and on your face
There’s still a trace of body paint
On your legs and on your arms and on your face

So predictable, I know what you’re thinking

Ooh, ha
Yeah
Yeah