Gilded Lily

Gwar · America Must Be Destroyed [1992]

Well I've been wearing a gilded lily

Cunningly carved in a manner frilly

To my design it was created

No deviation was tolerated

My gilded lily, he thinks he's funny

My gilded lily, he's worth cash money

My gilded lily, he made me a smarty

I wear my lily to all the right parties go

I was the envy of all the horde

I proclaimed myself overlord

My gilded lily gives me all this and more

I puke my guts all over the floor

I found the entertainment banal so,

Through trenches of flesh we carved a canal

Lead harlequin then drew his last

He held a bejeweled theatrical mask

The door heaved and then exploded

We split the bill and then drove home loaded

When we got there the paint was peeling

We rose an Jell-O cubes to the ceiling

I wear the lily Gaily festooned in a manner silly

Draped in apparel I bathe in the smell I gild the lily

Adroitly crafted yet willy nilly I wear the lily

When I part with Milli Vanilli

And soon the pleasure barges

Rolled with the sun, pleasantly bloated

We mingles as one amidst debris of Debauchery,

I looked for the lily and just found me

And all the while gilded lily faded

Though it was the best I created

But gilded lily was still in place

It made a mockery of my face

And delivered us a surprise

The hulking mass of what we despised

We lurched away as we moved to snuff it

And we delivered a princely buffet

Soon the continent split all asunder

And the radios blared to the blunder

My gilded lily expanded while spinning

That's when I found out that we were winning

Fondly clutching our raging piss-ons

We piled up, peeled out, veered off and then we were gone

Gilded Lily

Gwar's "Gilded Lily" stands as a defining track on their 1992 album *America Must Be Destroyed*, exemplifying the band's unique fusion of heavy metal and theatrical horror punk. The song features the group's signature vocal style, where lead singer Bill Stealey delivers a manic, operatic performance that contrasts sharply with the distorted, aggressive instrumentation. Released during the height of the grindcore and extreme metal scenes, the recording captures the chaotic energy and satirical edge characteristic of Gwar's early work. The track serves as a powerful example of how the band utilized theatricality to deconstruct traditional metal tropes, creating a memorable sonic experience that remains a staple of their discography and a key reference point for the genre's evolution in the 1990s.