The songwriter and band's frontman Mark Foster say that the song is about Robert's psyche and the teenage mental illness epidemic. Robert feels isolated and the outcast seeks revenge for the children who bully him. Foster noticed a growing trend in mental illness in teens over the last decade and wanted to explore the psychology behind it.
The phrase "pumped up kicks", which is the title of the song, refers to a type of expensive sneakers that only the rich could afford. And the other kids whom the troubled kid wants to murder own pairs of these "pumped up kicks", which clearly shows that they are more privileged than he is.
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