Take A Slice

"Take A Slice" by Glass Animals is a character study exploring themes of hedonism, lust, and unapologetic self-indulgence. Frontman Dave Bayley described the track as being about "someone with a lot of lust," admitting it's as "sleazy" as his lyrics get. The song delves into the mindset of a character who embraces a "filthy" lifestyle without shame, viewing themselves as a valuable commodity—"I'm the treasure, baby, I'm the prize."

Many interpretations suggest the protagonist is a male prostitute paying his way through college, a theory supported by the transactional language ("I'm so tasty and the price is right") and the explicit declaration, "gonna fuck my way through college." The song juxtaposes this raw, carnal reality with a dream-like state of longing in the chorus, where the character fantasizes about an idealized person, wanting to "sleep 'cause you live in my day dreams." This creates a contrast between the character's confident, brazen exterior and a deeper, perhaps more vulnerable, desire for something beyond their physical reality. The song ultimately paints a vivid, gritty, and surreal picture of a person navigating their identity and desires on the fringes of societal norms.

The song opens with a bizarre, seemingly candid conversation about a sausage-scented candle, setting a strange and personal tone. The central character then introduces themselves as a desirable, valuable object, likening themselves to a prize. This figure is deeply entrenched in a hedonistic and provocative lifestyle, openly declaring, "I'm filthy and I love it." They describe sensory details like dark fingernail polish and smoking cigarettes—both a "fat smoke" and a "slim Vogue"—painting a picture of rebellious self-indulgence. There's a transactional nature to their interactions, as they state they're "so tasty and the price is right," directly linking pleasure and commerce.

This character's ambition is channeled through carnal means, expressed in the brazen line, "gonna fuck my way through college." This isn't just about survival; it's a chosen path of leveraging their allure for personal gain. The narrative voice is confident, almost arrogant, viewing themselves as a treasure to be sought. Amidst this self-assured and gritty reality, there is a layer of escapism. The chorus reveals a yearning for someone who exists in their daydreams, a person with "thick rims and a lip ring." This dream figure is so potent that the protagonist wishes to sleep until a bell rings, preferring the fantasy world over waking life. The repetition of this chorus creates a hypnotic, longing sensation, a stark contrast to the aggressive confidence of the verses.

The song's world is one of chaotic nightlife, desire, and a blurred line between reality and fantasy. The character fully embraces their "filthy" identity, finding power and freedom in it. However, the recurring daydream suggests a deeper desire for connection or an idealized love that is absent from their physical life. The narrative weaves together themes of lust, commodity, and the search for identity within a deliberately provocative and surreal landscape. It's a portrait of someone who navigates life through visceral, physical experiences while simultaneously escaping into a mental fantasy, creating a compelling tension between their external actions and internal desires.

"Take A Slice" is a track from Glass Animals' second studio album, How to Be a Human Being, released on August 26, 2016. The album was a departure from their debut, Zaba, shifting from abstract jungle themes to raw, human stories. Each song on the album is a character sketch inspired by the people and stories frontman Dave Bayley encountered while touring extensively for two years. Bayley secretly recorded conversations with strangers—like taxi drivers and fans—on his phone to capture their stories and personalities.

The inspiration for "Take A Slice" specifically came from an encounter with a fortune teller named Jupiter. When Bayley asked about a smell, the man explained it was his "sausage candle." This bizarre detail sparked the idea for a character, and the recorded conversation is used in the song's intro. Bayley imagined this character as a male prostitute, leading to the song's lustful and sleazy themes. He also noted that the track contains "weird, hyper-sexual samples" hidden within it and was influenced by the seedy parts of Florida the band visited. The album was produced by Bayley himself and recorded at Wolf Tone Studios in London.

The rhythmic structure of "Take A Slice" is central to its hypnotic and confident feel. The song maintains a steady, mid-tempo groove driven by a prominent bassline and persistent drum beat, creating a foundation that feels both relentless and seductive. This consistent rhythm puts the listener into a trance-like state, reflecting the character's immersive and escapist mindset.

Lyrically, the song's verses often employ a loose, conversational rhythm that borders on spoken word, emphasizing the character's nonchalant and direct attitude. The rhyme scheme is not strictly formal but uses clusters of internal rhymes and assonance to maintain flow (e.g., "pretty in the prime of life / I'm so tasty and the price is right"). This gives the lyrics a naturalistic yet stylized quality. The chorus shifts to a more melodic and rhythmically structured vocal line, with the repetition of phrases creating a chant-like, hypnotic effect that contrasts with the freer verses. This interplay between the verse's swaggering rhythm and the chorus's dreamy, repetitive cadence mirrors the song's thematic tension between gritty reality and fantasy.

"Take A Slice" employs a distinctive blend of musical and literary techniques to create its sleazy, hypnotic atmosphere.

• Musical Techniques: The song is built on a foundation of indie and electronic rock, with a prominent, swaggering bassline and a steady, trance-like beat. It uses a mix of synth textures, intricate percussion, and distorted effects that create a gritty yet alluring sonic landscape. Dave Bayley's vocal delivery shifts between a confident, almost spoken-word style in the verses and a smoother, more melodic tone in the chorus, mirroring the character's dual state of brazen reality and dreamy escapism. The track also features a notably difficult guitar solo, adding to its raw energy.
• Literary Techniques: The lyrics function as a character monologue, giving the listener direct insight into the protagonist's mind. The use of vivid, sensory imagery ("dark fingernail polish," "chewing on a fat smoke") grounds the abstract themes in tangible details. The song employs a stark juxtaposition between the explicit, aggressive language of the verses ("I'm filthy and I love it," "gonna fuck my way through college") and the longing, passive tone of the chorus ("I'm gonna sleep 'cause you live in my day dreams"), which highlights the character's internal conflict. The opening dialogue is a found sound element, a real recording that immediately establishes a sense of strange authenticity.

"Take A Slice" is a track from Glass Animals' critically acclaimed second album, How to Be a Human Being (2016), which was nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize in 2017. While not released as a primary single like "Life Itself" or "Youth," the song has remained a fan favorite due to its provocative themes and unique sound.

Years after its release, "Take A Slice" experienced a significant resurgence in popularity due to its use on the social media platform TikTok. Sped-up versions and snippets of the song became a soundtrack for videos often related to themes of confidence, rebellion, and dark humor. Dave Bayley noted in a 2025 interview that he was surprised by the song's viral success, as he'd always considered it "too weird for anyone to get into." This renewed attention led the band to re-incorporate the song into their live sets, where it became a nightly staple, and to release a chaotic, internet-culture-inspired music video for it years after the album's debut. This viral revival demonstrates the song's lasting appeal and its ability to connect with a new generation of listeners through digital platforms.

"Take A Slice" is rich with symbolism and metaphors that construct its hedonistic and transactional world.

• Sausage and Consumption: The song's bizarre opening about a "sausage candle" and the line "I just like sausage" can be interpreted as a metaphor for carnal desire and consumption. This imagery equates physical pleasure and even money to slabs of meat, a raw commodity to be devoured, reflecting a crass, consumerist approach to life and relationships.
• The Body as a Product: The lyric "I'm so tasty and the price is right" is a direct metaphor for the commodification of the self. The character presents themselves as a product for consumption, framing their youth and allure as goods with a specific value in a social or literal marketplace. The song's title, "Take A Slice," reinforces this idea, inviting others to partake in what they offer.
• Smoking as Alluring Self-Destruction: The imagery of "chewing on a fat smoke" and "sucking on a slim Vogue" symbolizes a willful embrace of vice and toxicity. It's a deliberate act of self-destruction that is portrayed as alluring and rebellious, a romance with ruin and a life lived on the edge.
• Daydreams as Escapism: The chorus, where the protagonist wants to sleep to live in their daydreams, serves as a powerful symbol of escapism. While the verses depict a character who is confident and in control of their debauchery, the chorus reveals a desire to retreat into a fantasy world, suggesting that reality, despite being embraced, is not entirely fulfilling.

Several recurring phrases and motifs in "Take A Slice" are key to reinforcing its central themes.

• "I'm filthy and I love it": This phrase is a central declaration of the character's identity. It's an unapologetic embrace of a lifestyle that might be considered sordid or immoral by conventional standards. Its repetition solidifies the theme of hedonistic self-acceptance and rebellion.
• "I'm the treasure, baby, I'm the prize": This recurring line establishes the character's high self-worth and the commodification of their being. It's a motif of self-objectification as a form of power, portraying the protagonist as a valuable, sought-after entity in their transactional world.
• The Chorus: "Wake me when the bell rings / I'm gonna sleep 'cause you live in my day dreams": The entire chorus serves as a recurring motif of escapism. Its repetition creates a hypnotic, longing atmosphere that contrasts sharply with the gritty confidence of the verses. It highlights the character's underlying desire to retreat from their physical reality into an idealized fantasy, suggesting a deeper emotional complexity.
• Smoking Imagery: The references to "chewing on a fat smoke" and "sucking on a slim Vogue" act as a recurring image of casual vice and alluring self-destruction. It paints a portrait of a character who is comfortable with and even romanticizes their toxic habits.