Mr. Rager vs. Slaughterhouse Five

"Mr. Rager" Lyrics:

I'm off on a adventure... (we're good) 

"This here is dedicated to all of the kids like me"
I'm on my way to heaven
"Wherever you are...Now"

Birds seen flying around, you never see them too long on the ground
You want to be one of them...(yeaah) x2
You might hear the birds singing flying around, you never see them too long on the ground
You want to be one of them...(yeaah) x2

[Chorus)

Woah Now, HEY!, Mr.Raaager, Mr.Rager
Tell me where you're going, Tell us where you're headed
I'm off on a adventure, Mr. Raaager
Tell me some of your stories, Tell us of your travels
HEY!, Mr.Raaager, Mr.Rager
Tell me where you're going, Tell us where you're headed
I'm on my way to heaven, Mr. Raaager
Can we tag along, Can we take the journey

Knocked down round for round
You're feeling like you're shot down on the ground
When will the fantasy end, When will the heaven begin (yeaah)
You might be knocked down round for round
You're feeling like you're shot down on the ground
When will the fantasy end (yeaah), When will the heaven begin (yeaah)

[Chorus] x2

Woah Now, HEY!, Mr.Raaager, Mr.Rager
Tell me where you're going, Tell us where you're headed
I'm off on a adventure, Mr. Raaager
Tell us some of your stories, Tell us of your travels
HEY!, Mr.Raager, Mr.Rager 

Tell me where you're going, Tell us where you're headed
I'm on my way to heaven, Mr. Raaager
Can we tag along, Can we take the journey

HEY! Mr. Raaaaaaager
HEY! Mr. Raaaaaaager
HEY! Mr. Raaaaaaager (I'm on my way to heaven)
HEY! Mr. Raaaaaaager
HEY!

I don’t know if I’ve just been listening to Cudi too much, but every time I listen to the song “Mr. Rager” I think of Billy Pilgrim from Slaughterhouse 5. I interpret the song as a guy named Mr. Rager who is always angry and frustrated (raging, hence the name) and he wants to be like a bird to just fly away and escape his troubles. He finally attempts to escape his troubles by “going on a adventure” where maybe he can find inner peace. When listening to the song I found that if you compare Kid Cudi’s Billy Pilgrim and Kurt Vonnegut’s Mr. Rager, they are a lot alike. At the beginning of the song it says:

Birds seen flying around, you never see them too long on the ground
You want to be one of them...(yeaah) x2
You might hear the birds singing flying around, you never see them too long on the ground
You want to be one of them...(yeaah) x2 

Billy Pilgrim looks at the birds singing (“Poo-tee-weet?”) and wishes he could be as free and uncaring as them. Seeing them singing and flying around, he wishes he could do the same, but he knows he can’t because, by time travelling, he knows that fate is completely predetermined. I see the birds in the song as a symbol of freedom, maybe implying freewill.

The chorus of the song is sang by Billy Pilgrim and everyone that believed and supported him when he claimed that he could time travel and that he was abducted by aliens. They are asking him things like Where he’s headed or asking “Tell us some of your stories?”. Only his supporters believe him, and everybody else calls him crazy.

The second part of the song goes:

Knocked down round for round
You're feeling like you're shot down on the ground
When will the fantasy end, When will the heaven begin (yeaah)
You might be knocked down round for round
You're feeling like you're shot down on the ground
When will the fantasy end (yeaah), When will the heaven begin (yeaah) 

This is basically describing Billy’s life. He’s always depressed, and is kind of pathetic. He’s always feeling down because he’s kind of an existentialist. Only living for the sake of living, because he already knows what’s going to happen. He asks himself “when will the fantasy end” and “when will the heaven begin?”. The “fantasy” is Billy Pilgrim’s life, and the “heaven” is his death and the repeat of his life.

At the end, the song repeats “Mr. Raaaaaaaaaager”. I compare this to the end when Billy Pilgrim talking about when, where and how his death will take place. I see the repeating of “Mr. Raaaaager” as the Billy’s supporters chanting his name in protest, because they don’t want him to die. At the end he says “I’m on my way to heaven” meaning after he gets assassinated by Lazaro’s hitman, he’ll just repeat his life again.

I also made the connection that both Mr. Rager and Billy Pilgrim are sort of alter egos of their writers. Although Kurt Vonnegut is in the story of Slaughterhouse 5 as an actual character, I think that Vonnegut’s experiences are kind of told through Billy Pilgrim, and not himself. Mr. Rager, is one of Kid Cudi’s many alter egos, representing his angry and frustrated side.