Uma Thurman

Album

American Beauty/American Psycho

Label

Island Records

Genre

Surf Music

Composer(s)

Patrick Stump;Pete WentzJoe Trohman;Andy Hurley;Liam O'Donnell;Jarrel Young;Waqaas Hashmi;Jake Sinclair;Bob Mosher;Jack Marshall

Entered Chart

Jan 31, 2015

Peak Date

Sep 12, 2015

Released

January 12, 2015

Recorded

2014

Catalog #

DCD2/Island Digital

The song's guitar lick is sampled from the opening credits of the 1960s sitcom The Munsters. The chorus of this track references the scene in Pulp Fiction where Uma Thurman's straight-faced character asks John Travolta to dance with her during the twist contest at Jack Rabbit Slim's. There are also references to another Tarantino movie, Kill Bill. Bassist Pete Wentz told the story of the song: "Originally, when we came up with the idea, and there was this sample in it, which is a sample from The Munsters TV show, people kept saying 'oh cool, like Quentin Tarantino, cool' when we played it. We decided why don't we kind of create this world around that?" "To me, Uma Thurman and Winona Ryder, they were these women in pop culture who were quirky, but that made me only crush on them harder, and rather than going with the traditional Uma Thurman role, we thought a lot about Kill Bill and who her character was in that, and this kind of resilience and this violence, but there's something that's authentic about it (like a woman taking revenge or being empowered)." "So that's what the chorus of the song's about, and the verses are what you would do to try and capture this woman's affection." Pete Wentz referenced his other "crush," Winona Ryder, on the Folie a Deux track "She's My Winona." The song's music video follows a girl named Sarah who wins the prize of becoming Fall Out Boy's assistant for 24 hours. Her tasks include walking Joe Trohman's zebra, singing karaoke with Patrick Stump, going paint-balling and go-kart racing with Pete Wentz, and working out with Andy Hurley. Sarah's last task is to get inside a tank and smash a truck with the letters "Article 1, Section 36.03" written on the side: a reference to Alabama's Supreme Court blocking same-sex marriage in the state. Asked by Billboard magazine how the video's concept came about, Pete Wentz replied: "I remember…You know all those…I think they might be beer commercials or maybe a soda commercial and they aired in the Super Bowl and this guy gets surprised and he goes to a OneRepublic show..." "And I was like, dude, how cool. The go-to question in interviews is like, how crazy is it backstage? What's life like? And I was like, what if we could just create a version of that that's on steroids and let somebody experience it. So, that's where the idea came from, and then it was like, what are the aspects of each of our personalities and let's amp them up to the highest degree that they could create." The video features cameos from several stars including Big Sean, Brendon Urie from Panic! At The Disco, Action Bronson, Big Data and MAX. Asked by Billboard magazine what came first, the music or the lyrical concept, Pete Wentz replied: "We had the tracks done. But people kept saying, 'Oh, Pulp Fiction,' so we were like, 'Why don't we write something in the Quentin Tarantino world?' Then the Uma idea came up. We reached out to her; I don't know how she feels about the song, but she's OK with us naming it 'Uma Thurman.'" TV shows where Fall Out Boy have performed the song include Late Night with Seth Meyers and the 2015 Much Music Video Awards. Asked by NME in 2016 if Uma Thurman ever responded to the lyrical namecheck, Pete Wentz replied: "We sent it to her to clear it to make sure she was OK with the song and she was OK with it, I guess, theoretically. I think she said it was 'cute' or something. I don't know how I'd feel if some band had a song called 'Pete Wentz', but fortunately my name doesn't sing very well so I think I'm safe. It'd be weird."

I can work a miracle, work a miracle
Oh, oh, keep you like an oath
May nothing but death do us part

She wants to dance like Uma Thurman
Bury me till I confess
She wants to dance like Uma Thurman
And I can't get you out of my head

The stench, the stench, of summer sex
And CK eternity, oh hell yes
Divide me down to the smallest I can be
Put your, put your venom in me

I can move mountains
I can work a miracle, work a miracle
Oh, oh, I keep you like an oath
May nothing but death do us part

She wants to dance like Uma Thurman
Bury me till I confess
She wants to dance like Uma Thurman
And I can't get you out of my head

The blood, the blood, the blood of the lamb
It's worth two lions, but here I am
And I slept in last night's clothes and tomorrow's dreams
But they're not quite what they seem

I can move mountains
I can work a miracle, work a miracle
Oh, oh, I keep you like an oath
May nothing but death do us part

You'll find your way
And may death find you alive
Take me down the line
In Gem City we turn the tide
You'll find your way
And may death find you alive
Take me down the line
In Gem City we turn the tide

She wants to dance like Uma Thurman
Bury me till I confess
She wants to dance like Uma Thurman
And I can't get you out of my head

I can move mountains
I can work a miracle, work a miracle
Oh, oh, I keep you like an oath
May nothing but death do us part

I can move mountains
I can work a miracle, work a miracle
Oh, oh, I keep you like an oath
May nothing but death do us part