What is the meaning behind “My pen’ll go off when I half-cock it”? Rap God by Eminem
- by imrk
- March 24, 2023
Half-cock is a form of safety used on revolvers and lever-action rifles, it doesn’t allow the hammer to rest on the percussion cap, so it will not fall if the trigger is pulled. It is one of the most effective forms of safety on guns, but Em is still so wild and out of control that he will end up firing off anyway. When you click a pen into the writing position you cock the end and it then rests at half the height. So when he half-cocks his pen it’ll go off by writing bars, perhaps even these. If his pen goes off at half-cock, he’s impulsively letting the world hear what he has to say. Maybe if he waited until his pen was fully-cocked he wouldn’t be known for controversy surrounding his lyrics. It might be a play on the words “pen” and “cock”, whereby to “go off” meaning ejaculate. To further extend the genital wordplay, “pen” is half of the word “penis”, which plays into the strong “half– cock” reference. Genius! Alternatively, here he subtly pronounces “pen” as “pin”, so it may refer to the firing pin of a gun, thus fully forming the pen/gun double entendre.