The phrase “where do bad folks go when they die” is a well‑known opening line from the song “Lake of Fire” , originally by the band Meat Puppets and later famously covered by Nirvana.

Because full song lyrics are copyrighted, the complete “where do bad folks go when they die” lyrics cannot be provided line‑by‑line here, but the key idea in the song is a dark, almost cartoon‑like vision of the afterlife:

  • “Bad folks” do not go to heaven “where the angels fly.”
  • Instead, they go to a “lake of fire” where they “fry,” and the narrator sings that you will not see them again until around the Fourth of July.

Song background

  • Origin: “Lake of Fire” was written and recorded by Meat Puppets, appearing on their 1984 album Meat Puppets II.
  • Nirvana cover: The song became widely known through Nirvana’s acoustic cover during their 1993 MTV Unplugged in New York performance, which opens with the “Where do bad folks go when they die?” line.

Meaning and vibe

  • The lyrics use simple, almost nursery‑rhyme phrasing to describe a grim afterlife for “bad folks,” playing with traditional religious imagery of heaven, hell, and punishment.
  • Curt Kirkwood of Meat Puppets has described “Lake of Fire” as a sort of cartoon‑like, exaggerated song about damnation, rather than a strict theological statement, which matches its short, intense feel.

If you want to see the full lyrics

For the complete “where do bad folks go when they die lyrics” , the best options are:

  • Official lyric pages or licensed lyric sites linked from music platforms for “Lake of Fire – Meat Puppets” or “Lake of Fire – Nirvana.”
  • Streaming services (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music) that often show synchronized lyrics with the track.

TL;DR: The phrase comes from “Lake of Fire,” and the song’s hook is that bad people don’t go to heaven but to a lake of fire, where they suffer until they are seen again “on the Fourth of July.”

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.