The meaning of "for once"

Question

The below sentence is from the song "Wishlist" by Pearl Jam.

I wish I was a neutron bomb, for once I could go off.

What I'm not sure is the meaning of "for."
At a glance it seems conjunction. In a dictionary, "for" as a conjunction only has one meaning, "because."

Is that right or has "for" some other meaning I didn't know about?

Thanks.

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Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

'For once' is a rtather idiomatic expression.

You need a context where something never happens, but it suddenly does on one special occasion.

eg My boss never is a very serious guy, he never smiles. But yesterday, for once, he smiled at me.

eg The weather here is always mild. But tomorrow, for once, it is supposed to snow.

The idea in your song seems to be this.

Neutron bombs never go off. But for once, one will.

In other words, I am always self-controlled, but for once I will lose my self-control.

Clive

The meaning of "for once"

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