In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo
I'm packed and I'm holding
I'm smiling, she's living, she's golden
She lives for me, says she lives for me
Ovation, her own motivation
She comes round and she goes down on me
And I make you smile, like a drug for you
Do ever what you wanna do, coming over you
Keep on smiling, what we go through
One stop to the rhythm that divides you
And I speak to you like the chorus to the verse
Chop another line like a coda with a curse
Come on like a freak show takes the stage
We give them the games we play, she said
I want something else to get me through this
Semi-charmed kinda life, baby, baby
I want something else, I'm not listening when you say good-bye
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo
The sky was gold, it was rose
I was taking sips of it through my nose
And I wish I could get back there, someplace back there
Smiling in the pictures you would take
Doing crystal meth, will lift you up until you break
It won't stop, I won't come down
I keep stock with a tick-tock rhythm, a bump for the drop
And then I bumped up, I took the hit that I was given
Then I bumped again, then I bumped again
I said
How do I get back there to the place where I fell asleep inside you
How do I get myself back to the place where you said
I want something else to get me through this
Semi-charmed kinda life, baby, baby
I want something else, I'm not listening when you say good-bye
I believe in the sand beneath my toes
The beach gives a feeling, an earthy feeling
I believe in the faith that grows
And that four right chords can make me cry
When I'm with you I feel like I could die
And that would be alright, alright
And when the plane came in, she said she was crashing
The velvet it rips in the city, we tripped on the urge to feel alive
Now I'm struggling to survive
Those days you were wearing that velvet dress
You're the priestess, I must confess
Those little red panties they pass the test
Slides up around the belly, face down on the mattress
One
And you hold me, and we are broken
Still it's all that I wanna do, just a little now
Feel myself, heading off the ground
I'm scared, I'm not coming down
No, no
And I won't run for my life
She's got her jaws now locked down in a smile
But nothing is alright, alright
And I want something else to get me through this life
Baby, I want something else
Not listening when you say
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
The sky was gold, it was rose
I was taking sips of it through my nose
And I wish I could get back there
Someplace back there, in the place we used to start
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
I want something else
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo
I'm packed and I'm holding
I'm smiling, she's living, she's golden
She lives for me, says she lives for me
Ovation, her own motivation
She comes round and she goes down on me
And I make you smile, like a drug for you
Do ever what you wanna do, coming over you
Keep on smiling, what we go through
One stop to the rhythm that divides you
And I speak to you like the chorus to the verse
Chop another line like a coda with a curse
Come on like a freak show takes the stage
We give them the games we play, she said
I want something else to get me through this
Semi-charmed kinda life, baby, baby
I want something else, I'm not listening when you say good-bye
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo
The sky was gold, it was rose
I was taking sips of it through my nose
And I wish I could get back there, someplace back there
Smiling in the pictures you would take
Doing crystal meth, will lift you up until you break
It won't stop, I won't come down
I keep stock with a tick-tock rhythm, a bump for the drop
And then I bumped up, I took the hit that I was given
Then I bumped again, then I bumped again
I said
How do I get back there to the place where I fell asleep inside you
How do I get myself back to the place where you said
I want something else to get me through this
Semi-charmed kinda life, baby, baby
I want something else, I'm not listening when you say good-bye
I believe in the sand beneath my toes
The beach gives a feeling, an earthy feeling
I believe in the faith that grows
And that four right chords can make me cry
When I'm with you I feel like I could die
And that would be alright, alright
And when the plane came in, she said she was crashing
The velvet it rips in the city, we tripped on the urge to feel alive
Now I'm struggling to survive
Those days you were wearing that velvet dress
You're the priestess, I must confess
Those little red panties they pass the test
Slides up around the belly, face down on the mattress
One
And you hold me, and we are broken
Still it's all that I wanna do, just a little now
Feel myself, heading off the ground
I'm scared, I'm not coming down
No, no
And I won't run for my life
She's got her jaws now locked down in a smile
But nothing is alright, alright
And I want something else to get me through this life
Baby, I want something else
Not listening when you say
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
The sky was gold, it was rose
I was taking sips of it through my nose
And I wish I could get back there
Someplace back there, in the place we used to start
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
I want something else
Lyrics submitted by flyswatter, edited by White2lip, PrinceHarming
Semi-Charmed Life Lyrics as written by Stephan Douglas Jenkins
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Crystal meth? Where are you getting that from? The song is obviously about waffles.
Well, if waffles were made out of crystal meth!!
@souljamike woah you made this comment the day i was born
@3ebclaire05 holy shit
It's funny how they take a song that's clearly about drugs and oral sex and wrap it up in such a pretty package so that the meaning goes virtually unnoticed to the casual listener.
He's comparing the use of crystal meth with the stages of a relationship with someone and how now he's just chasing the dragon and wishing that it was the way it was in the beginning of his relationship with someone. In the beginning, there is the magical days, then in the end it is all so old and tiring and there's nothing there, there's no sex in the relationship anymore, etc. You're just there. The stages of addiction and dependence are just like friendship, dating, marriage. For example, when you try a drug, it's like acquiantance, then you try it more and more to the point where you're doing it socially and this is the friendship phase, you're in the dating phase when you're doing it alone, this is addiction, marriage is dependence.
@accebere Bingo! Not sure I agree with your details on the phases, but you have the overall theme exactly. He's comparing the stages of a relationship to getting hung up on a new drug. Starts out all bright and shiny, then ends with you going through the motions trying to get the same feeling you had when you first tried it, but just repeating the actions without success and ending in misery. This song is one of the five best songs of the 90s IMO.
i love drugs.
sorry about that.
YES this song is about crystal.
NO thats not all it's about people. just listen to it. It's about how crystal has ruined his life, but he can't stop. He loves his girl so much, but can't get his mindset back to before he started meth.
"And I wish I could get back there Some place back there Smiling in the pictures you would take"
Easy, he looks at pictures before his life went upside down and he just needs to get back to that point, but meth is so overwhelming, he just can't for the life of him.
"I'm scared But I'm not coming down, no no And I won't run for my life She's got her jaws just locked now in smile But nothing is all right"
he's so addicted at this point he doesn't believe in himself that he can be sober, and she's still somewhat in his life, but obviously , nothing is alright.
Just like everyone else on here, I never new what the song was really about until a few years ago. I don't think one can truly appreciate this song unless you've been here. I have. I really connect with this song. I lost the love of my life to drugs and I'm still hurt by it.
The song is about what a wreck his life has become, and it really is just so sad.
How do I get back there to The place where I fell asleep inside you? How do I get myself back to The place where you said?
@vwayfan123 Almost ten years after your comment, how are things? I identify with it too.
I resonate with this song. I had a short-lived coke addiction 22 years ago. The first time I tried it (I was 15) I liked it. The way it made me feel. 4 years later I was chasing that high again. It was never the same. Funny that I always turned to drugs when my life went to crap. Do I miss that first time? Yes, of course. Do I delude myself thinking it would feel the same now? No. My first love was like that. I loved him and the way he made me feel about me. It took me a very long time to realize I loved who he was, not who he became. When I started realizing he was bad for me, I told him that I was tired of being a booty-call and when he figures out what he wants to give me a call and MAYBE then we'll talk. Until then forget I ever existed. You always want that FIRST feeling.
the radio edit of this song is terrible. the "crash" verse is like, the most essential verse to the meaning of the song, and they cut it...plus censoring "bump" and "hit" is stupid. Do they really think some kid is gonna hear the word "bump" and 3 days later be a full-blown meth addict? chances are most of them don't even know what it's referring to. If someone knows what the drug references are, they either -already are addicted to drugs, or -are smart enough to avoid them. man, fuck censorship. seriously.
did I miss it somewhere over the years this song has been beaten?? Is coda not CoDA? Co-Dependents Anonymous?
benzster, coda is a musical term. i believe that's what the song means, as it's among "and i speak to you like the chorus to the verse"
they edited it out, apparently coming down off of a meth binge is just to offensive for listneners. the song is about crystal meth, plain and simple. i love the line "she has her jaws locked down in a smile, but nothing is alright" i love this song, favorite song of all time
Wow, i love this song. its just another great song that just so happens to talk about drugs. i used to sing this when i was like, seven. loved it then, love it now. funny how i had no idea what any of it meant but still i sang along. what fun. one of my friends said that her favorite part of the song was "how do i get back there to the place where i fell asleep inside you". its so funny how i just agreed without knowing what it all meant...i really just liked the way it sounded...its an awesome summer song for just sitting around and acting stupid, or for getting high.
Candyman is a song by aqua. It's all.aboit oral sex. I saw some very young kids (like 5/6 years old) dancing to it and just saw it as a little wrong. The parents were all like, "Oh but it's just a fun song." Yeah in that way that oral sex is a just a fun pastime...
I think one thing people miss when they analyze this song, is that the speaker is not glorifying sex and drugs, he is saying that thats what he does, but he is tired of it and he feels like he is half living "i want something else, to get me through this, semi-charmed kinda life", he wants to stop, to get something more out of his life, but its hard for him because their are good parts about it too.
Why did they take that last part out of the radio version? It'a my favorite part.
i guess the song was too long and that was an easy part to edit out. yeah, its a bummer not to hear the whole song whenever it's on the radio.