| Stone Temple Pilots – No Way Out Lyrics | 1 year ago |
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OK. I don't know who "interprets" the lyrics to many of the songs on this platform, but when I (try to) read the lyrics while I'm actually listening to the song, the written lyrics are WAY OFF. On this song, Scott sings "way down from the BIRTH CANAL, KEEP IT AWAY." Nothing close to "MFer." Yet I find the same stupid lyrics on all the other lyric sites, so obviously someone is copying someone. And the original lyrics are usually INCORRECT. So ALL of the websites are incorrect. It's maddening. JUST STOP IT. Actually LISTEN to what's being sung, don't just let your mind *assume* what's being sung. |
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| Them Crooked Vultures – Scumbag Blues Lyrics | 1 year ago |
| @[RoboticMamboMe:43054] I might go even further to say that this is about the music industry, which Josh has written about before. He absolutely loathes it, but is ensnared within it, knowing that in order to "keep food on the table" and support his family, he's forced into a deal with the devil within the demonic music industry, which is known for chewing up artists and spitting them out without blinking an eye. | |
| Them Crooked Vultures – Interlude with Ludes Lyrics | 1 year ago |
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@[bumbaklatious:42972] I think I agree with you and also with WPSIATWIN. I think the drug is "speaking" to Josh, but that Josh may have gotten in too deep with drugs altogether, causing him to act really weird, and do crazy stuff (see TCV interview where Dave and JPJ are laughing at Josh being on "6 different drugs"). Perhaps it got to the point that Josh was using, but didn't really want to be--or maybe he could see how it was messing up his life--but was more or less trapped in using chemicals to alter his reality more than he should have. I take "sleep deprivation will make you a million" to mean that maybe he was working so hard on the band, writing music and lyrics in order to "make a million" that he was becoming sleep deprived...so he was taking ludes and other drugs, but they only made him hear things ("did you just hear something crazy?"), as well as doing stuff that would get him into trouble, like not being emotionally present--not apologizing when it was necessary; or getting into situations that caused his face to bleed...yet he still took LSD. I think the drugs are telling him: Acid and poison and chemicals baby Is what I mean to provide I know together, we'll make the possible (potential success) Totally impossible (he'll become a loser, doing nothing if he keeps taking so many drugs) I hate to be the bearer of bad news (that drugs can ruin your life) But I am (because...it's the truth) |
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| Them Crooked Vultures – Reptiles Lyrics | 1 year ago |
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@[RoboticMamboMe:42971] I think you're spot on here. There are so many artists who sing about the very industry that made them who they are...but that industry is a diabolical one, not there for the artist, but to make a profit at that artist's expense. Questions are a fire That needs feeding to survive We should be asking more questions, we NEED to ask more in depth questions to get to the truth So just you let those flames die down But they don't want us to ask any questions, just shut up and do what they tell you to do Trained by consequence and the lash Sounds like Josh tried to break away from it all, but was perhaps threatened with legal action if he went there Their praise is a poison to us all the industry big-wigs primp and pander to artists, lying by telling them how great they are while trying to figure out how to get more money out of them They won't let you go Cause you're the soup du'jour, that's for sure The artist can't get away, can't break the contract, because they've got him over a barrel, legally. As the artist of the moment, they've got their hooks in, and so parade them around for all to see, forcing them to entertain others in the industry, like a monkey in a cage. Nearly every artist I've heard of who feels trapped by the industry, feels this way. Everyone gets paid before the artist themself, and the artist is forced to keep entertaining just to keep his head above water. |
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| Jerry Cantrell – Spiderbite Lyrics | 1 year ago |
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@[horrorbusiness89:42878] great interpretation, I agree with it all! Jerry was a mess for a time, but smart enough to pull himself out of it (with a little help from his friends...and his brother). Thank goodness. I don't think we would could have handled losing Layne, Mike AND Jerry. I shudder just to think.... |
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| Jerry Cantrell – Gone Lyrics | 1 year ago |
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@[SwornToTheBlack:42877] It's about Jerry himself. He "coughed up the price" (meaning, it was a cage of his own making, from the time he was young, he built it with himself with his talent and drive), and crawled into it as part of his rock n roll lifestyle. It all seemed exciting at first, but he found out that as time passed, that he was trapped in that lifestyle, where everything was offered to him on a platter (especially drugs and women), yet what he wanted most--a life with the love of his life--he couldn't have because the life he led got in the way. And he couldn't just leave his life after all he'd done to get to that point to become successful. So his life was a living Catch-22. And he discovered that the lifestyle he's caged within is constantly being watched by concert audiences, his management, the media, his family, and inevitably, the world, all watching him very closely--like a beautiful blonde bird trapped in a gilded cage performing for all to see--he couldn't escape from the cage he built around himself. |
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| Jerry Cantrell – Castaway Lyrics | 1 year ago |
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This is about Jerry feeling cut adrift from his former life as a "rock star" (the "shore"), something he'd always wanted, eventually found, but was then cut loose,"castaway" like an a boat in a storm. He used to be on his island stage, all full of himself (ego), laughing at the audiences at his shows ("Don't you wish you were me?"), indulging in all the various excesses of that life. But now he's all alone, full stop, friends and family members are dead, things have spun out of control, and his own drug addiction has taken over his life. Making things worse are his memories of Layne, how he treated him (and never got to apologize or say goodbye), and what he had before things came to a crashing halt. There's a difference knowing that something is coming to an end and having it actually happen. Jerry was well aware (as he had said in interviews) that his band was coming to an end, and Layne was choosing slow suicide, but now that it had all actually happened, he was completely lost. There's actually a video on YT of Jerry at some festival in California--he mentions it's the first time he'd been out and about for months, and lemme tell you--he looked TERRIBLE. Haggard, thin/gaunt, forcing a smile, coke-driven chatter, a former shell of himself. It was quite scary to see. Things had really caught up with him. |
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| Jerry Cantrell – Bargain Basement Howard Hughes Lyrics | 1 year ago |
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In the beginning, Jerry & Layne were a monster of a songwriting duo, with Jerry calling Lane his "best friend in the world." (interesting that you never heard Layne call Jerry his best friend, which I always thought was very telling). After the honeymoon phase was over after the first couple of years it became apparent that Layne and Jerry were two very different types of people: Jerry was very driven, goal oriented, Layne was more interested in the artistic side of things. AIC was important to him, but by the 3rd album, he was already bored, but I think Jerry's harshness and harping on Lane to get his act together and sing, obviously wore him down as well. Undoubtedly Jerry let his mouth get away from him and probably said some things to Layne, about Layne behind Layne's back to other people that eventually got back to Layne, things that cut Layne to the quick, so he felt he had to get out. If you look at their lyrics especially in their third album, even Sean Kinney said it's an album of Layne and Jerry pretty much just yelling back and forth at each other in their lyrics. The more Layne tried to pull away, the more Jerry tried to pull him back in. But ever self-reflective in his lyrics, Jerry realizes he'd become Layne--a recluse, shuttered away from everyone and everything, no headlines, no news. And while he's bitter & sorrowful about the way he treated Layne, he's also angry that he couldn't--and wouldn't--defeat his demons. AIC was going to break up eventually, if not from Layne's heroin use, then from just differences in personality and overall working style. In the beginning opposites attract, but it soon becomes apparent after time has passed how different those personalities can be, and if they're not willing to work together to overcome those differences, things fall apart rapidly. Music and drugs seem to have been the two factors that all of the band members had in common. But when those started becoming problematic, it was only a matter of time... Oddly, in the end both Layne and Jerry got what they wanted: Layne chose his way out, and Jerry's dream of riding out into the sunset with AIC seems to be a thing. But all of the guys are nigh unto 60 years old now, so...for how much longer??? |
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| Jerry Cantrell – Dickeye Lyrics | 1 year ago |
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Based on "mother spinning in her grave" from Degradation Trip, I'm assuming that this is also related to Jerry's coke or crack drug use. He's either talking about Lane and him both being into drugs feeding off each other when they were together, or perhaps about Jerry and his drug dealer, when he may have gotten to a point where he couldn't live without him. And like others have interpreted from the other song, a glass dick is a crack pipe or a pipe to smoke coke, and apparently Jerry did this quite a lot. If you listen to some of their earlier interviews Jerry was quite the coked-up chatterbox! But Jerry has always been incredibly hard on himself in his lyrics, vuciously self introspective, and so he says he is a born traitor, a "soul fader," and may be saying--very sarcastically--the big dog (Jerry) had his day (got his stash and got high again....like he always did. |
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| Alice in Chains – Sunshine Lyrics | 2 years ago |
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@[kachimbo11:42278] I think you nailed it with your interpretation. I agree with most but will add just a couple items. Full of sick desire - *either*: he wishes so hard that his mother was back that it's affecting his life in general, he himself said he doesn't know how to function now that his mother is gone. OR - Conversely, this loss has caused him to run to a life of excess as a way of trying to cover up and blunt his feelings and emotions over her death (much like people "pour themselves into their work"). This lifestyle has allowed him to give in to debauched excesses that most would perhaps consider him to be "full of sick desire," i.e., the worse (for him), the better. He may feel so inconsolable and lost, but he "don't mind...I don't care no more." He's so numb at this point, that he feels numb to the awful things he's now doing. See, Jerry acts like a badass mofo rocker, but deep down, I don't think that's really who he is. I think he just went there because at that point in his life he had nothing else. Layne scooped him up when he was at his lowest point, and the rocked the world together. And when the opportunity for said debauchery presented itself, he grabbed it with both hands, even though it might not actually have been something he would have gravitated toward. Am I that I promise? - I think this is based on his promise to his mother to become famous, make money, buy her a house so that she'd never have to work another day in her life (which she had to do to keep the 4 of them all afloat). But now that she's gone, he is unable to fulfill his promise to her, and he feels guilty about that. Am I worth the value? - this may be Jerry asking himself if he's worth living at this point, what's the use, everyone he loves has died. He's living this weird lifestyle that he likes, but at the same time he feels kind of guilty about it, because many people might look down upon it, so he wonders if he's even worth being around anymore. Do my love defile? - Wondering if he'll follow the same path as his father when it comes to women - doing hurtful things to them, breaking their hearts, leaving them behind, acting uncaring. Again, I think Jerry WANTS a long term relationship, but his lifestyle (in his own words) as turned him into a "wolf" where he just goes in for the kill, and then moves on. Memory, set me free - I think he's reverting back to his memories with his mother because that's when his life was happy, peaceful, and carefree. The memories he had from then take him away from this new world of pain, uncertainty and death. I don't care no more - he's numb, emotionless, doesn't really care one way or another what happens to him. Is my soul entire? - he feels as if his soul has been ripped out of him, or broken in pieces. He can't seem to reconcile continuing through his life feeling the way he does, broken. I've always had a heart for Jerry - he gets deserted by his father, loses the 2 people closest to him at a young age, then gets rescued by the most amazing person he's ever met, only to watch said rescuer die a long, slow, agonizing, self-inflicted death, crushing all of Jerry's dreams and goals in the process, forcing Jerry to do things he never wanted to do, and go forward with a limping band of friends that's never been the same since the rescuer died. WHAT a life he's had. |
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| Alice in Chains – So Far Under Lyrics | 2 years ago |
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As he ages, Jerry seems to be stuck within 4 main areas of focus for his incredible lyrical expertise and wordsmithing: . 1. Deep sorrow, sadness and utter brokenness over Layne's death, what Layne made the band suffer through, how Layne continues to haunt him, and mostly, what if? What could have been, if Layne had chosen to live. Layne has since become his "black muse." 2. Deep regret and guilt over past injustices Jerry himself did to himself (drugs, alcohol, smoking), but mostly, things he said to Layne that he can't ever take back. 3. Deep regret over the loss of Courtney from his life, how he still pines mightily for her, and because of that (plus his lifestyle), can't seem to find true happiness with anyone else. 4. Sadness and longing not only for his younger self & life, but that the life he's had was stunted by circumstance, so he's now just hollowly going through the motions. As well, the many deaths of friends along the way from drugs, alcohol, or just age, continue to tear at his soul, showing him just how alone in the world he really is. He has everything "dialed up to 11" but he's still not happy, fulfilled, or satisfied. . Jerry has a HUGE hole in his soul, he is the walking wounded. But this black feeling, this hurt and woundedness has been such a part of him for so long that he can't crawl up and out, and he may not even want to. It's the darkness "in which he damn well likes to play." He doesn't know any other way to be, and it's tearing him up inside. #prayforjerry |
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| Alice in Chains – All I Am Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| My guess is that the life Jerry originally chose to live - being in AIC - has now caught up to him. 20 years on, he's reaping the results of a hard life of smoking, drinking, drugging, nameless women, little sleep, bad food, major life losses, the works. All the things that once seemed exciting in the beginning, tend to take a major toll on one's body and life after many years. So he doesn't really recognize himself anymore. Whereas he used to be "beautiful", as he ages, he's surprised by how he now looks (TBT, he certainly does sport a different "look" than what he used to). I think it's just basically a man who's aging, looking back on life his in his prime, and wondering "how the hell did I get here, and is this all there is?" CLASSIC Solomon questioning. | |
| Alice in Chains – Maybe Lyrics | 2 years ago |
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( oops I hit the wrong button too soon didn't finish my thought) Jerry has never shied away from telling us how he really feels in his lyrics. And I'm sure he has "had it up to here" with the ghost of Lane looming over him & the guys, not to mention everyone who interviews him constantly asking about Layne, or how it relates to Layne, or what would Layne think about, this etc. It's got to be extremely wearing and mentally exhausting knowing that you always have this burden, this musical albatross hanging over your head every moment. . Even though Jerry and the band have moved on (or tried to) they will never be completely free of the legacy of Layne the Legend. So I can see why Jerry seems like he wants to call it quits in this song. I hope I'm wrong, because not having more Alice in Chains is something that selfishly, I don't want to contemplate. |
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| Alice in Chains – Maybe Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| @[dyomaeth:41978] wow I think you may have hit the nail on the head. Jerry's lyrics (and of course Laynes) have always held deep deep meaning for me and have really hit home on many occasions. Everything post Layne seems to me that Jerry is speaking to Layne in some way, shape or form. | |
| Alice in Chains – Drone Lyrics | 2 years ago |
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I think it's about Jerry just going through the motions of having meaningless sex with, or relationships with, women he really has no feelings for, because it's expected of him as a "rockstar." And as he ages, his singleness (and what people may think about that) is becoming a burden. But he hasn't yet met anyone that truly makes him feel alive, loving, or emotional, so like a dedicated drone, he just continues to go through the motions, even though it just makes him feel blacker and more hollow inside. As Solomon - a man who had all the wealth in the world, 300 wives and 700 concubines - once said, "Vanity, vanity, all is vanity." I feel for Jerry. The R&R life is a tough gig, very exciting at the beginning,, but very shallow and meaningless in the end. If you haven't heard the version yet by Giants in the Trees, check it out. I like it almost better than the original! |
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| Alice in Chains – Brush Away Lyrics | 2 years ago |
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I agree with most of what folks have said here. By the time Tripod came along, Layne was DONE. He was bored, drug-addled, wanted to move on to other things or just rest/sleep ('use some time to curl away') or to escape to do nothing at all, in his drug-addled haze. Their 'honeymoon phase' was well over by this point, and I think Jerry's driving, toe-the-line nature was wearing on Layne. As Sean mentioned, it's Layne and Jerry having a 'discussion' through their lyrics on this album, as things were falling apart, and they were starting to go their separate ways. It was to the point that the 3 guys would record during the day, Layne would come in at odd hours, never on time, or not when he was expected, or at night (to record on his own), making lame excuses for not showing up, so I'm sure it was very frustrating. 'My aggression is where you stake your claim' When the band expected Layne to play his part, Layne would get angry about it, then they'd gripe and complain, either directly to him, or behind his back, and it would get back to him, something Layne has also written about. On the Mad Season album, Layne wrote about how someone (Jerry?) said 'You say I made your life a living hell...' Talk about harsh. The 'curve on which you grade' is probably Layne questioning Jerry, someone with his own drug and alcohol issues, so why was he trying to 'grade' Layne on a different curve than what he uses on himself? In saying 'I try to get away and yet I stick around,' Layne would like to 'untangle you from me' to get away from the band, either take a break, or move on to the next thing...or just retreat into heroin and get on with dying. I think the grind and expectations of being THE WORLD FAMOUS BAND AIC had become too much pressure for him, stifling his creativity. But AIC is not AIC without their lead vocalist, so then he feels guilty for letting the rest of the band down in the process, who all want to continue touring. It definitely seems like things were becoming 'a little bitter' by this point. |
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| Mad Season – I'm Above Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| @[SFy65B2G5rKbzps5acdHwQe6:41878] I read your interpretation and you may be onto something. The more I delve into AIC and Jerry and Layne\'s relationship (yes I study this stuff!), while they were besties in the beginning, equal in talent--though in a different way--but Jerry was VERY driven, and very much a perfectionist. He wanted to be the BEST. He wanted to be in a very successful band so was pushing the guys to that level. Not sure what Sean and Mike felt about it, but I\'m sure it bothered Layne, who was much more of a "flibbertygibbet," always wanting to do his own thing no matter what. I think eventually Jerry became too much of a taskmaster in Layne\'s eyes, so when Mad Season came along he jumped at the chance for something creative and different than AIC. Subsequently, in interviews Jerry literally confirmed all that, talking about how it felt like his BFF f***ed his girlfriend! And consequently, in his solo albums, Jerry is obviously in excruciating mental and emotional pain, and he\'s desperately trying to atone for the pain he put Layne through, and frankly, really beating himself up, lyrically. | |
| Mad Season – X-ray Mind Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| The last four lines are so brutal. He knows everyone\'s talking about him, he knows what they\'re saying and thinking. His family? Or the label put spies out to keep an eye on him, one of their big money makers, can\'t let anything happen to him, right? Meanwhile, those who were supposed friends come out of the woodwork to bum money from him now that he\'s rich...and growing sicker, so they won\'t have to pay it back, right? And the entertainment gossip columns, he knows that when he dies he\'ll be worth more dead than alive because death sells, everybody will want a piece of him, everyone will weep and moan over his passing, everybody will say what a great guy he was, I knew him as a friend, i knew him when....but it\'s all a big fat lie. He sees them all for what they truly are. | |
| Mad Season – Wake Up Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| Many years ago I read about a type of therapy that some hospitals were doing for the drug and heroin crisis that was happening in certain large cities. It involved basically a reverse blood transfusion where the patient was put into a semi sleeping state, their blood would be pumped out and it would go through a machine that would somehow remove the impurities from the blood and pump it back into the body again so that the patient would have either no withdrawal or very minor withdrawal symptoms, and they would feel much better much faster. I think of that therapy a lot when I think of Layne and what he went through. I\'m almost certain that he didn\'t really want to die--NOBODY ever really wants to die they just want the pain to stop, they want it to end, they\'re tired, they\'re exhausted, they\'re disappointed in themselves and they\'re embarrassed that they can\'t stop. I also think Layne felt things so deeply that he made mountains out of molehills. Things that others may have brushed off like water off a duck, Layne absorbed into his psyche. I think a lot of that had to do with being on drugs and how it warps your sense of self and your way of looking at the world. There probably was a lot of gossip around and about Layne but it seems he had lost any coping mechanisms that would have just blown off some of that gossip. Instead it just made things worse for him, and sure we got great music great lyrics out of it but that\'s never a good trade-off when someone loses their life. LIFE is always more important than anything. I just wish he had known about that therapy while he was alive and I wish she had tried it cuz I\'m wondering if maybe it would have done him some good. ???? | |
| Alice in Chains – Dirt Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| I think it\'s actually more simple than some people are making it out to be. I think this is about Layne and Demri and their relationship. How they loved each other, but drugs had become such an overwhelming part of their lives that trying to have any kind of normal relationship was next to Impossible. He says "I try to hide myself from what is wrong for me." He\'s trying so hard not to be a junkie but is losing the battle. On top of that, Layne is also frustrated because she says things to him that made him feel like dirt. How many times have we been in the same situation with a someone that we love where the angry words spill out in frustration, killing us with their poison? I think Layne was frustrated to the point of wanting to die because the situation had become completely untenable. He loved her, they love each other, but their strange situation--both heroin and rock & roll--prevented them from being together. As well, I wondered about this: as shy and reserved as Lane was, it sounds like Demri was quite the contrary: very friendly, outgoing, gregarious, perhaps Layne\'s complete opposite. Maybe that\'s why they were so attracted to one another. But perhaps her openness may have caused her to let her mouth get away from her at times; perhaps she would say things to him that would just make him feel like he wanted to die. Y\'know, "just kill me already." We\'ve probably all known someone like that in our lives, those who are very open and gregarious, but they don\'t engage their brain before they speak, saying hurtful things without realizing it. Literally love, hate, love. They loved each other, but drove each other crazy too. | |
| Alice in Chains – Dam That River Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| I think the guys would tell the public certain elements of certain stories only as much as they think the public needed to know. That being said, this could have been something that was leading up to a point of extreme frustration with Layne, what was going on with him, and how that affected the band in general. I think they were probably fighting a LOT, being extremely frustrated and angry, and things perhaps spilled over the top now and then. Breaking a table over Jerry\'s head? Eh...I\'m not so sure about that, but I bet they got into fisticuffs and wrestling plenty of times over things just out of sheer anger and frustration (even more so for Tripod). Fueled by drugs and alcohol, of course. Don\'t piss off AIC, they\'ll write a song about you! | |
| Jerry Cantrell – Psychotic Break Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| I think it\'s fairly simple to figure out - Jerry\'s at the end of his rope, especially after Layne\'s death. Jerry\'s whole life and musical goal was to play the guitar in AIC with the most amazing vocalist he\'d ever known, forever and ever, amen. (he\'s said outright that Layne always will be his favorite singer ever) But when Layne made his intentions known about his impending "slow suicide," Jerry was then forced to become the lead singer he never wanted to be, and embark upon a solo career he never wanted to have. \n\nWhen Layne finally died, Jerry was set "adrift" with his unique gift...but for what? His once band was over now that Layne was gone, so what good was it having that gift? He was so angry and depressed, locked in his house for months, he undoubtedly punched a few 2x4s and put some holes in his drywall out of sheer frustration. \n\nOn top of that, the deaths of friends in the music world, on top of his mother and grandmother, plus no longer having Courtney in his life, plus having to sell his house in order to finance Degradation Trip on his own (Dave Jerden didn\'t work out, apparently), I\'m sure he felt completely out of control, somewhat insane, and about to break. A lesser man would have jumped off a bridge. I\'m just thankful his \'gift\' gave him an outlet to create more amazing--yet incredibly painful--music for us. | |
| Jerry Cantrell – 31/32 Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| While this COULD be about Layne, Nancy, his mom, got remarried, and only Laynes sister was his direct blood relative. So Im fairly certain this is Jerry being autobiographical. Jerry is a classic case of a firstborn having a childhood trauma, and trying to excel out of that event, to "prove" themselves, especially if the parent(s) is no longer around. How do I know? My mother was one. Jerry filled his life with activities while in HS, to fill the void of his home situation. He forced himself to excel at playing the guitar, self-taught. He sang. He was in plays. Then when he lost his home, he went to Seattle to start a band, found the 3 best guys he could, and was driven to make his band successful. WHICH IT WAS. But eventually, he saw the handwriting on the wall, knew AIC was coming to a close, and with all of the Seattle drug deaths, plus his wild rock & roll lifestyle, he could SEE where he was headed: dead in a hotel room at the age of 31 or 32. And so he took steps to not let that happen. THANK GOD. | |
| Jerry Cantrell – Thanks Anyway Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| I think this is about all about all those people in his life--either friends or those who say they were his friend--who tried/keep trying to offer him "helpful" advice that is not at all helpful, and just pisses him off. Like: yeah, right, fine, nope, but thanks for playing. People have probably offered him LOADS of stupid advice--well meaning--but useless. They can\'t understand his life, and what he\'s gone thru, but still they keep trying. | |
| Jerry Cantrell – Give It A Name Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| Geez. Jerry\'s guitar talents are truly matched by his lyric writing. These lines hit me so hard: "Slowly all the roles we act out become our identity, and in the end we are what we pretend to be." He has said numerous times that musicians tend to steal from one another, but through that, soon one finds their own voice. So are we being ourselves or are we simply pretending? We need to embrace our fears, walk through them, and in the end we can be set free from them. | |
| Jerry Cantrell – Give It A Name Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| @[AnglerRising:41834] I always thought that the "monkey man" was his drug dealer, because he had a "monkey on his back" from a significant coke habit back in the day. So "feeding the monkey man" meant paying his dealer for his regular supply of coke (much like Layne did with his own heroin "monkey man"). | |
| Jerry Cantrell – S.O.S Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| @[lastanzabianca:41833] Plus he\'s talking to his brother--same one from "Brother," David--and because they are not close (due to Jerry\'s lifestyle), he feels that he can\'t really talk to him, because they seem like strangers. Yknow: "no news here." | |
| Jerry Cantrell – Pig Charmer Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| How low can one go? About as low as Jerry Cantrell wallowing in the mud of his own self-pity party. Low...then crawl on your belly thru the muck, over broken glass, drug-fueled, peeing in bottles, low. Scraping the bottom, low. Wow. | |
| Jerry Cantrell – She Was My Girl Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| Wow. Not only did he have to contend with the loss of Layne, arguably the closest male & creative relationship he\'d ever had, but with the loss of Courtney, the love of his life, to boot! Geez, no wonder the guy was so messed up. So many times I wish I could just hug the hell outta him. ???? | |
| Jerry Cantrell – Hurts Don't It Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| @[Grind838:41832] they\'re ALL about Layne. And if they\'re not about Layne, they\'re about Courtney. ???? The Guy\'s consistent! ???? | |
| Jerry Cantrell – Hurts Don't It Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| @[Grind838:41831] they\'re ALL about Layne. And if they\'re not about Layne, they\'re about Courtney. ???? The Guy\'s consistent! ???? | |
| Jerry Cantrell – Dying Inside Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| @[fatpom:41830] Not sure when this was written, but if it was before Layne died, Jerry may have been in turmoil over the fact that he knew his band was imploding, and none of them had a Plan B. So he\'s dying inside because the one thing he wanted, and got, is now disappearing in front of him. Plus he feels guilty that people tell him how proud his mother would be of his success, but internally he cringes cos he knows the truth of the real debauchery behind the scenes: whores, drugs, drinking, etc., things he knows his mother would NOT be proud of. I think Jerry acts like a big rock star, but deep down, he\'s just a good, solid, overall nice guy with a decent moral upbringing, and so he\'s always struggled with that dichotomy. | |
| Jerry Cantrell – What It Takes Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| @[Grind838:41828] It\'s about the hard work, dedication, and desperation of a life in the music industry to try and get ahead. You need a mountain of faith (hopefully blessed by God), putting up with a river of constant pain (rejection, stalls, bad people, disappointment), you have to REALLY love what you do, and have a strong driving hunger for it to become successful. The music/entertainment industry is a brutal beast, and only the strong survive. But for those who become successful, there is always a high price to pay, whether that\'s the loss of a band member, long term illness, the music industry itself changing at a moments notice, marriage or relationship breakups, alienation from children, lawyers, the list is extremely long. So you have to be very strong mentally, emotionally and physically to continue to ply your craft when theres little to no net to catch you. EVERYTHING comes out of the artist\'s own pocket, from recording sessions to transportation, to hotels, to equipment, to team salaries. It looks glamorous but its far from it. So you gotta love what you do to keep moving forward ("a certain kind of hunger"). \r\n\r\nIt takes a mountain of faith\r\nRiver flowing pain\r\nIt takes a hammer on a nail\r\nIt takes a whole lotta love, yeah\r\n\r\nIt takes a lifetime of working\r\nA touch of understanding\r\nIt takes a wind in the sails\r\nLittle children singing, yeah\r\n\r\nIt takes a sun burning knowledge\r\nAn ocean full of feeling\r\nIt takes a certain kind of hunger\r\nIt takes a whole lotta love, yeah | |
| Jerry Cantrell – Chemical Tribe Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| @[lon1065202:41827] Not to mention Jerry\'s "generation" where everyone is also "on" something, especially in the Seattle area. Seemed like everyone was on drugs of some type, including AIC, and many of those in the music industry died from their drug use, and were all around Jerry\'s age. So he may have thought that his entire generation was dying from chemicals of one type or another. | |
| Jerry Cantrell – Gone Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| @[OddlyReasonable:41826] Jerry so pines for Courtney. ???? How did they meet and how long were they actually together? | |
| Jerry Cantrell – Feel The Void Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| @[AnglerRising:41824] yeah, this is a tune that really doesnt need much explanation. Jerry had hit bottom. The band he\'d devoted his life & talents to, was for all intents and purposes, over. His best friend, collaborator, and musical soulmate was dead, after dragging them all down for years. He acknowledges that he was not the best friend he could have been; perhaps let his "cocaine mouth" talk smack (no pun intended) about Layne refusing to get clean, and it got back to Layne. And now Layne was gone, he had no Plan B, and his life as he knew it was all but over.\r\n\r\nWhere he says "I have no home", this was literal, as well as figurative. In order to fund the recording of DT, he had to sell his house, so he truly had no band "home," as well as no physical home.\r\n\r\nSuch a fantastic, brooding, brutally honest album. Its hard for me to listen to it because I get so sad for Jerry, what he had to deal with and go through. A far lesser man would have succumbed to the madness, and in fact, many times, Jerry acknowledges that he felt he was going insane.\r\n\r\nMorbidly, while Jerry had his guitar & lyrics to vent, I often wonder how Sean and Mike coped, and what they went through to get them through that horrible season (I guess Sean could "hit things" - his drums - in anger). I\'m glad they managed to move onward, but I\'m guessing Jerry will be forever broken inside. What a sad, wild life. | |
| Alice in Chains – Over Now Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| "Over Now" is about the disintegration of the band, in a "nutshell". The first clue of course, is the dog on the cover. 3 legs, not 4. Layne was already gone, both physically and mentally. He\'d already moved on, leaving the 3 of them to try to keep the table standing (or the dog). Second clue was Taps being played at the beginning of the song, and someone saying "good night." Subtle. :-\\\n\nIt was all disintegrating around them by that point. He bluntly says "yeah, it\'s over now," but even with all the drama and stress, he was still breathing. But when the band and everything that was part of it was finished and worn out—and they all knew it—rather than limp onward, he\'d just rather call it a day, and end the band right there. \n\nBeing the straight shooting guy he is, he wanted Layne to at least be man enough to look him straight in the eye and tell him that it\'s over...but I have my suspicions Layne probably never did that. I also suspect Layne had become very passive-aggressive, not wanting to deal with any harshness from Jerry or the others, which is why he distanced himself. But Jerry felt he\'d "paid his debt" to Layne for rescuing him all those years ago, and so he too, was done; his debt was now paid. And with all the crap Layne put them through over the years (and years), Jerry was having a hard time being strong through all that, as Layne constantly had them on shifting sand, where nothing with him was the least bit dependable. Jerry is resigned to the end: "Guess it\'s over now," but though he\'s emotionally drained and devastated, "I seem alive somehow." And when it\'s out of sight (Layne\'s impending death, one assumes), all they can do is "just wait and do your time"—just wait for it to happen eventually. At one point, he even wonders if HE could honestly say that it\'s over, because everything was so up in the air: Were they still a band? What do they do after Layne\'s gone? Where do they go? How do they make a living? They were probably terrified at their prospects, and that the engine they were riding on was being driven straight into a wall. Can you even imagine? The music world is dangerous and fickle. You\'re a star one minute, a has-been the next. \n\nOf course, lots of speculation on my part, but from everything I\'ve gathered, it sounds like things were really tense and unpleasant during the last album. Probably lots of choice words used in anger, maybe regretted later, but couldn\'t be taken back because Layne shut himself away. And of course...no goodbye. Jerry wrote about that too. | |
| Alice in Chains – Head Creeps Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| I wasn\'t really sure what this was about (VERY mechanized/cosmic/angry sounding, would be great in some dark sci-fi movie), but I heard something recently where Sean said that the "Tripod" album was basically Jerry and Layne yelling at each other through their lyrics (go back and re-read the lyrics which this in mind). With that, my 2 cents on Head Creep: \n\nIt\'s no secret that as much and Jerry and Layne loved each other, they were very different. Jerry\'s a bull. Layne\'s a butterfly. Jerry was bossy, controlling, & rigid, he wanted to keep perfecting AIC as an entity, whereas Layne was already bored and wanted to see what else was out there that he could insert himself into (he himself even said that he was the proudest he\'d ever been was when he did the Mad Season album, because he wasn\'t bored). Once close friends, by Tripod, they were becoming oil & water. He would yell at Layne when he was late or didn\'t show up at all, and in turn, Layne wouldn\'t show up in the studio at all, waiting to do his piece after Jerry had left. Very passive-aggressive. And is why there are songs like Shame in You, Nothin Song, and Frogs. In Layne\'s mind, he was already gone. \n\nI think Layne just got tired of all the band bullshit, and they in turn, got tired of Layne\'s bullshit. Layne\'s saying "there\'s no more time," (gotta go) and "your redundancy stains," (boring) and Jerry/the band is saying "just one more time" (please stay). He got tired of hearing things through the grapevine about what others would say about him in various "infantile claims"--maybe the band was tired of his BS and felt he was being childish. But Layne felt like they were all just "puppets on a string" to the music industry anyway ("Sludge Factory"). In the end, it was time to "untangle" the band (or Jerry) from himself and move on. \n\nHe also knew that he was being shadowed/watched by people, whether they were friends, family, friends of the band, or industry people, to keep an eye on him, because he was becoming so erratic in his habits. But he was wise enough to say he wanted the watchdogs called off, and to just leave him alone. He also felt like he was looked at as becoming useless to the band as far as his role as singer because they\'d do everything without him present, up until he had to do his vocals, which were done completely separately. He felt they were pushing him aside, he was no longer a vital part of the band ("slide me to the side/slapped in the face again"). \n\n"Anger becomes our queen" - they were getting fed up with one another, and were possibly lashing out in anger, with no way to really fix their situation. Sean threw his sticks when Layne showed up high after getting out of rehab, and vowed never to play with Layne again, with Jerry in agreement. I\'m guessing they probably had quite a row over that ("Tongue whipping forked black"). Layne wonders when things will really crack, plus the "lackeys" that worked with the band in the studio tended to have loose lips--tho\' not the truth--and so Layne would hear back things that then pissed him off. The whole situation was "so crazy." | |
| Jerry Cantrell – Satisfy Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| @[Txredhead:41433] OK, sure elle116044. You just keep thinking that. You obviously haven\'t had a friendship like those two did, no matter how homo-centric you try to make them out to be. They were four EXTREMELY hetero young men. There is nothing in their writings, lyrics, interviews, photos, videos, remembrances by others, family history or memories, or anything else, that even *hints* they were "together." Not everyone is gay, much as a small segment of society try to push that theory. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. | |
| Alice in Chains – Again Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| @[Tainted703:41417] while I agree with your assessment, I think on top of that, he\'s also talking or singing directly TO the drugs themselves.\r\n\r\n "Let them do it again" (let the drugs take effect again)....he himself said at first that drugs were great ("you said you were my friend,") but they actually "turn me upside down" and make him feel "so down." Ultimately they make a fool of him over and over, but he understands this...but yet he doesn\'t/can\'t stop.\r\n\r\nHe\'s basically reprimanding himself through the entire song : same mistake, won\'t do it again, (the drugs) "slapped him" in the face even though he didnt want them to. The drugs keep "violating" his humanity, so much so that he becomes an embarrassment to himself and a laughing stock to others, yet he has no control over them, and so they are conjoined, forced into this devilish dance "again and again and again...."\r\n\r\nRead the lyrics from this standpoint and you can see this. Endless torment. ????\r\n | |
| Alice in Chains – The One You Know Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| Jerry. Your way with lyrics never stops amazing me. My 2 cents on this one:\n\nI\'m a little alike\nYou before things had changed\n\nWhen they were young & first starting out, he had that same type of darkness hidden within him, because of his own broken history, and he knew he was probably heading down the very same path that took Layne. \n\nIn a compass, I ride\nAll this feels rearranged\n\nHe feels like he\'s going in circles, because he has no more direction; Layne was their shining "north star" that they all pointed to, so nothing feels real, nothing makes sense, everything feels fake. \n\nTell me, does it matter\nIf I\'m still here, or I\'m gone?\n\nNow that Layne is gone, he feels like his very existence doesn\'t really matter any more because they were no longer two "running as one."\n\nShifting to the after\nAn impostor, I\'m not the one you know\n\nWithout his BFF Layne, he\'s not himself, part of him is missing, he doesn\'t know how to function, he feels like an imposter. People that think they know him...don\'t. Only Layne really understood him. \n\nI look the same outside\nNearly me even though\nI carry something I hide\nUnderneath the one you know\n\nHe still looks the same on the outside, but it\'s only a veneer, a shell, the "real" Jerry is no longer there.\n\nAre you surprised black water flows\nFrom wells run dry?\nI\'m not the one you know\n\nHe wonders why anyone should be surprised that all this darkness and blackness comes out of him lyrically (because that\'s how he feels inside), even though he himself felt like there was nothing more to write about... | |
| Nine Inch Nails – Copy of A Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| Been listening to this tune since discovering it just this weekend (yes, I\'m a bit behind the curve). \n\nThe first is about lack of individualism, especially if that someone holds a standard corporate office job, where you\'re expected to toe the company line, follow their rules, adhere to the corporate "values," don\'t make waves, etc. (e.g. "I am little pieces picked up along the way/Doing everything I\'m told to do") And how that eventually wears down one\'s joy, creativity, and individuality...after awhile we begin to notice this more and more ("Imprinted with a purpose/A purpose that\'s become quite clear today") But the corporate wonks keep saying "you need to play your part" if you want to work there. You become a copy of a copy of a copy of all of your coworkers, all doing the same thing, trying to claw their way up the corporate ladder. Maybe after becoming part of the corporate music machine Trent was feeling boxed in, creatively. \n\nConversely, the 2nd interpretation is similar, but is about soldiers of war, and how they\'re forced/pressed into doing things--like mindless drones--that they don\'t want to do. They *have* to do them because, well, it\'s the military, they have no choice, no say. And this has been going on for decades, nay, centuries, of war. They can\'t talk back, they can\'t argue, they can\'t ask why, they just have to take it on the chin, just like that guy, and that guy, and the soldiers before them, over and over and over, churning out mindless war drones by the 10s of thousands over the years: a copy of an echo of a shadow... The soldier loses his own external identity, becoming assimilated as part of the collective "Borg" mindset of the military war machine. And should any of them so much as try to step out of line, they\'re brought back in: Look what you had to start/Why all the change of heart/Now look what you gone and done (e.g., what to you think you\'re trying to get away with here?)\nWell you need to play your part/A copy of a copy of a/Well that doesn\'t sound like fun (don\'t argue, don\'t step out of line, don\'t be a civilian "normie," you must be what you signed up to be). \n\nJust my 2 cents on this killer tune! | |
| Jerry Cantrell – Satisfy Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| @[cchr9ts:41314] great analysis, similar to my own, which I just added. Being part of Layne\'s sphere was definitely a "love hate love" relationship. ???? | |
| Jerry Cantrell – Satisfy Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| @[Txredhead:41313] This stinkin website is not conducive to using apostrophes or paragraph breaks, apparently (or allowing edits). Sorry for the giant block of text. ???? | |
| Jerry Cantrell – Satisfy Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| Y\'all. This is ALL about Jerry talking to Layne. He\'s seeing Layne for what he really is: someone who is so talented, and who burns very brightly, but is really messed up, and so is taking down everyone around him, including Jerry. \n\nHe\'s seeing Layne\'s selfishness & self-centeredness more keenly as he spirals downward, wondering if Layne really ever thought of him as his friend, as they ran "a race of one" (meaning they were a very tight knit team creating all the songs for AIC)....or was he just a means to an end as he became "Layne the Legend." (remember, Layne was supposed to be in rehab, yet went and joined Mad Season, and didn\'t include or ask Jerry to join, which really pissed off Jerry, like a wayward girlfriend). \n\nEven though Layne saved Jerry from his "hard times as a refugee" he keeps "sidesteppin over me" always seeking his next fix, and in the process becomes more insular, turning his heart to stone, where he has no more life. And his drug-fueled antics were an embarrassment for Jerry & the rest of the band ("head hung high in shame")--he can\'t show publicly his true feelings about their situation. \n\nBut still, he loves Layne, and while he doesn\'t want him to die, he\'s sick & tired of his long drawn out slow suicide, so at the end of the song, he begs him to make a decision: choose to LIVE...or hurry up and die already. Because they\'re all going through torment waiting & watching. \n\nMANY of Jerry\'s songs reflect his thoughts and his anger toward Layne. Just the song titles alone give us all clues: Anger Rising, Psychotic Break, Hurt a long Time, Give it a Name, and Bargain Basement Howard Hughes and others, all reflect his not-very-hidden feelings about the most intense platonic relationship he probably ever had in his life. Everything about that time helped to shape who he is today. \n\nLayne Staley was an amazing human being, but he sucked everyone around him into his own black hole of self loathing, and left a long trail of pain and metaphorical blood behind him. I can\'t imagine the pain Jerry suffered, especially after losing his mother & grandmother...to lose the one other strong influence in his young life had to have been absolutely devastating. | |
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