Alice in Chains – Love, Hate, Love

• +5
  General Comment:I think this is clearly about someone (in this case a guy) who was cheated on. I'm surprised not everyone realizes this.
  
  I tried to own you I thought I would (he "thought" he owned her but she wasn't loyal)
  I want to peel the skin from your face (as a result he's angry/feeling violent)
  Before the real you lays to waste (the "real" her is a cheater)
  
  You told me I'm the only one (clear hint that she cheated)
  Sweet little angel you should have run (to escape his anger)
  Lying, crying, dying to leave
  Innocence creates my hell (HIS innocence in trusting her)
  
  Cheating myself still you know more
  It would be so easy with a whore (he's contemplating cheating back)
  
  Lost inside my sick head
  I live for you but I'm not alive (he feels out of control, dead inside)
  Take my hand before I kill (feels like killing the "other" guy)
  I still love you, but, I still burn (yet still loves her)
  
  I think it's 100% about adultery/cheating but still loving the person who did it to you.

  Flagged Kameradinon July 25, 2012   Link

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    Actually, the real her is not a cheater. That's why he doesn't want her to lay to waste.

    Flag poopfetishon January 06, 2013  
• 0
  General Comment:This song reminds me of a guy I used to be in love with...... now that I think of it.... he's exactly like Layne Staley.

  Flag peejo08on March 15, 2012   Link

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  Song Meaning:In one live performance Layne simply states "This next song is about pain". You can all have your differing meanings, but one thing is for sure, this song is about pain.

  Flag Zackr27on July 04, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:um...
  My take is its about a girl he was with who is kind of innocent naive. doesnt feel the whole sex thing before marriage, or with someone she not in love with or whatever, or maybe doesnt even partake in recreational drugs. i think the author loves her, but at the same time has this lust for her. he loves her enough not to push her, but he feels kind of i dont know frustated or something. his pain is in the fact that yeah he sees her innocence then contemplates his own. he wont go to a whore, even if it comes easy, because he has feelings for the girl. he would peel her face " good girl look" before her true attraction to him lays to rest....
  great song. pardon me if it seems irrelevant.

  Flag isimplyfoldon March 17, 2011   Link

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  My Interpretation:Very powerful song about a very relatable feeling.
  
  The author loves this person so much that he - in a sense - tries to own her and he becomes overbearing. His jealousy, suspicions, and insecurities get the better of him and make him feel hatred towards her and make him act like a prick.
  
  Whether the author drove the other person to cheat on him, or whether it's all just in the author's head is unclear......but the point remains the same. I tend to believe it's just in his head because he goes on to say "Cheating myself still you know more."
  
  I think the author is indeed cheating himself of the relationship because he's letting his jealousy, insecurities, etc. sabotage the relationship (he's driving her away). Yet the words "still you know more" again convey his jealous suspicions.
  

  Flag hoppingbunnyon December 23, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:i know exactly what he's talking about. he was with an innocent girl, a good girl. he treated her like shit, trying to own her, control her, and hurt her, so she left him. his loss made him a bigger psycho. my ex bf probably use to listen to this song after i left him. asshole.

  Flag Funsizedon December 17, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:He sounds depraved in this song; like someone hurt him so bad but he knows that a lot of it was his fault, which drives him to kill.
  
  If someone was to ask me how good a voice Layne had, I'd play this song. The emotion in his voice is tangible, and he shows off his range and raw power to the max.

  Flag pleasebeatme92on November 28, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:Oh and while I'm here, I'd just like to add that not every song Layne writes is about is addiction!! Layne was about SO much more than that! Yes, his STRUGGLE with addiction was a big part of him, but in effort to set the record straight here, this song is not about heroin, cocaine OR his father. He was a person that lived day to day and faced many demons just as the rest of us! His addiction and his issues with his so-called "father" were not the only thoughts in his head or feelings in his heart. Layne Staley was, is, and always will be a musical masterpiece! God rest his soul!

  Flag AliceIn1981on October 05, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:I believe this song is about loving his girlfriend, who then cheated on him, then him continuing to love her but subconsciously punishing her for hurting him and how he treats her because of it, and his struggle to move past it. The references to being "sick" and the like, I believe are just metaphorical for the way he's acting and feeling. In the end, he's saying he still loves her but he's still hurt and angry. You can feel his raw and profound emotion in this song, you know it comes straight from the very bottom of his heart in soul! Rest in peace Layne Thomas Staley!!!

  Flag AliceIn1981on October 05, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:He is battleing over weather or not to kill his lover that cheated........read Angry Chair....if your die hard Layne like me you've read it.....and this was written early AIC....and before Demri and Layne became lovers......

  Flag imisslayneon July 30, 2010   Link

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